We decided to start at the Lakemont trailhead to hike to the waterfall before turning back. I would NOT suggest doing this for anyone in the next couple weeks. There are parts of the trail during the first mile that are extremely overgrown with blackberry bushes and you will request getting clothes snagged or scratched. Also, there is construction going on for the portion of the trail where you cross under Coal Creek Pkwy which is not marked as closed. The construction workers were nice enough to let us pass through their site but they said it wouldn't be open for a couple more weeks (my guess would be end of September). It was not very relaxing to be hiking the first mile while listening to the sounds of heavy machinery and construction going on. Once past the construction the trail was extremely pleasant. Well maintained (only one log down that required climbing/stepping over but it wasn't anything more than a step up and over) and not very busy. Almost every dog that we came across was off leash but well-behaved. I was slightly disappointed with the waterfall (it wasn't quite as powerful as the photo shown here) but it was still a great day spent outside with my dog and getting some exercise. This is a great easy-medium hike that does have a couple section of uphill gain to get the muscles burning. Just make sure you part at the Red Town trailhead.

Great day hike! We headed out in the morning & started our trek around 10:30am on a beautiful summer Sunday morning. We all wore hiking boots (which came in handy big time!). There were some areas where it was a bit steep, but not too intense. Everything was easy to navigate. Beautiful scenery too! Not much wildlife seen, saw a hawk being bugged by some crows, various songbirds (robins, etc. Though we mainly heard the birds but didn't see an abundance of them), a butterfly & some dragonflies. Primrose Trail was sadly closed, though according to the dates on it, what work was being done should have been done & the trail re-opened, but it wasn't so we missed out on some trails (which was disappointing). The trip back was rough (we are not seasoned, experienced hikers conditioned for intense trails) & the steep climbs up were tough, but we made it through with no incident! It made me realize that before tackling the bigger stuff (Little Si, Mount Si, Mailbox Peak, etc.) I need to work out & condition my legs & get them stronger! But all in all, very fun day hike, I highly recommend it to any nature lovers (but if you have young kids, do not do the full hike, it probably would not be good for them. I do not have kids so I don't really know but it didn't seem like something to bring small kids on). I hope to return in the fall, to see the trails in a different season! Hopefully more wildlife may appear :)

Beautiful hike, a little tougher than we expected plus it was 80+ degrees before we were half way thru the first leg. Not much wildlife but a chipmunk and birds. Nice warm up hike for Cougar and Si trails.

Coal Creek Trail is an easy hike that is very accessible. The Red Town trailhead is just off the Newcastle Golf Club Road. Just cross the street from the trailhead to access the Coal Creek Trail. You immediately descend into a wooded environment and hear the sound of water which will accompany you for most of the hike. At only a tenth of a mile in you’ll come to North Fork Falls which has its own observation area complete with two log benches. It’s a tranquil place that seems far away from the urban environment that is so close. The forested trail emerges to a graveled access road at 0.6 mile. Fortunately the gravel road ends at 0.8 mile and the forested trail resumes as it winds through at forested canyon. Here we saw a large owl perched in a tree. He called out, looked at us and flew to another perch. At 1.3 miles you cross an open tall grass meadow and then back into the forest to follow the stream drainage until the trail comes to the trailhead at Coal Creek Parkway. This trailhead is currently closed due to road construction. You’ll cross the creek with several bridges which adds to the interest of the hike. If you are looking for a very pleasant hike and some outdoor exercise without driving a great distance and traveling on forest service roads, this hike is a great choice. I took one virtual reality panorama of the lookout to North Fork Falls. Here is the link to view it in a pano viewer: North Fork Falls: https://www.360cities.net/image/north-fork-falls-coal-creek-newcastle-wa#0.00,0.00,70.0