North Mountain Lookout — Monday, Dec. 28, 2020

I highly recommend this snowshoe trail for the jaw dropping 360 degree view of Glacier Peak, the Olympics, Mt Baker, Mt Shukan and the N. Cascades.  Definitely only do this trail on a cloudless day.

When you turn onto road 2810, look at your odometer. It is 12 miles to the gate where the trailhead begins.  Our Subaru Outback with AWD made it 11.5 miles before we had to pullover and park because the snow was too high. Spots to pull over and park on the road side are few and far between. So park your car before it gets stuck and you have to back up down the hill. Come prepared with chains, a shovel and other tools to dig out your car in case you get stuck.

There are significant potholes on the road. This is an active logging area and we had to pull over on the narrow road to let 2 logging trucks pass. Fortunately, the clear cuts are not visible from the road or the trail.

The hike from the trailhead to the lookout is 2.5 miles round trip.  So if you have to park 1 mile below the trail head, for example, your round trip distance will still be just 3.5 miles.  The road is pleasant to walk on because the views are stunning. Carry your snowshoes until you get to the trailhead. 

The next time I do this snowshoe I would like to make it a loop by walking through the forest on the mountain bike trail on the way up and walk down the road on the way down. I do not know if the trail is signed well enough to follow in the snow. When you are at the gate, look to your far right by the forest and you will see a sign with a trail map to show you the way.

It took us 1.5 hours to hike up 1.75 miles and 1 hour to hike down. The 600 foot ascent was easy.

We got some 'sledding' in by scrambling up the short, steep hillside on the right side of the road and sliding on our butts using the slickness of our Goretex pants.

For current road conditions, call the Darrington Ranger Station (360) 436-1155. The very helpful ranger told me about the hike and shared a recent hiker's trip report.  Also look at the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Road and Trail Conditions web site for Road 2810 North Mtn. The map shows you where the snow is on the road and how many miles of the road has snow on it. Go to https://usfs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=2f5351d70b0d4ed9b13d372e9d109fcb