I headed to the Red Town Trailhead for a quick after-work hike. There were about a dozen other cars in the parking lot when I got there around 4 p.m. on Monday. 

I ended up doing a figure-eight loop. I started on the Bagley Seam Trail out of the parking lot (because it's flat), stopped at the Ford Slope Mine, and then went uphill on the Rainbow Town Trail. I turned right onto the Red Town Trail and headed down to the meadow restoration project. I had the bench there to myself. I was going to head down the Indian Trail, but I heard someone making a weird noise and didn't want to find out what it was about. Instead, I went down Marshall's Hill Trail and back to the parking lot via the Wildside Trail (no stop at DeLeo Wall) and Rainbow Town to Red Town. I stopped at the Steam Hoist viewpoint on my way out. It ended up being about 2.5 miles and taking an hour. 

The trails are all in good condition with only a few muddy spots. I saw fewer than five other people/dogs while I was out (including the noise-maker). The leaves are just starting to turn yellow and fall, so it is a beautiful time to visit!

Beginner hiker here. Trail was dry and accessible. The De Leo Wall section later on has steep moments. Not much of a view but the sun shined through the trees.

Basic walk in the forest. Nothing to write home about. Trail is in good condition.

After a hiking friend mentioned the chocolate lilies were blooming on Cougar Mountain I just had to go check them out.  The weather forecast was rain starting early afternoon so we decided to take a short hike from the Ballybunion Trailhead in the Terrace Neighborhood.  It was overcast skies and 39 degrees when we started at 9:45.  Our 2.4 mile route followed Crosstown East, Right on Lower DeLeo Wall to the Viewpoint and then completed the loop back to Marshall Hill trail and reconnecting with Crosstown trail. Cougar Mountain Park is indeed alive with wildflowers blooming.  We saw Oregon grape, chocolate lilies, yellow Douglas violets, fawn lilies and currant. It was disappointing to see the small patch of chocolate lilies had half the buds nipped off … animal or humans?   I assume miners lettuce and bleeding heart are also out just not on the trails we followed in an attempt to beat the rain.  Trail traffic was super light we passed 3 other small groups on the DeLeo Wall trail.  The rain started falling and wouldn’t let up so no further exploring today.  Another fantastic day out in nature.

Cinder Mine Trailhead -> Coal Creek Trail -> China Creek Trail -> Rainbow Town Trail -> Wildside Trail -> Marshall's Hill Trail -> De Leo Wall Viewpoint -> Indian Trail -> Quarry Trail -> Coal Creek Falls Trail -> Cave Hole Trail -> Red Town Trailhead -> Coal Creek Trail to Cinder Mine Trailhead

Parked at Cinder Mine Trailhead at 2:30. There were a lot of cars parked on the road, but I got a spot in the lot after someone left.

Followed the Coal Creek Trail to the Red Town Trail. From there, made my way to the De Leo Wall Viewpoint. You can get a better view of Rainier by going farther along the trail to the northwest of the viewpoint (or approaching from that direction). I'd been to De Leo Wall on the Wildside Trail before and didn't think the view of Rainier was that great, but taking the Marshall's Hill Trail instead changed my mind. The trail was dry and in good condition.

I looped back toward the parking lot and stopped at Coal Creek Falls. It was pretty steep after a mostly flat hike, but worth the stop.

I clocked 7.15 miles in just over 2.5 hours.

#LoveLocalTrails

First. Don’t use the google maps link in the post. It takes you to the wrong place. Map yourself to the Red Town Trailhead but note that the bridge is closed from the Cedar Mine side. We ended up parking at the Cedar Mine trailhead which adds half a mile each way. The descriptions in the post are very accurate and the trails are well marked. The map link in the post is only for the de Leo trail wall itself, I think. We made a loop up the wildside trail to de Leo wall and back to Wildside. Trail was wide and dry. New real views through the trees. We did not go to the viewpoint.