Started at Sky Country Trailhead and made a loop to Coal Creek Falls using the tagged trails for a hike just over 3 miles.  We arrived at the trail head at around 11am.  There were a couple open parking spots, and many cars were parked in the horse trailer parking (but no horse trailers).  

Trails were in decent condition, but had a lot of loose rocks and very dusty because it hasn't rained in some time.  

The back part of the loop, near the falls was almost empty.  Most hikers were on other paths, or maybe we hit am lunchtime lull.  The falls were barely a trickle, which we assume was from a combination of the recent 100F+ weather a couple weeks ago and very dry conditions.  

Quarry Trail and Coal Creek Falls Trail were at the upper limits of elevation changes I can do, but I'm also a novice hiker.  

Definitely looking forward to hiking more of the Cougar Mountain trails in the future.  

Arrived at the Harvey Manning Trailhead at around 3:30pm. The parking lot was almost full. We let our kitten do some exploring in Radar Park then headed off down Shangri La. We ended up doing a loop by catching Coyote Creek, then Cave Hole to Coal Creek Falls trail. We circled back on Quarry to Fred's Railroad, Klondike Swamp, Lost Beagle, and Harvey Manning trails. The trails were pretty empty today, except for the crowds on Cave Hole and Coal Creek Falls, which was surprising given it was a beautiful Memorial Day holiday. Conditions right now are fantastic. The trails are near perfect. Lots of wildflowers and some berries just becoming ripe. The relaxing sound of birds chirping filled the air all day. Even saw a Red Pileated Woodpecker have a thorough go at a decaying stump on Coyote Creek trail. Only downside today was that there was only a trickle of water coming down Coal Creek Falls. Made it back to our car by 6:45pm. Lot was almost empty. Did a little over 7 miles with about 600 ft of elevation gain.

This hike is a fun and easy way to get outdoors. The waterfall was pretty but didn’t have that much water right now. Dogs loved this hike and had fun playing in the water. We passed a decent amount of people, some masked some not. It was a quick hike that still brought you to a serene and care free place. 

Found this loop from the Red Town Trailhead past 3 falls and a few view points. 7.5 miles x 1200 gain. Trails in good shape, not much mud. Plenty of ups and downs, occasionally steep. No leaves on the maples and alders so there was plenty of sun. Intersections are clearly signed. The falls are small but pretty. The trees have grown at the view points. But it was still a lovely day. People were using masks. All the dogs and their owners were great. On a sunny Saturday the parking filed up about 8:30.

This is a fun loop that I do somewhat regularly from my home in Talus. 

All of the trails in Cougar Mountain Regional Park and in Squak Mountain State Park are meticulously maintained, so this is a really awesome loop until you get to the Spider's Path, a short section of trail on property owned by the City of Issaquah. I'll highlight it in an attached photo. This section could really use some work. There are downed trees, a couple bridges which I prefer to leap over rather than trust my weight to, and, worst of all, pieces of rebar protruding from the earth in seemingly random places. If there is any way WTA could help this bit of trail, I would eagerly sign up for that work crew. :)