Hiking Guide
WTA's hiking guide is the most comprehensive database of hikes in Washington, and comprises content from eight guidebooks, user submitted info, and data compiled by WTA.
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South Cascades -- Columbia Gorge
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This 8.25 mile loop on the sunny Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge gradually climbs through shaded stands of oak and ponderosa pine, dotted with small, wildflower-strewn meadows, then deposits hikers 1900’ above the river at the top of a basalt ridge with expansive views and carpets of balsamroot and lupine. - UPATED: The user created trail that passed through private lands at the base of the cliff has been closed by the Forest Service. Please respect the Closure.
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Olympics -- East
Mount Zion (#836)
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Hike a short and to-the-point trail to an isolated peak on the fringe of the Olympics. Enjoy views out over glistening Puget Sound, with its ferries and Seattle skyline. But there's more. From Zion's summit follow a ridgeline trail to a series of ledges, a promised land of sweeping views of lofty Mount Townsend and the towering and jagged Gray Wolf Ridge. Make a pilgrimage in June and be rewarded with a kingdom of brilliantly blooming rhodo-dendrons.
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Puget Sound and Islands -- North Sound
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Local, national and world histories intersect on this peaceful farm north of Arlington.
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Central Cascades -- Leavenworth Area
Snow Lakes (#1553)
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The Snow Lakes sit in one of the most spectacular basins within the entire Cascade Range-the largest of the legendary Enchantment Lakes, sparkling gems surrounded by spiraling walls of rock adorned with jagged turrets. Mostly the domain of backpackers, the Snows can be reached by strong day hikers. The Enchantments are popular, how-ever, and in order to limit impact on this fragile and special environment the Forest Service has implemented a strict set of rules for visitation, including a quota system for overnighters. Day hikers limit themselves, primarily because of the long approach and stiff climb.
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Mt. Rainier -- SE - Longmire / Paradise
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Many claim this two-step falls is the most beautiful waterfall in the park. The 320-foot cascade fans out as it crashes down the basalt cliffs, providing a spectacular show of force and beauty. The trail to this natural wonder climbs the steep valley of Van Trump Creek, offering little along the way other than an experience in the forest primeval. But once you reach the waterfall basin, that overly average trail suddenly seems exceptional.
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South Cascades -- Mt. St. Helens
June Lake (#216.1)
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The June Lake Trail is a beautiful hike any time of year, but exploring the trail on snowshoes, with the deep old forest, wide lake basin, and crashing waterfall all swaddled in a blanket of white, is the only way to enjoy the truly wild nature of the area. The trail is a gentle path through the woods, and snowshoers of all ages and abilities will appreciate and enjoy the remarkable beauty of the route.
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Central Cascades -- Stevens Pass - West
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Two miles past Barclay Lake is Eagle Lake. The trail is unmarked but pretty clear and the way is steep.
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Eastern Washington -- Spokane Area
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With more than 600 acres of rolling fields, pine-forested buttes and wetlands, the Slavin Conservation Area provides plenty of room to stretch legs all year-round.
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Olympics -- West
Queets River (#12)
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Big trees, a wilderness valley flourishing with wildlife, and no crowds. The peninsula's wildest rainforest valleys are up the Queets River, and many a hiker has never ventured into this enchanting corner of Olympic National Park. The main deterrent is accessibility, both to and on the trail. The gravel 14-mile Queets River Road can often be agonizing to drive. And once you reach the trailhead, you'll find there's no bridge over the river! This keeps more than a handful of adventurers from ambling up the trail. But if you persist you're guaranteed a lonesome journey.
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Olympics -- West
Petes Creek (#858), Colonel Bob (#851)
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Climb a prominent peak on the western edge of the Olympic Mountains. From this 4000-plus-foot aerie above the saturated Quinault Valley, stare down upon sprawling rain forest. Enjoy an unobstructed view of shimmering Lake Quinault too, and from Mount Olympus to the Pacific take in an ocean of peaks and peek at the ocean. It's a tough climb to this rugged outpost on the periphery of the Olympics, but the panorama it provides is a worthy pursuit.
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North Cascades -- Mountain Loop Highway
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To the base of Explorer Falls, also known as Wheeler Falls, is an easy hike up a gravel road that borders the Lake Chaplain Watershed. It is also the trailhead to Easy Pass to Echo Lake.
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Olympics -- South
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There are many big trees in the Olympics, but this is the largest western red cedar in the world and it is just a quarter mile from the road. It is 19.5 feet in diameter and 174 feet tall. It's sheer volume makes it the largest.
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Olympics -- West
Quinault Rain Forest Nature Loop (#855)
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This short half-mile interpretive nature loop is an excellent introduction to the Olympic's temperate rain forest. Hiking clockwise, the first 850 feet is barrier-free and accessible to individuals in wheelchairs.
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Olympics -- SW Washington
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On a stretch of Washington coast known for its beach-driving, Griffiths-Priday State Park is a welcome respite for walkers. The natural spit features low sand dunes that are protected as a wildlife refuge bordered by Conner Creek on one side and the Copalis River on the other.
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Olympics -- SW Washington
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With four miles of beach walking and water on three sides, Damon Point is one of the best places to hike and view wildlife in the North Beach area of Washington's Pacific Coast.
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Puget Sound and Islands
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A six-mile, paved urban loop that connects pocket parks and multi-use paths around Lake Union in Seattle. If you don't stop for a bite to eat in one of the neighborhoods along the way, Gasworks Park (on the north side of the loop) and Lake Union Park (on the south side) both make great picnic spots with lake views.
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Central Cascades -- Stevens Pass - East
Little Wenatchee Ridge (#1543)
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This trail combines the serene beauty of the Little Wenatchee River valley with the thrilling vistas found on the high benches of Wenatchee Ridge.
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Central Cascades
Garland Peak (#1408)
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The first half of this trip is a brutally steep, brushy at times, curse-inducing slog. The second half? Absolutely breathtaking! After ascending pine-dotted knolls and traversing pumice plains and rock gardens bursting with blossoms, reach a lofty shoulder on 7526-foot Garland Peak. From this vantage high in the Entiat Mountains, prepare for visual and mental overload taking in ridges and peaks for as far as the eye can see and for as long as the mind can tally.
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Olympics -- North
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South Cascades
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Snoqualmie Pass -- North Bend Area
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Snoqualmie Pass -- North Bend Area
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Eastern Washington -- Yakima
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Snoqualmie Pass -- North Bend Area
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Snoqualmie Pass -- North Bend Area
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Rock climbers use the first half of this trail to get to the rock faces on the east end of Little Si. Hikers use the full trail to sweep around the west end and climb the tall knob on the easier (though still a bit rocky) route. Like its big sibling, Mount Si, Little Si offers phenomenal views of the Upper Snoqualmie Valley after a nice hike through forests and over rocks. The trail is steep initially, then mellow, then steep again as it scrambles straight up the northern spine to the 1576-foot summit.
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Central Cascades -- Leavenworth Area
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Paralleled by a busy recreational road for much of its length, the frothing, tumbling, spectacularly beautiful Icicle Creek flows unmolested in deep wilderness at its upper reaches. The upper Icicle is more sedate than its canyon run downriver, trading heart-pounding rapids for soul-soothing ripples, steep, stark walls for lush flats of luxuriant old-growth forest, pavement for trail. A great hike for late spring, late fall, or lazy summer days, the upper Icicle invites outdoor adventurers of all levels.
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Central Cascades -- Entiat Mountains
Cougar Mountain (#1415)
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Follow a babbling brook through forests of pine and fields of dazzling wildflowers to a long-gone lookout site where the viewing still reigns supreme. Gaze out at beautiful landscapes near and far-from verdant lawns spread out directly below, to the glistening ice of Glacier Peak, to the sun-baked wheat fields of the Waterville Plateau. Heavenly? Yes. But only before the motors arrive or during the week, when chances are slim that one will come sputtering by.
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North Cascades -- North Cascades Highway
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Snoqualmie Pass -- North Bend Area
Middle Fork Snoqualmie River (#1003)
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The Middle Fork Snoqualmie River is a fast-moving, cold river that few hikers would care to cross on their own. But when the Forest Service and a team of volunteers installed a bridge over the Middle Fork near the mouth of the Taylor River, hikers gained new trails to explore and the Middle Fork Trail is one of the best recreational resources in the valley.
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South Cascades -- Chinook Pass - Enumclaw or Hwy 410 area
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