15 Handpicked Hikes from WTA Staff
Wondering where to hike this weekend? Start with these 15 hikes handpicked by the trail experts at WTA — with options across Washington for all hiking styles and experience levels.
Want to make a hiking wish list? Create a My Backpack account. You can access saved hikes offline with our Trailblazer mobile app, get personalized hike recommendations and post trip reports.
To hear WTA's staff describe these hikes in detail, you can watch the recording of our annual event, Hike the State.
Anna's Picks
Anna Roth (she/her)
Role at WTA: Hiking Guide manager
About Anna: With 10 years at WTA under her boots, Anna is the brains behind all that rich content on our Hiking Guide. She also manages our volunteer Hiking Guide correspondents who help make the Hiking Guide as extensive as it is. Originally from Longview, her favorite area to hike is Mount St. Helens, but the following three areas are just as good.
Grand Valley – Cameron Creek Loop
Region: Olympic Peninsula — Northern Coast
Length: 30.8 miles, roundtrip
Elevation gain: 3,304 feet
Permit required: Olympic National Park Pass and camping permits
Dogs: No
Cameron Pass seen from the camping area. Photo by Anna Roth.
I like a backpacking trip where I’m unlikely to see a lot of people, and I love a loop hike. I also love climbing to views on trail. This trip checks all those boxes.
Starting from Deer Park gives you miles of views right off the bat with a few sections in forested glades. There are a couple sketchy little steps going up Elk Mountain; have poles with you. It’ll help.
The whole first day is gorgeous: chock full of views all day until you start plunging down to the lakes in Grand Valley. We camped at Moose Lake, which was lovely though there was a very aggressive deer, so keep your food well-stashed. Early on day two, head up to Grand Pass on a pretty moderate incline. The view here is expansive, so make time to take it in.
You also want to rest at Grand Pass because the descent is rough. It’s very, very steep (followed immediately by elevation gain) but you’re rewarded on day two with Cameron Pass camp. This place is a dream, though you do need to hike further into the basin than you think to find the best campsites, and you’ll definitely want bug spray early in the season.
Day three is largely a long, long river walk, and at points hard to follow. Be on the lookout for creek crossings. The trail crosses Cameron Creek several times and it's not uncommon to miss it.
Rest up at Three Forks before your final push back uphill to your car. It is relentless for 4 miles, and there’s no water, so get as much as you need at the river. But you're rewarded with a nice flat final quarter mile back to your car!
> Plan your trip on the Grand Valley - Cameron Creek Loop with WTA's Hiking Guide
Seminary Hill Loop
Region: Southwest Washington — Lewis River Region
Length: 1.2 miles, roundtrip
Elevation gain: 407 feet
Permit required: none
Dogs: Yes
The trails on Seminary Hill lace through second-growth forest with peeks of sunlight. Photo by Venturebold.
Seminary Hill is a sweet little park in Centralia. It’s about a 5-minute drive off the freeway, so it’s an easy stop for people wanting to stretch their legs, or if you’re in town, you could visit for a short walk.
The forest here is fairly mature, and though it certainly was logged at some point there is a great variety of plant and animal diversity. Birds sing no matter where you are in the park, rustling in the bushes speaks to active fauna, and there are giant Western redcedars and Douglas fir trees, as well as moss and tons of lush understory. It’s a shady spot in the heat of summer, and a small creek nearby makes a lovely little musical backdrop.
It's also a great choice for families, since there are wonderful little interpretive signs at the beginning of the route, and the intersections are all clearly marked with signs.
Stay tuned: WTA is currently laying out a trail that will improve wheelchair access here, since right now the trails all have stairs or are too narrow or steep to navigate with a chair.
> Plan your trip to Seminary Hill with WTA’s Hiking Guide
Yacolt Burn / Silver Star Loop
Region: Southwest Washington — Lewis River Region
Length: 16.3 miles, roundtrip
Elevation gain: 3242 feet
Permit required: Discover Pass
Dogs: Yes (but some sketchy parts might be difficult for pups to navigate)
The Tarbell Trail is a key part of this large loop. Expect bicyclists or equestrians on this and other trails at Silver Star. Photo by Anna Roth.
This long day hike is 16+ miles and goes through all manner of terrain. There’s a fair amount of elevation gain as well, but in return you get to see three sites of WTA’s past work, a hidden waterfall, and get a heck of a workout. Visit at the right time and you might also get a heck of a flower show with very few other people.
If you want to do the whole loop, take note - the trails get considerably more rugged in the top half of the loop, from Sturgeon Rock trail to the start of the Chinook Trail near Silver star. Be sure you are comfortable scrambling, and check trip reports; if there’s snow on Ed’s trail it can be fairly dangerous to hike.
On the flip side, it’s a gorgeous wildflower display in the right season. There’s rarely rain here, and if you want to hit Hidden Falls two times, you can do a lollipop instead of a full loop, and come back by Hidden Falls on your way back. This also reduces your total day by one mile, which your feet may thank you for.
WTA pro tip: You can camp at Rock Creek and make this a long vacation. After your day on this loop, take your mountain bike and head to the other side of the forest for some swoopy, flowy trails, or just take it easy at camp, maybe taking a little drive to the signature Moulton Falls Bridge.
> Plan your hike to Yacolt Burn / Silver Star Loop with WTA's Hiking Guide
Cassidy's Picks
Role at WTA: Advocacy manager
About Cassidy: Cassidy has been with WTA for 2 years. She has served in a number of roles leveraging partnership-based work for community development and Environmental policy outcomes, including previously leading a King County coalition
and mobilizing voters during elections. Originally from Miami, she has fallen in love with the mountains and landscape of the Pacific Northwest.
Boulder River
Region: North Cascades — Mountain Loop Highway
Length: 8.6 miles, roundtrip
Elevation gain: 700 feet
Permit required: none
Dogs: yes
Boulder River up close. Photo by Linda Roe.
The Boulder River Trail is a casual opportunity to refresh yourself in the unique beauty of the Pacific Northwest. While the roundtrip trek is just under 9 miles, it’s the kind of hike you can do at your own pace until you feel fulfilled, and turn around.
The hike sets you into a lush forest, brimming with ferns and mossy branches as you continue through a well-defined, straightforward walk. The trail allows you to peek through the trees at Boulder River, moving closer and further alongside it as you hike. The river is fast and carves impressively into the mountainside.
Not far into the hike (less than 1.5 miles in), you reach a spectacular waterfall cascading from the ledge above. You can venture down to the river bank at this point from the trail for a perfect place to sit and eat, get the dogs some water, or just marvel at this tucked away beauty. As you continue from this point, you gradually start to climb up and further away from the river.
Bring an all-clearance vehicle to get to this trail that is a perfect way to get out into nature without being too strenuous. Depending on when you go, you might see one of WTA’s annual crews working to keep the trail accessible.
> Plan your trip to Boulder River with WTA’s Hiking Guide
Spray Park
Region: Mount Rainier Area — NW/Carbon River - Mowich
Length: 8 miles, roundtrip
Elevation gain:1,700 feet
Permit required: National Park Pass
Dogs: No
Spray Park provides excellent views of wildflowers. Photo by Erin A. Johnson.
The Spray Park trail offers multiple side-trips that can fit for many different hiking goals. If you’re looking for a waterfall view and family-accessible hike, Spray Park offers you that. If you’re hoping to sneak up on Mount Tahoma through a less-trafficked angle of the park, try out Spray Park. If you’d like to make a loop, Spray Park can give you that opportunity!
The Spray Park trail to the waterfall is only about 6 miles long roundtrip, making it a great option for the family if you want to venture out into the woods — not to mention that the trailhead begins at the beautiful Mowich Campground, which is a great place for a family lunch or a cold swim.
But the real appeal of this trail for me, is choosing the harder path around mile 2, where the switchbacks begin. This shaded, creek-adjacent climb offers you the reward of alpine meadows, Mount Tahoma views, and a steep mountainscape.
If you’re looking for even more of a challenge, make this a 16-mile loop to and from the Mowich Campground.
> Plan your trip to Spray Park with WTA’s Hiking Guide
Sauk Mountain
Location: North Cascades — North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
Length: 4.2 miles roundtrip
Elevation gain:1,200 feet
Permit required: None
Dogs: Yes
The ascent on Sauk Mountain is 1.2 miles of switchbacks. Photo by Christopher Tack.
This trail makes you put in some short and sweet work for a major reward. Be careful on your way up this potholed road, and make sure you don’t get too far up the road to a place you can’t turn around. At the trailhead, the breadcrumbs of beauty begin with a beautiful mountainside, a view of the Sauk River below, and a triangle bathroom.
The trail brings you to your challenge quickly: the switchbacks. For the majority of the short 1.2 mile ascend, you are eating the gain in these straight-up-the-mountainside switchbacks. Before going on this hike, consider your tolerance to heat – the entirety of the hike is exposed with few opportunities for shade.
You finally make it to the top of the zig-zags to turn the corner up the crest of the mountain, where you see Sauk Lake below (opt into an additional 2 miles and 900 foot gain to get to the lake) and almost everything around you! The top of this hike offers 360 degree views of the North Cascades, and, on a sunny and clear day.
> Plan your trip to Sauk Mountain with WTA’s Hiking Guide
Tiffany's Picks
Tiffany Chou (she/her)
Role at WTA: Communications coordinator
About Tiffany: Tiffany has been the communications coordinator for just a little over a year, but started her journey with WTA with the Emerging Leaders Program. She completed a thru-hike of the PCT in 2019 and is also a certified remote EMT.
Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section J - Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass
Region: Snoqualmie Region — Snoqualmie Pass
Length: 74.7 miles, one-way
Elevation gain: 16,000 feet
Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Dogs: Yes
Stunning Lake view along the PCT. Photo by Tiffany Chou.
You don’t need to drive deep into the woods on a sketchy forest road to check out some of the most remote parts of Washington on the Pacific Crest Trail. The two trailheads on this hike are both right off the highway — literally.
Many hikers take on this section northbound. But consider taking it the other way! An Amtrak bus goes daily along I-90 to Stevens Pass, so if you’ve got a good friend who wants to day hike around Snoqualmie Pass at the end of your thru-hike, you don’t need to figure out a two-car or key swap plan.
Don’t expect anything but a butt-kicker of a hike. Your calves will cry and your lungs will burn, but trust me — it’s worth it. And if you’re seeking solitude, you’ll find it. Among the many awe-inspiring features along the way include Escondido Ridge and the Park Lakes Basin — both of which feel more like fairytale lands than real life — and over a dozen sparkling lakes along the way (and even a big waterfall!) you can dip your feet into while filling up on water.
This section of the PCT is incredibly exposed, allowing for incredible vistas — and incredibly painful sunburns. Be sure to pack your sunscreen and sunglasses! Your skin and eyes will thank you as you walk through burn areas, on talus fields and above the tree line.
There are many offshoot trails and entry points to this section, although many require hiking several miles to reach the PCT. One of these entry points is Mineral Creek, a 5-mile access trail to the PCT, which WTA’s very own Lost Trails Found crew worked extensively on last year, transforming the overgrown and deteriorating trail into a clear path from beginning to end.
Another perk of heading southbound on this section of the PCT: You’re rewarded at the end of your hike with a view of Mount Rainier for several miles. The Kendall Katwalk marks the start of your descent, where you can grab a celebratory snack or drink at Snoqualmie Pass to rest your sore feet before heading back home — you’ve earned it!
> Plan your trip to PCT Section J - Snoqualmie to Stevens Pass with WTA’s Hiking Guide
Railroad Trail
Region: Puget Sound and Islands — Bellingham Area
Length: 6.6 miles, roundtrip
Elevation gain:325 feet
Permit required: None
Dogs: Yes
Remnants of an old trestle along the Railroad Trail. Photo by Tiffany Chou
This trail weaves its way through neighborhoods in the heart of Bellingham. It’s easy to get to either trailhead — both are quick to drive to from anywhere in Bellingham, and you can even take the bus to either end. The trail itself is flat, wide and graveled the whole way, making it a trail option for both wheelchairs and strollers as well as hikers and bikers.
The trail starts at Bloedel Donovan Park — yep, the site of the old Bloedel Donovan Mill. You could easily spend an entire day here, but walk on the gravel trail heading south away from the park to hike the Railroad Trail. A trail map marks the start of the trail.
It swings south before heading straight up north, where you’ll cross Alabama Street on an overpass, giving you great views of Bellingham Bay and the San Juan Islands to the west. Shortly after you walk across an I-5 overpass, the trail ends at Memorial Park, a small grassy park where sculptures and structures honor fallen Whatcom County soldiers from the past.
This trail has some interesting history. Back in the 1800s — all the way through 1965 — this trail was actually a railroad that carried lumber from Bloedel Donovan Mill to Bellingham Bay. You even pass some old railroad trestle remnants from that logging era a little past halfway into the trail.
The trail also passes by the St. Clair Detention Basin, built by the City of Bellingham in 1984 to handle flooding near Fever Creek, which ran underneath the rail. As you hike, you’ll walk past a concrete cylinder structure about halfway into the trail, which was the contraption that allowed workers to control the dam they built there. You can read more about the history of this trail on an informational sign near the northernmost part of the trail.
> Plan your trip to Railroad Trail with WTA’s Hiking Guide
Roslyn Urban forest
Region: Snoqualmie Region — Salmon La Sac/Teanaway
Length: 12 miles, roundtrip
Elevation gain: 1,258 feet
Permit required: none
Dogs: Yes
Just some of the mountain views available to you from Roslyn Urban Forest. Photo by Tiffany Chou.
Explore all the Teanaway has to offer on a hike through the Roslyn Urban Forest and the surrounding area. The Roslyn Urban Forest sits on the western side of a tall ridge within Roslyn city limits. But the trails don’t end there — the trail network extends outside of the forest, providing hikers with innumerable trail options to build a personalized hike.
Park in Roslyn and you’ll have your pick of a few different trailheads to hop into the trail network. As you walk through the forest, you may come across artifacts from old mining activity, as Roslyn used to be a coal mining hub.
One of the trails that leads from Roslyn — through the urban forest — all the way to the ridge is the Ewok Trail. You probably won’t see any of the eponymous critters on the trail, but you will get to explore a trail that WTA has poured some love into. In 2018, one of WTA’s largest trail work parties ever — with nearly 40 participants! — spent a day building and maintaining the Ewok Trail as a part of the Towns to Teanaway project, which has the goal of connecting more communities to trails in the area.
Several trails, like the Ewok Trail, extend to the ridge, where hikers can take in views of the Enchantments and the rest of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, as well as the Teanaway Community Forest.
WTA is starting trail work in the community forest this year, and we’re very grateful for our partnership with state agencies and nonprofit organizations in developing a trail plan to increase recreation opportunities in this area. We’re excited to help maintain a new trail system for many generations of hikers to come!
When you’re finished hiking, you can grab some goodies from Roslyn before you head home — ice cream, coffee or a sandwich are all waiting for you in town.
> Plan your trip to Roslyn Urban Forest with WTA’s Hiking Guide
Zach's Picks
Zachary Toliver (he/him)
Role at WTA: South Puget Sound trails coordinator
About Zach: Zach got his start at WTA with the Emerging Leaders Program in 2020. He now spends his summers leading WTA's backcountry pro crew, which strives to restore lost and overgrown trails throughout Washington.Outside of advocating for communities historically underrepresented in the outdoor industry, you can find Zach playing banjo for a captive audience (aka "the two dogs who live with him"), rock climbing, or riding around on his motorcycle.
palisades
Location: Mount Rainier Area — Chinook Pass - Hwy 410
Length: 15.9 miles, roundtrip
Elevation gain: 2,680 feet
Permit required: none
Dogs: Yes
The Palisades are full of beautiful views like this one along the nearly 16 miles of trail. Photo by Outside Nancy.
I dig a hike where one can bow out gracefully before the finish and still feel content with the adventure. While the Palisades clocks in at nearly 16 miles roundtrip, beautiful destinations begin popping up only one mile from the trailhead. I’ll give it to you straight, this hike starts off with a steep ascent right from the parking lot. But in the spring and early summer a hiker’s first reprieve can be heard before seen. Roughly one mile in, travelers can take a small side trail to the Lower Dalles Falls.
Throughout August and September of 2022, I made the trek up to our bridge-building worksite. Every single time, our crew took a breather at a stair set adjacent to the Upper Dalles Falls. The staircase’s rustic fashion make them quite the site, and a point of conversation among woodworking enthusiasts.
After a set of stacked switchbacks, you’ll cross a few smaller creeks before coming to a wooden bridge WTA constructed in 2022. This project is not only how I got to know this trail, it’s where I formed lasting bonds with our 410 Highway volunteers. At lunchtime, we ventured down the trail to the first lookout of the Palisades. If the weather is in your favor, you’ll see Sun Top Mountain and Skookum Falls (another snow-driven waterfall) across the White River Valley. Continue on, hiking through old-growth forest and climbing 1.3 miles to the next viewpoint -- North Snoquera Point. From here, the views are impressive: Mount Rainier and Sun Top Mountain rise above the valley. I’ll admit, I’ve never gone past this point, making it a 6-mile hike roundtrip. However, more viewpoints, peaks, and (probably) equally cool bridges await anyone looking for a rough and tough 15.9 mile loop.
> Plan your trip to Palisades with WTA’s Hiking Guide
Swan Creek
Location: Puget Sound and Island — Seattle/Tacoma Area
Length:4.8 miles, roundtrip
Elevation gain: 325 feet
Permit required: none
Dogs: Yes
This view of a serene pond and forest in Swan Creek is in the middle of Tacoma. Photo by Chunky Monkey.
Swan Creek’s salmon-bearing stream, thick forests, and challenging terrain proves we don’t need to travel outside the city to experience what we love and idealize about natural spaces in Washington. The loop totals roughly 5 miles. Along with its well-established trail system, Swan Creek hosts a dog park, community garden, running water fountains, mountain-bike-only tracks, restrooms, and pavilions that I’ve used for a WTA potluck or two.
The trail takes you right to the creek. In good weather, you can see all types of wildlife such as herons perched on fallen trees and little critters all of sorts scurrying about. Down in the ravine, you leave bustling city noises behind as you walk through beautiful tree canopies and lush vegetation. I guarantee on more than one occasion, you’ll find yourself thinking, “I can’t believe I’m in the middle of a city park!”
For fewer ups, downs, and stairs, stay on the upper Canyon Trail for a large majority of the hike. Note the wide, paved roads that stretch out from the northern community garden throughout the rest of the park. These roads are open to bikers and hikers alike. They’re relics from when Tacoma used this 373-arce park for wartime housing development during the 1940s. The families who moved here to help ramp up production during the Second World War are long gone. But if you pay close enough attention, you may come across old sidewalks and other infrastructure such as telephone poles, that give a glimpse into the ever-changing use of Swan Creek.
> Plan your trip to Swan Creek with WTA’s Hiking Guide
Entiat River Trail
Region: Central Cascades — Entiat Mountains/Lake Chelan
Length: 15.25 miles, one-way
Elevation gain: 2,690 feet
Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Dogs: Yes
Still lake along the Entiat River Trail. Photo by Zachary Toliver.
If you’re like me and enjoy choosing your own adventure when out in the wilderness, the 15.25 mile, relatively flat Entiat River trail may be the perfect next trip for you. This hidden gem includes destinations fitting for a day hike. But, I feel where the Entiat really shines is the expansive backcountry camping options that will appeal to first-timers and seasoned explorers alike.
At 3.6 miles, you will hit the junction for Myrtle Lake which is roughly 0.5 miles after this turnoff. This is also your access to Cow Creek Trail which holds some of the most beautiful camping I’ve ever experienced. Four miles in from the Entiat River trailhead, you’ll enter the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Just a hair further from here, you’ll see the junction to begin your ascent to Larch Lakes, a popular fall destination for the vibrant, autumnal colors and pristine lake-side camping.
There are decent chunks of the Entiat River Trail where you’ll hike through burn zones, so bring extra water and plenty of sunscreen. The haunting scenery of blackened trees and dusty trail is on its way to re-habitation. Eventually, you’ll reach green lush forest and meadows that feel like an oasis that was tucked away from previous fires.
Another one of my favorite cozy campsites resides a little over 8 miles from the trailhead, near the junction for Ice Creek Trail. If you’re looking for access to remote alpine lakes and alternative access to Mount Maude and Seven Fingered Jack, this is the path for you. But in my humble opinion, the crème de la crème of backcountry camping on the Entiat comes at around the 11 mile mark — The Entiat Meadows. Here, you’ll feel encapsulated by the Chelan Mountains to your right and the Entiat River close by at camp.
Pushing on to the glacier wall, a total of 15.25 miles, the massive Entiat River reveals its origins, which at this distance looks more like a creek. Once you hit the end of the road, take in magnificent Mount Maude and Seven Fingered Jack. The Entiat River Trails offers far more escapades than I can appropriately describe here. But I hope these few paragraphs pique your interest to study a map of the region and plan your next exciting journey!
> Plan your trip to Entiat River Trail with WTA’s Hiking Guide
Claire's Picks
Claire Thompson (she/her)
Role at WTA: Central and Eastern Washington Regional Manager
About Claire: Claire started with WTA this year as Central and Eastern Regional Manager. Claire has been a professional trail worker for 10 years and also has a background in environmental journalism. She is excited to share some of her favorite hikes where she calls home: Central Washington.
Peshastin Mill Trail
Region: Central Cascades
Length: 0.8 mile, roundtrip
Elevation gain: 0 feet
Permit Required: none
Dogs: Yes
Enjoy the smell of ponderosa pines and wildflowers along the Peshastin Mill Trail. Photo by Claire Thompson.
If you’re in the Leavenworth area and looking for a convenient spot to stroll by the river, take a dip, post up with a good book, or toss sticks for your pup, head just five miles east to the hamlet of Peshastin and its peaceful riverside mill trail.
Once the site of a lumber mill, the property was cleaned up and purchased by a coalition of local private donors in 2016, and is now managed for low-impact, non-motorized recreation by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Volunteers built the trail there in 2017: just under one mile of singletrack that runs roughly parallel to the old gravel road, offering plenty of space for users to spread out and creating the option for a 2-mile loop through shade and sun.
The trail rolls and dips gently through ponderosa groves, carpeted by wildflowers in the spring: first glacier lily, then balsamroot, then lupine. A couple short side trails offer access to the water, and small sandy beaches emerge by mid-June when spring runoff subsides. If the water is low enough, these are excellent places to cool off. The trail dead-ends at a fenced orchard, where you can either head back the way you came or cut back over to the road grade, which stays more out in the open.
> Plan your hike to the Peshastin Mill Trail with WTA's Hiking Guide
Nason Ridge
Region: Central Cascades — Stevens Pass East
Length: 21.9 miles, one-way
Elevation Gain: 3,800 feet
Permit Required: none
Dogs: Yes
One of four alpine lake views along Nason Ridge. Photo by Claire Thompson.
Nason Ridge is a 22-mile multi-use trail stretching from Lake Wenatchee almost all the way to Stevens Pass, tracing the spine of the rugged ridge that separates Highway 2 from the lake. It hosts two lookout sites (one with the structure still intact, and staffed seasonally up until a few years ago; the other just a flat platform on top of Rock Mountain).
The easternmost nine miles of the trail, from Lake Wenatchee to Alpine Lookout, are open to motorized travel and generally in good shape; beyond that, the trail is non-motorized but open to bike and equestrian traffic, although some of its most rugged and minimally maintained sections require vigilance and caution even on the part of two-footed travelers.
To experience the wild side of Nason Ridge, plan a thru-hike (with a car shuttle or a friend who can pick you up) of the upper (western) two-thirds of the trail. Start at the Snowy Creek trailhead off the Smithbrook Road (which accesses the PCT near Stevens Pass), and hike to the Round Mountain trailhead, hitting two lookout sites and up to four alpine lakes along the way.
At 17.5 miles (not counting side trips to Lost Lake or Mount Howard), this makes for an epic day hike or a good two-day backpack. Note that water is scarce throughout, and nonexistent east of Merritt Lake. Shorten the hike to 12 miles by exiting via the Merritt Lake trail and skipping the Alpine Lookout; you’ll have had your fill of views by then, anyway.
The Snowy Creek trail starts in deep old-growth forest before quickly climbing into Hills-are-Alive scenery: think expansive, flower-studded meadows on steep mountain slopes and 360-degree views of the central Cascades’ highest peaks. At 4 miles in, and after 1300 feet of gain, the old Rock Mountain lookout site makes for a great lunch spot or turnaround point for a day hike. Glimpse the jewel of Rock Lake nestled beneath you before descending 1,000 feet in a mile from the lookout site to the lake. On the way you’ll pass the turnoff to the Rock Mountain trail: three miles of relentless switchbacks back down to a trailhead at Highway 2.
Rock Lake makes for a scenic camp, or press on another 1.3 miles to little-visited Crescent Lake. Between Rock and Crescent, some steep sidehill sections of trail have severely eroded, leaving little solid tread remaining. Step very carefully here. The 3.5 miles of trail between Crescent Lake and the Merritt Lake junction have also seen little maintenance over the years, but the solitude you’ll find here is worth the blowdowns you may have to scramble over.
Merritt Lake has a large, shaded campsite and a privy, but the bugs can be brutal here in June. Take a 0.6-mile side trip up and over the other side of the ridge to visit Lost Lake.
> Plan your trip to Nason Ridge with WTA’s Hiking Guide
Douglas Creek Canyon
Location: Central Washington — Wenatchee
Length: 4.4 miles, roundtrip
Elevation gain: 200 feet
Permit required: none
Dogs: Yes
One view at Douglas Creek Canyon, showing the dry but vibrant landscape. Photo by Claire Thompson
Desert devotees and geology nerds will be enchanted by Douglas Creek, an oasis hidden in a deep desert canyon. East of Waterville, high on the dry Columbia Plateau, it may appear that you are surrounded by nothing but flat farmland. Driving south of Highway 2 on a razor-straight road, you’ll suddenly find yourself heading steeply downhill into a cleft you couldn’t tell existed from five miles away.
This is Douglas Creek Canyon, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a quiet hideaway framed by fascinating layers of basalt in otherworldly shapes and formations. The trail mostly follows an old road grade, crossing back and forth a couple of times over the marshy burble of Douglas Creek, where you may spot trout spinning in some of the shallow pools. While other portions of the Douglas Canyon Rec Area allow motorized use, the route that starts at the northernmost trailhead does not.
Douglas Creek is best attempted as a spring hike, while mountain trails are still melting out and before it gets too hot. Minimal shade exists, and the creek is more for splashing than swimming. The trail stays flat, and lacks an obvious destination – keep ambling along the road grade for as long as you wish, being mindful of private property markers once the trail leaves the BLM allotment. Rather than seeking adrenaline or adventure on Douglas Creek, contemplate the joy of living in a place like Washington State that contains such ecological and geologic diversity, especially in Central Washington, where the ice-carved desert and sagebrush steppe run right up to the foothills of glaciated peaks.
> Plan your trip to Douglas Creek Canyon with WTA’s Hiking Guide