I hiked High Rock on June 12th. Left Seattle at 12:00 AM and arrived at the trailhead around 2:35 AM. The road up is in rough shape—worse than I remember from past years. While most cars can make it, take it slow. The potholes are deep and clumped together. There’s also a tree down, but someone cleared a path around it, so it’s passable.
We started hiking at 2:45 AM. Sunrise was at 5:14 AM, so we had plenty of time. The trail is short but steep in parts. This was my sixth time doing this hike—if you're prepared, you can summit in under 1 hour and 15 minutes.
There are a few downed trees: one at the beginning (with a shortcut around it), another near the top you’ll have to go around, and a few others just off to the side. We reached the summit at 4:35 AM, just in time for an incredible sunrise. Clear views of Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and of course, Tahoma (Rainier).
When we got to the platform, two young adults were camping on the lookout platform with a tent and chairs and acted annoyed that people were walking around. Just to be clear: camping on the platform is not allowed due to lack of a lightning protection system, or along the trail itself. Please don’t be that guy and pitch a tent anyway—that’s how nice things are taken away!
If you're planning a sunrise hike, you can camp near the trailhead or in designated campsites in the surrounding forest, but not at the lookout or along the trail.
We started heading down at 6:00 AM and reached the car at 6:52 AM.
Comments
abhishes on High Rock
Stunning photos. Thanks for the trip report.
Posted by:
abhishes on Jun 13, 2025 12:16 PM