Davis Peak

Davis Peak is a challenging hike with a big payoff: a 360-degree panorama of more than 10 Cascades peaks.

The climb to Davis Peak begins with a short jaunt across a sturdy bridge spanning the Cle Elum River before ascending steadily up the mountain. The well maintained trail climbs through a variety of landscapes: old-growth, meadows, recovering burn zones and open ridgelines. As engaging as the trail is, it is almost overwhelmed by one defining characteristic—its seemingly endless series of tight switchbacks.

Around the 2-mile mark, you’ll reach the edge of the burn zone and the last of the tree cover. Continue onward and upward through rocky terrain to the first ridgeline. From here a false summit can lure hikers off the main trail. Keep an eye on the trail. If it suddenly turns into a rocky scramble, you’ve gone too far. Backtrack to rejoin the main trail as it drops to the northwest, off the ridge and down into a bowl. The route traverses across the bowl and a snow-fed creek before switchbacking up to the next ridgeline.

Once you gain the ridge, look around for a short side trail to the grassy meadow that is a former lookout site. After checking out what is left of the lookout’s foundation, push up the last 0.5 mile to the summit. From here the views are enormous: Terrance and Opal Lakes, Goat Mountain, Mount Daniel, Mount Hinman, Mount Stuart, Hawkins Mountain, Jolly Mountain, Sasse Mountain, Red Mountain, Lemah Mountain, Chikamin Peak, and Mount Adams.