I did the Heybrook Lookout hike yesterday, but I started from the Heybrook Ridge County Park, which is near Index. I wanted a longer hike rather than going from the more popular trailhead off Hwy 2. I did a total of about 6.65 miles roundtrip in about 3 hours. Total elevation gain of 1,738 ft, and highest elevation reached was 1,807 ft.
There was plenty of parking when I arrived around 9:30 a.m. Heads up: There was ice on Index-Galena Rd near the s-turn by the railroad track right before Index, turning into the county park parking lot, and in the parking lot. So, be careful on your way here if you’re coming on an early winter morning.
The trail was in good condition. There were a few wet spots here and there. But for the most part, the trail was in great shape.
There were 4 or 5 downed trees between 0.50 and 0.75 miles, which someone was nice enough to come up with a chainsaw and cut through recently, because the smell of fresh cut wood was still in the air. Thanks for the trail volunteer folks for that! During the rest of the hike, there were about another 6 to 8 trees that had fallen over the trail. I either had to step over them or crouch under, but there were no real problems.
The first lookout at the 1.66 mile marker is a beautiful view of the Bridal Veil Falls. If you continue following the power line trail, you’ll get to another great view looking down into the South Fork Skykomish river valley and you can see Canyon Falls down in the river.
If you continue following the power lines trail to get to the Heybrook Lookout, the trail gets a little overgrown at about 2.5 miles, but not bad. Around the 3-mile mark, the trail will cut off from under the power lines and into the woods. It's also a little overgrown, but it was easy enough to see. Continue a short distance and you'll connect to the main Heybrook Lookout Trail and make it the rest of the way up to the lookout. Make a mental note of where the power line trail connects with the main Heybrook Lookout Trail – it’s not well-marked so you don’t want to miss it on your return.
Enjoy your time at the lookout. It's a popular, family-friendly hike, so you're going to be sharing the main trail and the lookout with other people. I was there on a holiday and lookout trail and lookout was being enjoyed by quite a few people and families who were, like me, enjoying the beautiful sunny winter day.
Using the Heybrook Ridge County Park parking lot made it a longer hike and gave me some solitude in the woods, avoiding some of the crowds who use the trailhead on Hwy 2. It's great trail and hope you go out and enjoy it!
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