Old Sauk River Trail — Sunday, Jul. 27, 2014

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

We hiked about a 2-mile portion of the Old Sauk River Trail and thoroughly enjoyed it. The trail is in good shape and the kids with us (ranging in age from 2-11) had no problems at all. This is truly a peaceful walk through the forest. The only real noise is from the rushing water of the river just beside you. The forest is covered in moss and it's beautiful. As for the river itself, we found a spot to wade in and across the rocks. We saw rafting trips floating by and though the river was moving too fast for any swimming we had a good time getting our feet wet, albeit cold. There is very little elevation gain on the trail and it was a relatively easy walk. This is a hike we'll definitely do again. One thing to note if coming from the north (Darrington) is that the first trailhead does not have a sign. You pass a campground on the left and then the next small parking lot is a trailhead for the Old Sauk River Trail. There is another trailhead a couple of miles further south that is much more develiped. It has a sign, paved parking lot, and a bathroom. We may try starting there the next time and experience a different section of the trail.