Trip Reports

Road - bumpy with some major potholes.
Trail - some spots slippery with packed snow and ice

I've wanted to get here for a very long time.. finally arrived. Worth the wait. Very pretty area. Bumpy road going up, but didn't encounter any other cars on the way up or down. Flowers are past their peak here but still pretty. Bugs are not too bad, better than last week for sure! Great views and company and fairly easy hike.

What a beautiful day for a hike to Noble Knob! The road to the trailhead is rough but, it looks like pretty much anyone can get through as long as you take your time. I noticed there was an unusual amount of car traffic heading down on FR 7174 and discovered it was due to the White River 50 mile trail run. Yes, 50 miles!! Just about everyone was good at "sharing the road." By the time we reached the trailhead (at mile 16 of the race) there were only 2 more runners expected. The trail is in good shape but, very dusty. There were lots of flies and a few mosquitoes and bees. There is a nice variety of wildflowers blooming now! On the way back we encountered 3 separate groups of mountain bikers. They were all very, very nice and pulled over to let us pass. Considering all of the activity on the trail today, it really did not feel too busy or crowded. In my opinion this is a great example of a shared-use trail.

RT: 7 miles
Gain: 500' in, 300' out

A beautiful sunny day and the wild flowers were blooming. Mt. Rainier stood out in all her glory, not a cloud in the sky. A lot of bugs, so be sure to take some insect repellent. The Corral Pass sign is gone, usually my signpost for turning, so be sure to keep an eye out for road #7174. The six mile road going in is very difficult, but the beauty of the hike makes it well worth it.

As expected, there were quite a few people out on the trail today. I was looking for an easy hike, given the fact that I was up at Cascade Pass the day before. Noble Nob is indeed a beautiful, yet gentle hike. The forest service road up from highway 410 was steep and in moderate condition. The road and trail was dusty, but well maintained. Be certain to keep your eyes and ears peeled for mountain bikers, as this is a mixed use trail. The trail is a long traverse with views nearly the whole way of Rainier and the Valley. It meanders up and down until finally reaching Noble Nob, a perfect perch for lunch with a view. A great trail for children or relatives.

I’m still recovering from back surgery in March, so I was looking for an easy hike. I decided to try Noble Knob via the Dallas Ridge trail #1173. The access road is a lot better than the last time I did the Corral Pass road. I went Tuesday July 7th.

The trailhead has an “Open to uses:” sign, but there’s no sign with the name of the trail. The trailhead is at 5300 ft. There were no other cars in the parking lot. I did not see anyone else on the trail. I took Zermatt and Chelan, two of my pack goats along.

It was a cloudy day so no views of Mt. Rainier. It seemed like there were not as many wildflowers as I remember from past years. There was one tree down across the trail and a few snow banks, but they were no problem. It’s about 4 ½ miles RT with an 800 ft elevation gain. Although there no real views due to the clouds, it was still a very pleasant hike. Almost no bugs.

General driving directions to the trailhead: Drive east on State Highway 410 to Greenwater Road FS #70 (1.7 miles past the community of Greenwater). FS road 70 is a paved 2 lane road. Turn left (north) onto Road #70 and follow 5.8 miles to Road #72. Turn right (south) onto Road #72 and follow for 7.3 miles to Road #7250. Turn left onto Road #7250 and travel 2.0 miles to Road #7250210. There is a small 210 sign in the small trees at this junction. #7250-210 goes straight, #7250 angles down to the right. Follow road #7250-210 0.5 mile to trailhead. Parking for 5-8 cars. FS road #72 is a pretty good gravel road with some wash boarding and a few pot holes. FS road #7250 is also pretty good gravel road, but there are more and deeper potholes.

Noble Knobb is a relatively easy hike. A few hills, but with enough platues to even it out. It was a very cloudy day as we started out walking toward the summit. Even being socked in with the clouds it was still a beautiful hike, very peaceful and quite with lots of blooming wildflowers and strawberry plants. Although we couldn't see much because of the cloud coverage we could hear the elk in the not so far distance, bugaling as we sat and had lunch at the summit. We decided we had better head back as the wind had picked up and it was getting colder. We were afraid the weather was taking a turn for the worse. As soon as we got our packs back on we noticed the wind had actually started blowing the clouds away and we suddenly realized the views before us.... Although we never did get to see Mt. Rainier we were able to see the other ridges across from the summit, green meadows and pristine lakes.
We even found that herd of elk...
Highly reccomend this hike and I'll definately be back, hopefully on a clear day.

This was a group trail run, training for the White River 50 mile run. We started at Buck Creek (road 7160) and took the White River trail out to The Dalles. This is a gently rolling trail that goes by the Boy Scout camp. There was only one blowdown. Then we turned up the Palisades Trail and the going gets much tougher. The trail switchbacks steeply up to a set of stairs. It is a beautiful area, but today it smelled like there was a dead animal in the bottom of the canyon which wafted all the way up the hill. After the stairs the trail mellows out a bit but still climbs steadily to the first viewpoint. Rainier just peeks over the opposite ridge, and Suntop lookout is also in view. After climbing another miler or so the real reward is revealed. Beautiful panoramic views of the valley below including the river, the airstrip and Mt. Rainier in-your-face style. Then the trail turns away from the ridge and to a cabin. From there we continue up on The Dalles Ridge trail and follow that until it ends at the Noble Knob trail. We turned south there and climbed around the ridge through some snow patches and glacier lillies. The trail levels off just after the Noble Knob turnoff and is just rolling hills (with the exception of one thigh burner) until we reached the road at Corral Pass. This top part is in full sun exposure, and today sunscreen was necessary. But the views or Mt Rainier were spectacular. The huckleberries are numerous, but not ready to eat yet. We met a crew with water and snacks there, then turned back and retraced our steps. At the cabin, we took the Ranger Creek Trail down. This trail is popular with Mtn Bikes. Lots of shade, soft tread and switchbacks on this gradual hill, in our case it was going down, down, down, and down until we finally reached the road just across from Buck Creek. This made for a ~25 mile loop, and a fabulous day!

Gate locked less then 1 mile in on road 7174. Parking at the gate is for the Ranger Creek trailhead, with access to the Noble Knob via a 4 miles of steep switchbacks.