A warm and almost too hot day for a hike or even long walk. With temperatures in the 90's I opted for a shady walk in Cougar Mt. Park and was rewarded with taking a trail (boot path called the Wilderness Peak cut off) from the peak to the Wilderness Cliffs trail. There are some low land flowers still in bloom but the creeks are running low or are dry. Great news for people who hike the area in winter and encounter the mud and muck. No so great if you want to see Coal Creek Falls - not much water in the creek. Walk provided a moderate work out of about 5.5 miles plus 1000 feet of elevation gain/loss. Many people out on the trails but no one on the Wilderness Peak Cut Off Trail. This trail has a fair number of blow downs and steep to moderately steep sections. My guess is that the trail length is about 1/2 mile and drops about 300 to 400 feet from the peak. The trail is easy to follow with little trail finding skill required.

This was quite the popular destination on the 4th of July with an overfull parking lot. There were a lot of people on the trail but the Marshall's Hill Trail (W6) was far less crowded than the others. There are glimpses of nearby houses through the trees but nothing disturbing to the senses. The trails were all in great condition and well marked with one exception. Exiting the De Leo Wall viewpoint to the East there is a junction with a sign pointing back to the viewpoint and another up the hill labeled De Leo Wall C9. The straight ahead trail is not marked but that is the continuation of the De Leo Wall trail. So yes, we took the wrong direction and got a little extra hiking time in. And we were not the only ones as at least 4 other groups passed by us in 2 directions during the day. There are lots of great trail options in this park to enjoy.

1pm start, Mother's day, trails were busy. Trail was in good condition. Huge variety of trails, research your path in advance.

Steph was in Portland and BC only had half a day of school, so I picked him up and we headed to Cougar Mountain Park. It’s a nice little patch of ground considering how close it is to a major urban area. We decided we wanted to see Coal Creek Falls. The parking lot was fairly empty which meant we beat the rush. Yay for us! On all of our previous jaunts, I’d worn running shoes, so my hiking boots were very happy to hit the trail. BC wasn’t sure which way he and Steph had gone the year before, so we went the opposite way he thought. As we started up the gentle slope, flowers and wild roses started to appear. Just before the intersection of Red Town Trail and the Quarry Trail, there is a meadow restoration in progress. BC didn’t want to see it until he caught sight of the old, rickety bridge across the stream. Oh to be eleven again! We took a quick look around and snapped some shots of the wild flowers growing in and around the meadow. We hit the Quarry Trail and immediately saw giant rocks that formed a bit of a natural bridge. BC, being 11, was intent on exploring. But the curmudgeon in me was worried about weather and time, so we saved it for another day. Soon enough the trail started to get steep. The elevation gain here is about 450 feet in half a mile. Nothing major but it’ll surprise you if you aren’t prepared. More and different flowers started to show themselves through this part of the trail, along with some horse tracks. After a few switchbacks, the trail leveled out again and we were pretty sure we were approaching the intersection with the Coal Creek Falls Trail. We made a few left and right turns, jumped over a few banana slugs, and arrived at the next trail. This one headed down, and we could just hear the sound of the falls. The trail passed through what I’m pretty sure at some point was a meadow, either natural or man made, I can’t say. This little spot was full of wild roses! Hundreds of them, ten feet tall, all just starting to bloom. I’ve never seen so many roses in one spot. Steph asked me later if they can be raised from a clipping. Don’t know about that…will have to ask my green thumb friend. The trail heads down a slight slope and then makes a right along a steep slope. From here you can see Coal Creek. A few hundred feet further takes you to the falls. The falls are thirty or forty feet high with another four or five foot drop at the bottom. The base is easily and apparently frequently accessed from the trail. There is also an unofficial trail along the left side of the falls. That one looks a little unsafe for kids, though BC said he saw kids on it the last time he was here. We scrambled over some logs and rocks to the base and took a few pictures. Then it was time to head for the car. In all, we spent a hour and a half hiking two and a half miles on a trail less than ten miles from downtown Bellevue on a Wednesday afternoon. We saw tons of flowers, a pretty waterfall, three dogs, and four people. Pretty sweet if you ask me!

The trailhead is easy to find with plenty of room for several cars to park. The trailhead kiosk has a trail map posted and trail maps available to take on your hike or you can print one before you leave home. Visit: http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/inventory/cougar.aspx The advantages of this hike are the many options to take several different trails. Today the goal was to visit the falls. All intersections leading to the falls were well marked with trail names and distances. The trail was muddy in few spots but not a problem. This is a wonderful family hike. The trail is wide for a majority of the time, the trail is a short one way distance of 1.25 miles and upon reaching the falls you are rewarded with a surprisingly nice close up view of the small, yet three tiered, waterfall next to a bridge providing a picturesque sight.