We have been itching to see some fall colors, and Yellow Aster Butte delivered in spades. We arrived around 8am. Until about the last mile, the forest road is overall in quite good condition for any car to navigate, though definitely steep in sections. The last mile of driving which includes the cut across the avalanche slope had many more potholes and washboard sections, though I think if you're willing to drive slowly and carefully any car could make it (and cars of all clearance were parked at the trailhead when we were leaving). DaphneF's trip report from 9/23/25 also has a good summary of forest road conditions that aligns with our experience.
The elevation gain starts right from the trailhead and is quite steady for the first 1.5-2mi. I unfortunately forgot my poles which I would have found helpful.
Once getting out of the forest, the views to Mount Baker and Shuksan were striking. We were leapfrogging with a few others on the trail as we alternated picture stops, picking some of the **BEST mountain huckleberries** we have ever sampled, and rest breaks. With the views to be had, we were happy to move slow and everyone we saw was very happy to be out on the trail.
Honestly, more needs to be said about the blueberries. They were incredible and in such abundance. The first patches of berries you come across on the trail are smaller in size, but many higher up are so large and ripe they looked like small Hersheys kisses hanging off the bushes. Enjoy.
This trail really give such a special perspective of the Baker, Shuksan, and the border peaks. I don't think we actually went to the "official" summit of Yellow Aster Butte, but we did push to the top of the steep switchbacks which offered incredible 360 views. We saw two marmots here, and a third during our descent.
On our way down, we were glad to have rallied to arrive when we did, as there was a large bubble of people who must have all arrived and started hiking between 9-10am. Lots of backpackers!
In total, we logged around 8.5 miles and 2850" of elevation gain. On the day we hiked, the vault toilet at the trailhead was well-stocked with toilet paper but definitely had been hit hard (enough to need to hold your breath) between when we started hiking and arrived back at the trailhead around 1:30pm.
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