We chose this hike because it’s length and it is rated good for kids and dogs. We loved that it got us into the foothills, But we expected to see more ruins and remnants than actually exist. So if you’re expecting to see a ghost town; you won’t. Also TURN LEFT at the coal car. If you veer right at the fork by the coal car you’ll follow a long wide gravely road that wraps around the hilltop but goes in the opposite direction of the mine shaft, cemetery and stunning mount rainier view. You’ll go miles in the wrong direction because there are no signs pointing you in the right way.
The parking lot had icy puddles and frozen frost. The “footpath” towards the mine shaft gets narrow and has many slick parts where leaves cover the trail and a few down trees to scramble over. But the “footpath” is up to the LEFT of the goal car.
It was a decent 3+ mile walk -since we went the wrong way for a while and had to double back. It was a gentle uphill 1/2 way there then it flattens & meanders. But once you near the cemetery it’s all grown over in blackberry bushes and there’s not much to see but a single file overgrown path with sticker bushes. There’s no large clearing and only a few gravestones visible but they’ve either been moved, removed or are hiding under black berries. Really not much to see at the cemetery so our kids were disappointed.
The mine shaft has a safety railing surrounding it and is covered by an iron grate to prevent onlookers from the 1,000 foot fall. That was neat to see and so were some of the exposed cable remains on the trail.
It was easy enough for our 4yo, and 8yo though the little one did end up riding on my shoulders a few times.
No bathrooms, No garbage cans, no cell service. Seems more like a path local kids hit up to smoke and graffiti. So if you’re into a more natural wander through the woods and a bit of an escape into nature I’d suggest a different trail.
But if you’re looking for a clear view of the mountain and this path has a simply gorgeous view of Mount Rainier.
Whoever maintains this land could really stand to cut the ivy and invasive species and blackberries because they’re covering a lot of the open spaces.
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