Taking the littles out to discover that the Lester Ghost town was now closed we found the trails around these falls.  But this time of the year they were dried up.  It was still a beautiful day and easy hike.  we ended up walking around 5 miles along the various trails.

Our group of senior hikers in their 60's, 70's and 80' did a hike at Cougar Mtn. Regional Wildland Park. We started the hike from the Sky Country Trailhead and walked through the former US Army Nike missile base. The base was used back in the 1960's with anti-aircraft missiles in case the USSR was coming into to Seattle with Bear bombers. After the base closed, the property went to the Issaquah School District. They brought in portables in the late 1960's for an elementary school, but was only used for one school year, then the property was sold to King County Parks. We hiked out the Old Man's Trail, then up the Coyote Creek Trail, then over to the Lost Beagle Trail. From Anti-Aircraft Peak we went south on the Anti-Aircraft Ridge Trail to Cougar Pass. We hiked down to the Klondike Swamp Trail and out to the Clay Pit Road. There is a sign board with photos telling the history of logging on Cougar Mtn. After crossing the road we went south on Fred's RR Trail to the junction with the Quarry Trail. This trail heads downhill to meet the Coal Creek Falls Trail. We stopped at the "falls" for lunch with no water running. There is a bridge across the now dry creek while the trail continues out to the Cave Hole Trail. Following this trail down hill we then took the connector trail passed the Red Town dam site. Not to much left of the old dam on an unnamed creek. As you walk across the foot bridge the water would have been above your head. We then hiked up hill on the Military Road Trail/Sky County Trail back to the parking lot to complete our loop of 7 miles with 950' of elevation gain.

We met a few other hikers and trail runners. No big crowds on this hike. The trails we hiked were in good shape.

First of all, i have to admit that i had high expectations of this hike. I randomly came upon the trail when zooming in on google maps. And when i searched for images i was like, yeah, we gotta go there! It turns out there are Coal Creek Falls in Nee Zealand too, so those pictures i saw where not from WA but NZ :D

But regardless, it was a good hike, hidden trail, not far from residential area. But you feel like you are far out in mountains. 

I hiked to Coal Creek Falls with a friend and a 3-year-old. He loved the hike and he was looking forward to seeing the falls. However, when we got there the falls were dried out and there was only very little water flowing down the stream. (It was later at home that i found out about my NZ vs WA Coal Creek Falls mess up)

THe total round triptook us almost 2 hrs because we were walking at very leisurely pace and just enjoyed the nature. The trail is not busy at all, and there are other trails that branch out and connect with one another. Just make sure to have a map on hand because the trails can get confusing. 

This is a super easy hike, and a great choice if you are doing it with young children or people new to hiking. I did this with my dogs and we hiked for about an hour and a half, choosing our paths as we went along. Take a trail map at the trailhead because the paths all run into each other, and it would be easy to get lost or confused if you didn't know the area well. You can customize your day of hiking basically for as long as you want it to be based on the paths you choose and routes you take, which is nice. 

Well maintained, mostly flat, family and dog friendly trail. Stream bed was mostly dry throughout with two waterfalls still flowing a thin stream. Saw several joggers, dogs and a few families with kids. Easy hike for any age with bridges and stairs scattered throughout the beginning of the hike as well as ripe blackberries here and there.  The woods reminded me of a combination of Ravenna park in Seattle and the woods out on Vashon's Maury Island.