This trail starts out going up and doesn't let up except for a few parts. This is a great trail for a hot day because you're under the canopy of the forest for quite a while until you get to the exposed area up top.

The trail is relatively easy until you get to the rocky part and that's at the exposed area once you come out of the forest.

The actual Goat Mountain which is an East and West Peak Peak, lie further up than the open area. WTA says its 8.2 miles and that is correct if you're just going to the open area. If you're going to the actual peaks they're going to add another 1.5 miles round trip depending on your route.

Overall this is a great hike with amazing views that will surely not disappoint and it's totally worth the elevation gain.

This is the trail to the fire lookout. Wanted to check out this abandoned trail because it makes for a slightly shorter hike.  It really is overgrown, but most of the time the trail is easy to see.  This trail could be completely recovered without using any power tools!  Most problematic are 1-2 inch vine maples or similar that have slipped down the side onto the trail.  There are several small stream crossings that get a bit tricky because the trail is narrow.  The trail really seemed to disappear at some rock outcroppings, so my dog and I climbed up there.  If this wasn’t the old lookout site, it sure would be a good one.  Not much of a view due to tall trees.  

Forest Rd 32 is in great shape up to the trailhead. 2 other cars when we got there around 9am Sunday morning. Trail is in great condition. Not really a runnable to trail as it steadily gain elevation at a good rate. Around mile 3.3 you come to a beautiful area that many people probably turn around at. The views of Mt Baker and Mt Shuksan were wonderful and the wild flowers are all blooming. We wanted to get to the true summit though and found the little path through some overgrowth that then continued up for another mile and a half or so. Parts of the trail were overgrown with grass, making it difficult to see your footing at times, and a few small washout areas that you just had to be careful of your footing on. It was well worth the quad burn to get to the top though and have 360 views of the Cascades. The trip down was still hard on the quads though as it is steep and some loose dirt. The flies started to come out as the day went on but no bug bites. No snow on the trail but still snow on the north facing sides once you look down from the peak. Some small streams along the way, but best to bring the water you need with you. We passed 3 other people along the way. From the summit, you could see Yellow Aster Butte's trailhead with 15-20 cars at it. Look forward to hiking/running that on a week day. We were back down to the car around 1pm. GPS had it as 9.3 miles and 4200ft elevation gain.

Only one other car in the lot at 9am. Trail is in great condition. Just be careful when walking through the overgrown areas where there could be hidden rocks or small holes in the trail. Nearly twisted my ankle. Saw the hole on the way up but not on the way down. The biting flies were ravenous! I was so glad I decided to wear long pants and a long shirt AND bring my bug net. It definitely made the hike so much more pleasant. There were a handful of water sources along the way. Views were fantastic at the lookout. Decided to turn around here since I was short on time. Wishing I had brought my dog with me -- this is a great hike for dogs.

This was a late afternoon hike.  Plenty of parking in the lot on a sunny, Saturday when starting after 3 pm. One of the best early-season hikes available with no snow and spectacular views from both the viewpoint (about 3.25 miles up) and the actual peak at trails end (4.5 miles up, false summit--West Goat Mountain). It is an excellent training hike with continuous up and significant elevation gain. The trail was in the best condition we’ve ever seen.  Trail is easy to follow to the first view point (about 3 miles) but a little more vague beyond where it’s more of a goat path to the summit (yes, a goat was spotted on Goat Mountain, wandering around below the summit where the trail ends).