Lovely evening hike up to Park Butte! Lots of wild blueberries ripening early in the hike, took about 2 hours to get from the trailhead to the lookout. We set up camp on the ridgeline about a mile before the lookout since it was too late in the day to camp at the lookout. Hiked up to the lookout for sunset, which was full with a couple groups. Up early the next day for sunrise and took about 90 minutes to hike back down. As some mentioned the bugs are pretty annoying above the tree line but not too bothersome lower down. There’s no water sources on this hike so make sure to pack plenty!

The last 2 miles (not just the last 1.5 mile or so) of FS Road 13 can be kind of rough (potholes, washboarding, and exposed rocks), but it's passable by all vehicles.  There were 2 sedans ahead of me during that last stretch; slowly & surely we made it to the trailhead.

Arrived at about 0845 AM on a Monday.  I saw several vehicles parked along the FS road, but there were still a decent number of spots in the trailhead parking lot.

Left the trailhead by 0916 AM.  Made it to the fire lookout by 1232 PM.  Yes, it can CERTAINLY be achieved much faster.  I guess the weather was a little warm, but I had to stop SEVERAL times for a few minutes of rest (and also for taking photos) ... lol.  I did not go into the lookout itself because: (1) I have enough acrophobia to say "Nope, just admiring from 15 feet below the summit is cool!", and (2) there were about 20 energetic young people squished inside.  Glad to let them enjoy the views and (hopefully) build some nice memories of outdoor activities.

I contemplated taking a side trip up the Railroad Grade (maybe one mile roundtrip) on the way down, but decided to err on the side of caution.  Not enough time & energy today.  Maybe on a future visit, I'll skip the lookout, and just go up the Railroad Grade instead.

The return trip downhill was roughly 1315 PM to 1524 PM (if I recall correctly).  The trail is in fine condition.  The views were wonderful.  The bugs were plentiful, but not biting/stinging/obnoxious.  I did not spot any fresh berries along my route, but I did see 50+ people (probably more) during the course of the day.  Bonus: I did not have to get my feet wet crossing the bridge over Rocky Creek.

A few more statistics today ... The roundtrip is estimated at about 7.5 miles.  My Fitbit credited me for about 21000 steps (roughly 10.5 miles).  I drank at least 60 ounces of water & unsweetened iced tea, but lost 4.2 pounds anyway.  Advice: bring plenty of water; use sunscreen (the back of neck was a little red; the only spot that could have used re-application); use bug spray; continue being nice to your fellow hikers; write a trip report; share your photos.

Beautiful hike today! The parking lot was full when we drove in at 8:45 am on a Saturday. Vehicles were parked on the side of the road in a safe manner. We noticed a Tesla with a flat tire. The road up is rough gravel with lots of potholes. Some biting flies. 

The forest road was long, washboarded and potholey, but manageable if taken with caution. We were tailgated by a Subaru the entire way which was pretty annoying - did you want front row seats to the dust we were kicking up? Just.. back off. Please. 

Made it to the trailhead at 8:30 and people were already starting to park down the road. A lot of the cars had some dew on them so they were likely campers from the day(s) before. We were able to get a spot fairly close to the parking lot and walked up to the trailhead sign to see a small group of climbers as well as a disappointingly large group of women (exceeding LNT group size recommendations) gathering near the bathrooms, making it look like a line for a ride at Disney.

Bathrooms were clean to start and had plenty of toilet paper. We gave the other groups a bit of a head start before starting our hike and were off.

The first mile of this trail is really mild; plenty of wooden boardwalks, mellow hills, and nice packed trail to warm up the legs. Once you get to the first water crossing is when things pick up. I am not a fan of water crossings, but I was able to power over a branch that someone placed on a fairly narrow section of water (I did have an emotional support stick I picked up plus my friend’s hand to hold to get me across as well), though that was destroyed by the time we returned (more on this later).

Once you make it across the first crossing, you’ll come across the main river crossing which has the seasonal bridge. The bridge is fine - there’s a sign indicating that only one person should be on it at a time. It’s a little rickety but keep your feet moving and you’ll get across without issue. Then the elevation gain kicks in.

Since you spend the first mile of the trail practically gaining very little elevation, that condenses the 2,000+ feet of gain into the 2.5-3 miles remaining to the lookout. Initially, the trail climbs through nicely packed dirt and some wooden steps under the cover of trees. Unfortunately, the woody part of the trail was the buggiest, so be prepared to be constantly swatting at bugs if you decide to stop for breaks at any point during this section. You’ll eventually pop out in a series of meadows which is also when the trail becomes exposed for the rest of the hike up (apply sunscreen by now if you haven’t). 

The meadows are beautiful. You get a glimpse of Mt. Baker as you approach the fork heading up towards the Railroad Grade trail, but stay left if you want to go to the lookout. The views keep getting nicer as you cross another meadow - enjoy the relief from gaining elevation in these sections before embarking on your last two steep sections of trail.

Once you cross the last meadow and head up your first set of switchbacks, be sure to pause for a photo op on some exposed rock with Baker behind you. You’ll scramble up a little rocky section of trail before another flat section where you get wide open views of the Cascades, some lakes, and even Glacier Peak (I believe) in the distance. There are signs here that indicate no camping and no campfires, so aside from seeing a few folks with off-leash dogs, I’m happy to say that most were respecting the signage.

The final push starts now. The trail gets a little slippery with dust and loose rock, so be sure to watch your footing, especially on your way down. This section feels pretty tough in the heat, but keep pushing and you’ll make it to the lookout in no time. You can see your destination from here so watch it get closer with every step and just keep plugging away.

We finally made it to the lookout. Remember that group of women we noted at the trailhead? They were here, and had taken over the perimeter of the lookout for their lunch break, which we tried to time our arrival so that they’d have some time alone before we arrived, and despite their magnitude we were able to set up on the side facing Baker for a quick lunch break ourselves. 

I have quite the fear of heights, especially with this particular lookout (the last time I did this trail I froze on the steps and took my proof photo before immediately climbing back down to the rocks) but was able to sit and enjoy the views this time, until at least 5-6 of the women from the group started hovering around us, leaving the other side of the lookout empty.

My fear of heights kicked in, concerned about our weight distribution, so my friend and I tried to go to the other side to look out at the valley but couldn’t because the other group left their gear and snacks sprawled out across the entire walkway. So we went back to the busy side and then waited to climb down behind the other ladies who also suddenly decided to leave at the same time.

Heading down was fast. We were hustling down and didn’t really run into any issues until we got back to the water crossing. The river was rushing a bit harder and deeper at this point in the day, so we took caution over the seasonal bridge but the real fun was at the first water crossing we did. That branch that was there in the morning was smashed in half, and the water was too deep and wide to safely jump or walk across.

My friends braved the wet rocks but I admittedly struggled for quite some time. Some other groups had shown up and were equally as puzzled, so I don’t feel too embarrassed to say it wasn’t a walk in the park to cross the water at midday.

I did finally head upstream about 25 feet from the trail (above the concrete block) and found a nicely angled rock that I did a run-jump combo to get across. The other groups saw me cross successfully and headed up there to do the same.

We made it back to the trailhead uneventfully and made one more stop in the bathrooms (which were fragrant but still had a little bit of toilet paper!) before heading back to the car.

This is such a beautiful hike but the elevation will get you! With our little extra walk to the edge of the parking lot we clocked a total closer to 9 miles round trip, though one of my watches died during the hike so I’m ballparking it.

If you come here - bring bug spray, sunscreen, and be ready for the last push at the end.

Parking lot was overflowing when we arrived at noon on Wednesday, but we found decent road parking. Gorgeous trail! The first mile-ish has so many ripe blueberries. Made our way to Railroad grade and found a lovely campsite with 360 views. There are a lot of camp sites along this trail and most of them were occupied. There are areas that are clearly marked “no camping” that folks were camping in - kind of disappointing to see especially when there were open, beautiful sites open. There is a nice creek just a short walk from the campsites for water. We visited the lookout tower around 10am on Thursday, pretty busy with visitors and the folks who stayed the night were still hanging out inside. Sunrise & sunset were unreal! Bugs normally don’t bug me, but dang, they were bad this trip. Mosquitoes, wasps, big black flies, small flies, you name it. Bring your bug spray! Overall, a lovely hike and we had a wonderful time spending a couple nights here.