Did this as a snowshoe in January, came back to try it as a hike two weeks ago. Both are challenging but great!
We parked on the west side of Salmon La Sac Road across from the fire station (47.289691, -121.095143) and walked north along the highway over Newport Creek to the trailhead (47.291631, -121.097889). I've had success using the Gaia GPS iOS app to track the route (screenshot attached).
The first half of the hike is on a wide dirt road that winds its way up the mountain until you get to the actual sign for the trail (47.30620, -121.08153). After that it's basically just following the narrow trail along the ridge line up to the summit.
Toward the top there are several fallen trees blocking the trail, but it was pretty easy to go over/around them. There were a couple of small snow patches remaining, but they've probably melted fully by now. The last 100 feet to the summit is loose gravel on a pretty steep slope, so... be careful?
Beautiful view of nearby peaks, the lake, and Rainier in the distance from the top on a clear day. There were few flies and ants at the summit, but they didn't give us much trouble. Only saw one other hiker on his way down right when we started. Really peaceful place--let's keep it that way.
Roundtrip distance: 7.3 miles
Elevation gain: 2500'
Moving time: 3h 24m
Total time: 4h 7m
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