My 3rd hike of the fall season to Cougar Mtn was a great one. After weeks of mostly gray skies and rain it felt great to have blue skies overhead all day.  We started from the Redtown trailhead at 9:00.  The lot was half full and the 2 porta potties had recently been serviced when we pulled in.  We made a 7.5 mile route following Military Rd, Sky Country, Old Man’s, Cave Hole, By Pass, Freed’s RR, East Fork, Tibbett’s Marsh, Cougar Pass, Harvey Manning, Lost Beagle, Klondike Swamp, Coyote Creek, and Cave Hole Trails back to the Redtown TH.  All the trails are saturated well drained soil.  KC Parks were out working on several trails.  They had service trucks and other equipment parked on the Cave Hole and Redtown trails.  We passed several larger groups from dog walking groups to organized cancer survivor hiking groups.  For the most part the trails seemed uncrowded.  I like this time of year when most of the deciduous trees have lost their leaves and skies views are more prevalent. A few fun fall mushrooms and fungi are sprouting up.  Wildlife sightings were limited to bush tits, wrens, juncos and robins.  Folks were pulling when we drove out at 1:35.  Another amazing day out in nature with friends.

Trail is damp after rain, but no mud. Great condition. A few small holes that are easily avoidable and the occasional small root sticking out. Lush green ferny landscape with lots of mossy trees. 

Arrived at 12 pm, plenty of parking, and saw only 1 other person on the trail. 

Support Washington Trails Association. #Hikeathon.

Quick stroll around Cougar Mountain on a lovely day. Headed to the Sky Country trailhead around 11am on a Saturday and though we grabbed the last spot in the car lot, there was plenty of parking in the RV (?) lot and many folks coming and going. 

The trails were in good condition with many folks and families enjoying the nice, summer weather. Check out the MaoVador's trip report to see the trails we covered.

Our ultimate goal was the Million Dollar view. The vegetation is growing fast and the view is close to being obscured. Check it out before it's gone!

Stats: 4.83 miles, 623 elevation gain, 1 hour 28 minutes, 3.3 mph average moving speed.

Hit up the Cougar Mountain area for a quick walkabout before heading to a concert in the evening.

Started at the Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park trailhead and headed out on the Nike Horse trail to the field that was once Nike Site S-20 before connecting with the Cave Hole trail. 

We totally missed the small cave holes due to all the underbrush, but didn't realize until we were on the By Pass trail, so we didn't go back to look for them. Kept following the trails with our ultimate destination of the Million Dollar Pergola. 

Made it there pretty quickly as all the trails are very well maintained, before doing the customer stop at the "summit" of Cougar Mountain, before taking Shangri-La and Coyote Creek back to the trailhead.

Overall: 4.83 miles, 623' vertical, 1:41:26 total time with breaks

On a beautiful, cool Sunday, Cougar Mountain pleasantly lacked the crowds of the more popular hikes. Right now, the edges of the trails are full of wildflowers, especially bleeding hearts. Enjoy them before they get mowed by King County Parks.