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 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
170 HikesAmerican Camp and South Beach
Puget Sound and Islands > San Juan Islands
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Length
- 2.7 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 167 feet
-
Highest Point
- 175 feet
Hike from the site of a historic military occupation down to South Beach, the longest public beach on San Juan Island. Wildlife abounds as guests often encounter red foxes and may see orcas in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge - Dungeness Spit
Olympic Peninsula > Northern Coast
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Length
- 11.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 130 feet
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Highest Point
- 130 feet
This narrow strip of land just east of Port Angeles in the Strait of Juan de Fuca is a gorgeous place to explore miles upon miles of sandy beach, spy shorebirds wheeling, and even get a little shot of greenery at the beginning and end of your trip. But remember, while the beach is usually a good place for dogs to get some exercise, this particular one is closed to pups, since it’s a National Wildlife Refuge.
Mount Finlayson
Puget Sound and Islands > San Juan Islands
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Length
- 3.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 408 feet
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Highest Point
- 290 feet
With expansive views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca contrasting with deep forest lagoons, the Mount Finlayson loop features the variety of ecosystems that San Juan Island offers in an easy and scenic trail. Options for shorter or longer routes make this a suitable destination for hikers of all ages.
Golden Gardens Park
Puget Sound and Islands > Seattle-Tacoma Area
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Length
- 2.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 300 feet
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Highest Point
- 300 feet
Seattle's Golden Gardens Park is best known for its wide sandy beach; on summer weekends, the large parking lot may be full and the beach crowded. Less well-known is the extensive trail system on the steep slopes east of the railroad tracks, constructed as a WPA project in the 1930s, with wide trails and stone staircases. Today, some of the stonework shows signs of age but the main trails still are well-maintained and in good condition.
Discovery Park Loop Trail
Puget Sound and Islands > Seattle-Tacoma Area
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Length
- 2.8 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 140 feet
-
Highest Point
- 325 feet
Seattle's Discovery Park Loop Trail is a designated National Recreation Trail, 2.8 miles long with an elevation change of just 140 feet. It passes through both forest and open meadows, offers extensive views, good prospects for bird watchers, and it can be hiked or jogged year-round.
Deception Pass State Park - Hoypus Point
Puget Sound and Islands > Whidbey Island
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Length
- 6.4 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 600 feet
-
Highest Point
- 400 feet
A great trail for solitude and a cloudy winter day, this is a forest walk, complete with old growth giants, mature alder and a green understory of sword ferns. A tree huggers hike! This loop will give you a nice variety of forest ecosystems.
Kettles Trail System
Puget Sound and Islands > Whidbey Island
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Length
- 35.0 miles of trails
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Highest Point
- 200 feet
Can't decide between walking along an ocean bluff with water stretched out for miles before you or wandering through forest under the drooping branches of moss-covered cedars? The Kettles Trail System on Whidbey Island offers you an opportunity to do both!
Carkeek Park
Puget Sound and Islands > Seattle-Tacoma Area
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Length
- 3.5 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 800 feet
-
Highest Point
- 240 feet
Explore forest trails along Piper's Creek and adjoining ridges. Visit a Puget Sound beach and enjoy great views across the Sound to the Olympics. In the fall, observe migrating salmon in the creek.
Rialto Beach and Hole-in-the-Wall
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
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Length
- 3.3 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 286 feet
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Highest Point
- 71 feet
Spend a day strolling the rugged Olympic Coast to dramatic sea stacks and natural wonders.
Deception Pass State Park - North Beach
Puget Sound and Islands > Bellingham Area
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Length
- 1.8 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 100 feet
A wooded hike from the West Beach area of Deception Pass State Park to the North Beach Parking area. Enjoy the numerous side trails to the wonderful beach and rock outcroppings along the way.
Deception Pass State Park - Goose Rock
Puget Sound and Islands > Whidbey Island
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Length
- 4.3 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 484 feet
-
Highest Point
- 484 feet
Deception Pass State Park is one of the most popular Washington state parks and it is easy to see why. There are beautiful beaches, mature woodlands, great views, lakes, and a beautifully built bridge high on rocks above two narrow waterways. This nice trail will take you through all of this.
Admiralty Inlet Natural Area Preserve
Puget Sound and Islands > Whidbey Island
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Length
- 2.3 miles of trails
This nature preserve represents the best of Washington all in one 86-acre parcel on the edge of Whidbey Island.
Willapa National Wildlife Refuge - Long Island
Southwest Washington > Long Beach Area
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Length
- 6.5 miles of trails
-
Elevation Gain
- 15 feet
-
Highest Point
- 5 feet
The Willapa National Wildlife Refuge is a haven of quiet in the southwest corner of Washington, just north of Astoria. Long Island is a section of the refuge that is especially quiet, since it's only accessible by boat.
Turtleback Mountain Preserve: Ship Peak Loop
Puget Sound and Islands > San Juan Islands
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Length
- 3.0 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 860 feet
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Highest Point
- 931 feet
Explore beautiful Turtleback Mountain Preserve and take in of the most breathtaking views on Orcas Island. Ship Peak, is a moderate loop full of views and a summit starting at the south end of the preserve.
Point Whitehorn Marine Reserve
Puget Sound and Islands > Bellingham Area
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Length
- 1.5 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 192 feet
-
Highest Point
- 157 feet
This hike boasts a great combination of wetland and sea shore. It is doable by hikers of all ages, and most of the trail is wheelchair accessible.
Camano Island State Park
Puget Sound and Islands > Bellingham Area
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Length
- 2.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 200 feet
-
Highest Point
- 200 feet
A fine little park with beach access, camping, a boat launch and trails. A popular park in the summer, this is a great place for a quiet off-season hike. On this loop trail, there are views, a forest walk, birding and beachcombing.
Breazeale Interpretive Center
Puget Sound and Islands > Bellingham Area
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Length
- 1.0 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 124 feet
-
Highest Point
- 165 feet
This family-friendly educational center features a short nature trail that will take you through forests and meadows. At low-tide, you can also explore down onto the beach via path away from the center and a spiral staircase.
Skagit Wildlife Area
Puget Sound and Islands > Bellingham Area
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Length
- 2.0 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 0 feet
-
Highest Point
- 0 feet
This area will be closed through November 2023.
Each year, from fall to spring, this area is a bird paradise, with snow geese and trumpeter and tundra swans overwintering in huge numbers. There are several access points in the wildlife refuge. The Headquarters area has a two mile trail and staff may be able to point you to other appropriate areas to visit.
Kukutali Preserve
Puget Sound and Islands > Bellingham Area
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Length
- 2.2 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 200 feet
-
Highest Point
- 230 feet
Thanks to a partnership between Washington State Parks and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Kukutali Preserve in Similk Bay near La Conner opened to the public on June 16, 2014. Believed to be the first park in the United States to be co-owned and managed by a tribe and another government, management of the area focuses on conservation and research, public education and limited recreational use — including hiking!
Chambers Bay Loop
Puget Sound and Islands > Seattle-Tacoma Area
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Length
- 3.25 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 315 feet
-
Highest Point
- 234 feet
This loop combines the Grandview Trail with the Soundview Trail to make 3.25 miles with some serious incline. Walk around the golf course at Chambers Creek Regional Park, and enjoy views of Chambers Bay and the vivid green grasses of the golf course.
Larry Scott Trail
Olympic Peninsula > Northern Coast
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Length
- 7.3 miles, one-way
-
Elevation Gain
- 641 feet
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Highest Point
- 270 feet
The Larry Scott Trail is a regional trail for hikers, bikers, and horseback riders that leaves from the waterfront in Port Townsend. It is also part of the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Point No Point Park
Olympic Peninsula > Kitsap Peninsula
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Length
- 2.0 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 100 feet
-
Highest Point
- 0 feet
The park is closed due to flooding until further notice.
The trail at Point No Point gives you both a glimpse into the past, as well as a bit of a workout and great views. With 3 acres in the Point No Point County Park and one hiking trail, the Point No Point lighthouse makes a great destination for visitors young and old.
Big Cedar Tree - Kalaloch
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
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Length
- 0.1 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 0 feet
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Highest Point
- 25 feet
This trail is a short one, just a few hundred feet from the parking area, but it takes you to one of the most easily-accessible, impressive giants of the west coast.
Olympic Discovery Trail
Olympic Peninsula > Northern Coast
-
Length
- 126.6 miles, one-way
A still-under-construction route along the north part of the Olympic Peninsula, the Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT) will eventually span nearly 130 miles and be usable by bikes, walkers, runners, strollers, and in some places, equestrians.
Squaxin Park (Priest Point)
Olympic Peninsula > Olympia
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Length
- 5.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 150 feet
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Highest Point
- 200 feet
With amenities aplenty, Squaxin Park (formerly Priest Point Park) serves a wide community of users. Take a picnic and explore its many nature trails, let your kids play on the playground, or simply relax and enjoy the surroundings.
Clallam Bay Spit Community Beach County Park
Olympic Peninsula > Northern Coast
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Length
- 1.2 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 10 feet
-
Highest Point
- 23 feet
Clallam Bay Spit Community Beach County Park is a unique, 1.2-mile stretch of shoreline 45 miles west of Port Angeles towards Neah Bay, perfect for stretching your legs, bird watching and beachcombing for ocean treasures. Quietly tucked into a curve on SR-112 as you enter the quaint town of Clallam Bay, it offers year-round restrooms and a dog-friendly place to picnic, walk and learn about local shipping history.
Striped Peak
Olympic Peninsula > Northern Coast
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Length
- 7.5 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 850 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,166 feet
Visit a multi-use trail to a summit that boasts coastal scenery, forests, rocky bluffs, tidepools, and a hearty climb to a 1,166-foot viewpoint over the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Ebey's Landing
Puget Sound and Islands > Whidbey Island
-
Length
- 5.6 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 260 feet
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Highest Point
- 260 feet
Perched on a bluff overlooking majestic Puget Sound is the unique acreage of Ebey’s Landing. In addition to the Bluff Trail, visitors can experience the seaport town of Coupeville, observe working farms, and get their fill of wildlife viewing, all in a tiny National Park on Whidbey Island.
Cape Disappointment State Park - Coastal Forest Loop
Southwest Washington > Long Beach Area
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Length
- 1.4 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 260 feet
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Highest Point
- 140 feet
Tucked off of Spur Road 100, the opposite direction from the Cape Disappointment State Park camping area, the Coastal Forest Loop offers a chance to experience the signature environment of this area in either a half mile or mile and a half loop. Be sure to snag the brochure offered at the park office with interpretive information corresponding to posts along the way.
Cape Disappointment State Park - North Head Lighthouse and Bell's Overlook
Southwest Washington > Long Beach Area
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Length
- 0.75 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 25 feet
-
Highest Point
- 200 feet
Take a couple of ADA-accessible trails to some of the most scenic parts of Cape Disappointment State Park.