A nice walk in Cougar Mt. Park to the Far Country Look Out for a snack and then back to the car. This is a short 3.5 mile walk with little elevation gain from the Red Town Parking Lot. The Far Country area is a quite part of the park with views toward Seattle. Trails were in good shape with no blow down or other obstructions. This part of the Cougar Mt. Park appears to have survived the recent wind stroms without damage.

Decided on a workout utilizing the trails listed for a loop of 5 - 6 miles. Parking lot at Red Town trailhead was 1/2 full. Took Wildside to Indian and then to Shy Bear. These trails were in excellent shape and the view from Far Country lookout was great. The fog moved in by the time I got to Freds RR and it was thick when I went up the East Fork trail. Fred's was in fair shape but East Fork was muddy and there were alot of blowdowns....not full trees but lots of branches. Then at Clay Pit, it was a sloppy muddy mess until I got down the road a little ways. The lower 3/4 of Clay Pit were fine and Military was in good shape. Bottom line = all trails are relatively good but, I think I know where I'll be doing some volunteer work this summer - East Fork!

I hadn't been to the Red Town side of Cougar Mountain for a few years and was surprised--dismayed--to see the enormous amount of development encrouching the park. But the area is still remarkably beautiful, and it provided a great spring hike. We started at the Red Town trailhead and followed the Wildside Trail to the Marshall Hill trail and took that up to DeLeo Wall through lovely dense forest. From DeLeo Wall we continued to Far Country Lookout where we ate lunch and enjoyed a fine view that even included the Olympics faintly in the distance. We continued to the Shy Bear Trail (which takes you through a particularly beautiful area with a long boardwalk to get you over a swampy section)to Fred's trail and then the Quarry trail, and finally to Cold Creek Falls. Although it was a sunny Sunday afternoon, there were only a few people at the Falls (which are quite wonderful at this time of year). I am impressed with the well-tended trails and the great trailsigns.