Hiking Guide
WTA's hiking guide is the most comprehensive database of hikes in Washington, and comprises content written by local hiking experts and user submitted information. All data is vetted by WTA staff. This resource is made possible by the donations of WTA members.
We respectfully acknowledge the lands we are visiting are the homelands of Indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest, some of whom have reserved treaty rights on these lands. Tribes continue to rely on and share in the management of these lands today. Please tread gently and treat these places with respect.
Results List
3947 HikesNorth Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
10.4 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 4870 ft.
Highest Point: 5985 ft.
Rating:
The mountainous views that once inspired beatnik poets continue to inspire modern-day hikers who take on this strenuous yet rewarding challenge.
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
7.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1650 ft.
Highest Point: 5275 ft.
Rating:
Walk a very pleasant and well-graded trail through old- and new-growth forest. After a moderate elevation gain, the forest opens into meadowlands filled with wildflowers after the snow melts. A pair of shallow but pretty lakes, with a rocky ridge as a backdrop, completes the scene.
North Cascades > Mount Baker Area
10.3 miles, one-way
Rating:
This multi-use trail meanders through mature forest to connect with the Boundary Way trail to expansive views of the North Cascades and Mount Baker.
North Cascades > Mount Baker Area
5.6 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1500 ft.
Highest Point: 5699 ft.
Rating:
Disregarding the apocryphal stories about their name, the Damfino Lakes are noteworthy only to distinguish this route from two other routes. The lakes pale in comparison to these magnificent destinations: Excelsior Pass, the High Divide, and Excelsior Peak.
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
7.7 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1700 ft.
Highest Point: 6800 ft.
Rating:
Here's a hike that takes you through a stark landscape to a stunningly lush one. Berkeley Park is a flower-filled utopia where creeks chatter, pikas squeak, marmots lounge, and you can soak it all in just a few miles from the Sunrise Visitor Center.
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
4.2 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1200 ft.
Highest Point: 5500 ft.
Rating:
A popular trail with great views of the Sauk and Skagit river valleys, Cascade mountain peaks, and on a good clear day, the Olympics and San Juan Islands. There will also be plenty of wildflowers to please photographers and hiking plant nerds alike.
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
8.0 miles, one-way
Gain: 3800 ft.
Highest Point: 6700 ft.
Rating:
This trail features ridgetop views and numerous steep switchbacks through forest and open meadows. Beginning at the Blackpine Trailhead, it climbs through second-growth forest to wide open views of the Icicle Ridge area and ends at the Snowall-Cradle Lake trail.
Snoqualmie Region > Salmon La Sac/Teanaway
22.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 700 ft.
Highest Point: 3100 ft.
Rating:
Beginning from the heart of Salmon La Sac and terminating at the Pacific Crest Trail, the Waptus River trail offers miles of hiking through dry, open forest and beautiful lakes in the Alpine Lakes wilderness then a little bit of a climb before arriving at the iconic trail high on a ridgeline in the Central Cascades.
Puget Sound and Islands > San Juan Islands
0.9 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 286 ft.
Highest Point: 112 ft.
Rating:
Reachable only by boat, Turn Island is a small island off the east side of San Juan Island, near Friday Harbor. This loop trail offers visitors the opportunity to hike the perimeter of the island.
Puget Sound and Islands > Bellingham Area
2.6 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 640 ft.
Highest Point: 540 ft.
Rating:
Take a short hike to a pleasant waterfall tucked away on the northeast corner of Larrabee State Park.
South Cascades > Mount Adams Area
7.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1600 ft.
Highest Point: 5250 ft.
Rating:
Just a half mile off the Lemei Lake Trail is a gorgeous blue lake nestled in an old volcanic crater. Surrounded by trees, this is a sheltered refuge perfect for an overnight in Indian Heaven.
Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
8.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1700 ft.
Highest Point: 6500 ft.
Rating:
Since getting to the trailhead involves a significant drive on gravel road, this hike sees fewer boots than trails leaving from Paradise and Sunrise. Spray Falls is attainable by most day hikers, but the gain up to Spray Park is a good test of your fitness level! Your reward on a clear day will be views, views, views of Echo Rock, Observation Rock and Mount Rainier.
Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass
6.5 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 2420 ft.
Highest Point: 4320 ft.
Rating:
Sun drenched ridgelines, blooming trillium, and sparkling alpine waters define this fitting tribute to one of Washington’s greatest trail advocates.
North Cascades > Mount Baker Area
9.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1800 ft.
Highest Point: 6100 ft.
Rating:
Rarely can hikers approach a climbers’ realm so easily, with minimal elevation gain, and enjoy beautiful views all along the way.
Central Cascades > Entiat Mountains/Lake Chelan
8.9 miles, one-way
Gain: 5650 ft.
Highest Point: 6715 ft.
Rating:
Fish Creek connects the shore of Lake Chelan with the Chelan Summit Trail to the east.
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
15.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 4200 ft.
Highest Point: 6854 ft.
Rating:
A very challenging hike to a lookout in the Mountain Loop Area. Hike a road, then along a trail to gorgeous Goat Flats. From there, the route kicks up in difficulty as it accesses Tin Can Gap. The final push, up ladders rebarred into rock is exposed, and surefootedness is an absolute must at the lookout.
Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area
5.6 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1585 ft.
Highest Point: 2370 ft.
Rating:
You'll work up a sweat on this easy to moderate hike to the spectacular Teneriffe Falls. Go in the spring when the tread is snow-free and the waterfall is flowing at full volume. Along the way, you'll be rewarded with views of the surrounding Snoqualmie valley and nearby peaks.
Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area
13.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 3800 ft.
Highest Point: 4585 ft.
Rating:
Mountains to Sound Greenway did this road to trail conversion in order to create a more sustainable, safer route for hikers to a summit on the I-90 corridor. Hike through second- and third-growth forest, pass a lovely waterfall, and enjoy a slightly less-crowded trail than the nearby Mount Si.
Snoqualmie Region > Salmon La Sac/Teanaway
2.4 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 476 ft.
Highest Point: 3586 ft.
Rating:
The trail to Stirrup Lake is a road less traveled and a moderate hike through second-growth forest to a serene alpine lake tucked between Big Muffin and Meadow Mountain, paying tremendous dividends for lovers of huckleberries, wildflowers, and riparian fauna.
Southwest Washington > Lewis River Region
24.75 miles, roundtrip
Highest Point: 4120 ft.
Rating:
The Tarbell trail is a 24.75 mile loop that connects recreation sites and scenic viewpoints in the Yacolt Burn Recreation area.
Southwest Washington > Vancouver Area
3.0 miles, one-way
Gain: 850 ft.
Rating:
A connector trail that goes from the west side of the 25-mile Tarbell Trail Loop to the east side and one of the latest of the Department of National Resources (DNR) trail projects in the historic Yacolt Burn State Forest of southwest Washington.
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East
16.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 3500 ft.
Highest Point: 5600 ft.
Rating:
Trail closed: Wildfire
This is a great weekend backpacking trip for wildflower lovers. Miles of wildflowers along Meander Meadow and Cady Ridge will delight the hiker who passes through during July and August. Fantastic views of the Cascades, Glacier Peak and plunging valleys add to the allure, and it's all packaged up in a 16-mile loop.
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East
14.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 3015 ft.
Highest Point: 5551 ft.
Rating:
Trail closed: Wildfire
When it comes to resplendent alpine meadows, the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness can't be beat. And when it comes to the finest flower romps within that wild area named for the longtime Washington senator and champion of conservation, Cady Ridge ranks supreme. A multitude of blossoms proliferate along this mile-high ridge. But it's the lupines that dominate, transforming Cady into a purple mountain majesty. And views! From the inspiring Poet Peaks, to the emerald-cloaked summits along the Cascade crest, to cloud-piercing, snow-catching, ice-harboring, horizon-dominating Glacier Peak!
North Cascades > Methow/Sawtooth
5.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1900 ft.
Highest Point: 5350 ft.
Rating:
Wander up this desolate wilderness valley upon a long forgotten trail. A cascading waterfall, and a steep, gravelly trail may be your only friend. Access to this trail is via the well maintained, Robinson Creek Trail.
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East
6.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 3000 ft.
Highest Point: 6015 ft.
Rating:
Trail closed: Wildfire
Three thousand feet in three miles make the Little Wenatchee a substantial albeit relatively short hike for exercise provided. The trail was the primary supply route to the old Poe Mountain lookout, and like many lookout access trails wastes no time in getting to the top. But it is well built, switchbacking up the hill. The first two-thirds of the hike are in light tree cover, so the views come as a surprise when you get to them.
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East
5.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1800 ft.
Highest Point: 6015 ft.
Rating:
Trail closed: Wildfire
One of about six former lookout sites in the Stevens Pass area, Poe Mountain boasts two different trails to the summit; the original steep supply route to the retired fire lookout via a trail rising from the Little Wenatchee Falls campground, and the more moderate trail via the Irving Pass Trail. Irving Pass is the recommended route, since you spend a significant amount of the hike on the ridge with awesome views both north and south.
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East
12.5 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1980 ft.
Highest Point: 4992 ft.
Rating:
Trail closed: Wildfire
Follow the Little Wenatchee River all the way to its headwaters high on the Cascade crest. From mile-high, miles-long alpine meadows, the river meanders. And so will you upon reaching these heavenly flower gardens. The hike in is a long approach and is warm at times across brushy avalanche slopes, but it is worth every ounce of sweat expended and every annoying fly swatted.
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
7.2 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 2000 ft.
Highest Point: 6650 ft.
Rating:
If ever there was a hike to satisfy all a hiker's desires, this one comes as close as any. A loop hike with many fabulous changing faces throughout the seasons, Heather-Maple Pass features ridgelines blanketed in wildflowers in summer, lakes ringed with golden larches in fall, and before the highway closes for the season, a dramatic place to experience early winter’s snows.
Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass
8.6 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 3800 ft.
Highest Point: 5629 ft.
Rating:
The astounding views from the summit of the Granite Mountain trail come at a price. A nearly-1000-feet-of-elevation-gain-per-mile price. But views of pointed Kaleetan Peak, deep blue Crystal Lake, the climber-dotted Tooth, and Mount Rainier dominating the skyline to the south make it all worth it.
Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise
5.25 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1550 ft.
Highest Point: 5800 ft.
Rating:
Explore this loop that begins and ends at the popular Paradise Ranger Station on Mount Rainier. Hike a little more than five miles around and through a myriad of delightful lakes at the base of Washington's tallest volcano.