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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Central Cascades -- Blewett Pass
Ingalls Creek (#1215)
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Venture into a deep wilderness valley shadowed by craggy pinnacles of the Stuart Range and the Wenatchee Mountains' broad flank of summits. Located in one of the largest roadless valleys in the Central Cascades, Ingalls Creek drains a vast area of rugged and stunning beauty. Continuously following the wilderness waterway, let rapids and ripples, crashing cascades and swirling eddies mesmerize you along the way. Come in spring and enjoy a trail lined with flowers-paintbrush, lupine, trillium, glacier lilies, and more.
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Central Cascades -- Stevens Pass - East
Mission Ridge (#1201)
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Dry, dusty, deeply rutted, and dominated by motorcycles - why bother, right? How about knockout views from Glacier Peak to the Columbia River? One of the largest and finest old-growth ponderosa pine forests in the entire state? An amazing array of dazzling wildflowers? And wildlife - this is the only hike in Washington where I've encountered a bobcat! Just come on a weekday, or early in the season when patches of snow prohibit the trail from becoming a motorway.
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Olympics -- East
Mount Ellinor (#812)
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An Olympic classic-bag this peak for one of the most supreme views this side of Hood Canal. From the jagged summit peer deep into the heart of the Olympic wilderness or out across Lake Cushman and Puget Sound to the Cascades spanning the eastern horizon. All of this comes at a price, however-the trail to Ellinor is steep and tough.
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North Cascades -- Mountain Loop Highway
Heather Lake (#701)
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Don't expect to find much heather growing along the shores of this pretty little subalpine lake. That ubiquitous mountain shrub is pretty hard to find on this hike. But what you can expect to see along the way are some mighty fine old cedars. Expect, too, to be serenaded by babbling brooks, wooed by fine views of Mount Pilchuck's craggy, rocky north face, and charmed by Heather's placid waters. Don't plan on being alone here, however; this easy trail is one of the premier stomping grounds off of the Mountain Loop Highway. On a sunny summer weekend, you'll likely encounter the entire spectrum of the hiking world, from old-timers to neophytes and everyone in between.
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South Cascades -- Columbia Gorge
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South Cascades -- Mt. St. Helens
Loowit (#216)
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Ready for a stunning long hike through the otherwordly landscape of Mount St. Helens? The Loowit Trail reveals the volcano and the blast zone in all its raw glory.
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Central Cascades -- Leavenworth Area
Icicle Ridge (#1570)
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Often free of snow as early as April, this excellent early season hike offers hikers what they have been missing for months: a good chance of sun (this being the sunny side of the Cascades, a bountiful array of wildflowers, and stunning views of Tumwater and Icicle Canyon, the Wenatchee and Icicle rivers and surrounding mountains.
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Puget Sound and Islands -- San Juan Islands
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From Mount Finlayson, marvel at an undeveloped coastline spread out below you. Stare across the Strait of Juan de Fuca at a backdrop of snowy Olympic Mountain summits. Watch for eagles, plovers, sandpipers, and hawks. Enjoy one of the most spectacular settings in all of the San Juans.
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Olympics -- East
Murhut Falls (#828)
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This short and easy trail in the Hood Canal Ranger District on the east side of the Olympics takes hikers to a relatively unknown waterfall that delivers its reward - a captivating 130-foot plunging waterfall - in just under a mile.
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Puget Sound and Islands -- South Sound
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Lovely Douglas-fir forest, wetlands, and a great network of trails, Island Center Forest is one of King County's backcountry parks. Birds are abundant on the wetlands, and the forest is lush, with large, second-growth trees.
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Eastern Washington -- Yakima
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A group of dedicated volunteers with the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy worked for years to develop this trail - or, rather, to un-develop this trail - because this old railroad right-of-way is now a path through a wild wonderland.
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Snoqualmie Pass -- North Bend Area
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This hike is sometimes called Last Promontory; Absolute Last Promontory and starts out as a road walk on the CCC road; then climbs another road to a viewpoint east of the Green Mt summit. From here the route is a very rough trail or scramble route directly up the ridge line to the summit.
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Puget Sound and Islands -- North Sound
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A 110-acre Skagit County Park with the largest remaining undeveloped waterfront on Fidalgo Island near Anacortes. Highlights include a freshwater beaver pond and the stunning views of Rosario Strait.
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South Cascades -- Chinook Pass - Enumclaw or Hwy 410 area
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This section of the 2600-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) seems tailor-made for kids and dogs. It's gentle, scenic, and easily accessible, with a great swimming lake, resilient grassy meadows for romping, and easy off-trail scrambles. All this and more awaits hikers willing to share the trail with a lot of fellow nature lovers and the occasional bear. The area is also popular with a host of bird and animal species, including deer, mountain goats, hawks, falcons, marmots, martens, chipmunks, and the ever-faithful friend of hikers, gray jays.
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Puget Sound and Islands
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Thanks to a huge volunteer effort led by Washington Trails Association, there is a new hiking option just outside the City of Sammamish. About two miles of trails create several loops that run through and skirt a variety of habitats, including wetlands, meadow and forest.
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Issaquah Alps
Grand Ridge (#TIGER)
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Grand Ridge Park includes 7 miles of WTA-built trail through western red cedar trees, sword ferns, nettles, berries and, at times, slugs. This trail is a little piece of the backcountry close to Seattle and is open to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians.
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North Cascades -- Mountain Loop Highway
Gothic Basin (#724)
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Rugged and spectacular-yes. Gothic, perhaps, for this stark and mysterious basin harbors hidden tarns and disappearing waterways and is surrounded by spiraling peaks. A difficult hike on steep and rocky terrain, Gothic Basin with all its rich beauty can't keep hikers away; just as it couldn't keep miners away a century ago with its lure of riches. It was those hardy folk who built this path. It has been upgraded since-somewhat. The splendor of the basin, however, can't be improved one bit. Past glaciers and the agents of erosion have left it pretty darn near to perfect.
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North Cascades -- Mountain Loop Highway
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Hike to an old mining town by ambling up a long-closed road along the South Fork Sauk River and largely sticking to the old route taken by miners over a century ago.
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Snoqualmie Pass -- Snoqualmie Pass
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This hike is more entertaining than any Dirty Harry movie you'll see. It follows an old logging road up to a high bench overlooking the central section of the South Fork Snoqualmie River valley. The walking is fairly easy on this wide road-turned-trail, and the views are breathtaking.
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South Cascades -- Chinook Pass - Enumclaw or Hwy 410 area
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Green, mossy old growth trees, miles of level hiking and a special Hobbit Village are the main attractions at Federation Forest State Park. More than 12 miles of trails wind through the forest and hikers can put together loops to fit their hiking needs.
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Mt. Rainier -- SE - Longmire / Paradise
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The route to Camp Muir is long, strenuous, and very susceptible to poor weather. But it can also be incredibly beautiful, with views that can't be found anywhere else.
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South Cascades -- Columbia Gorge
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The Klickitat Trail is a 31-mile rails-to-trails conversion managed by Columbia Hills State Park. This linear park goes from Lyle to Warwick (on the Lyle-Centerville Highway) with several access points along the way. This Hiking Guide entry describes the route between Lyle and Pitt Road.
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Central Cascades -- Stevens Pass - West
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North Cascades -- Baker Lake
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Issaquah Alps
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Central Cascades -- Stevens Pass - West
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Puget Sound and Islands -- North Sound
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Puget Sound and Islands
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Puget Sound and Islands -- North Sound
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Puget Sound and Islands -- South Sound
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