Road: typical forest road with navigable potholes. I’d say only the last quarter mile is where it got dicey but I managed in my CR-V. On the way down I noticed a sedan had pulled off instead of going all the way to the lot.

Bugs: were awful as soon as we got out of the car. I wished I had already put on my boots and sunscreen because having to do that while being swarmed was almost unbearable. Was better once we got moving.

Bathroom: pit toilet in an A frame right by the trailhead. There were signs posted recommending not to use it since it is not maintained but I thought it was fine, I’ve used much worse trailhead bathrooms. No TP though so pack your own.

Trail: wildflowers in full bloom right now, along the entire trail. Most of the gain is made on the switchbacks in the first mile, then the trail starts to gently meander to the other side of the mountain. Sun exposure the entire way. I clocked only 3.6 miles for this hike on my garmin.

Camped on the ridge just below Sauk Mt's summit on July 30-31st in hopes of seeing the aurora dance.

ROAD to the trailhead was mostly in good shape until you get closer to the end, where there were some rough and rocky sections that a low-clearance car might want to take cautiously. There was an A-Frame outhouse just at the start of the trail, although I didn't check it out.

TRAIL was in good shape through wildflowers galore, with many gentle switchbacks (please don't cut them!) and a few rocky spots to gain the ridge. It got a little rockier and steeper as we approached the old lookout site. 

We spotted marmots and pikas amongst the rocks. Bugs were annoying as we sat up top for sunset. A snafflehound (bushy-tailed wood rat?) tried to chew on our shoes and trekking poles at night, until we brought everything into the tent.

No water sources on this hike, so we carried up what we needed.

The aurora was shy, sadly - she showed up on my camera but was not visible to the naked eye.

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We arrived at the trail head around 7am. Several spots available. The drive to Sauk wasn’t nearly as terrible as described in other reviews.  Most places you can drive around or over most potholes/ruts. Driving speed limit we never bottomed out. Regular sedans can park within 500’ of parking lot. Last little bit is a little bumpy.

The switch backs are long and gentle. On a couple of turns I needed to pull myself up.  Not to difficult for a 66 year old, 240lb young senior. The wild flowers are in full bloom. My wife delightfully rattled off the names, and enjoyed taking dozens of pictures as I was attacked by millions of killer mosquitoes and demon biting flies, lol. Just kidding about the insects. Used bug spray before the start of the hike and bugs not a problem. The views are truly amazing.  We had a clear day, so peaks were stunning.  Used the Peak App to get the names of the distant mountains. That was fun. At the top you are now able to take it all in. We enjoyed Sauk Mountain and I think you will too.  

This hike features big payoff in views for a relatively short, but not easy, hike. My Garmin logged 3.8 miles and 1450 ft of ascent.  We also had lots of wildflowers to look at during the climb to the simmit.

The road has its rough patches, but any car should be able to make it to the trailhead. At 10 AM, there were still a few spots at the trailhead.  The A-frame privy was stocked with TP when we arrived. The views over the Skagit River valley from the trailhead are very nice.

The trail features lots of switchbacks during the first 1.5 miles. Some of the turns require a step up on rocks.  Fortunately the views are ever improving as you ascend. Once you round the shoulder of the mountain, there are views to the north. There was a small snow patch in the next stretch of trail before the final ascent. 

The views from the summit are great in all directions. Be sure you have a peak identification app.  The flies and mosquitoes were pretty bad at the summit itself. 

Got to the trailhead at around 12pm and started our way up. The trail is quite exposed with very little shade the entire way, so would recommend bringing plenty of water and a hat/sun shirts, etc. 

This is a high reward hike for not a ton of effort (sure there are plenty of switchbacks in the first 1.5 miles but it’s totally doable. 

The road does have a ton of pot holes in some areas. Near the trailhead, the road does have a very deep hole which we think was formed by a creek. Someone for some reason blocked the most easily passable area (it was a jeep which totally could have crossed) which prevented others from coming up.

all in all, a lovely day with plenty of wildflowers to admire.