Little Si on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend was not crowded — at 5:45am. It hurt my brain to get up at 3:30am to get ready and leave for a trailhead so early but the early start paid off. It was pleasantly cool, with a crisp light blue sky. The bird song was incredible through the woods and was the only noise around. Another hiker that started just behind me was the only other person I saw my entire hike up. 

I was happy to have my hiking poles. Recently I’ve been dealing with my hands swelling and I’ve learned that poles can help — and they do! Plus they were great for the grade of the trail in the steeper parts. 

The summit of Little Si was beautiful. I loved the various rock outcrops. I sat up there for quite a while, mostly with the summit to myself. The sun was playing across the valley with the clouds still tucked up around the base of the surrounding mountains. The new green growth was aglow with warmth as the sun crested Mt Si and spread across the valley floor. 

The hike down was nice. Much busier. I cut off at Boulder Garden Loop to add some distance and when I met back up with the return of Little Si trail it was even busier. The parking lot was bustling with no empty spaces when I got back there at 10am.

I recommend the brunch at South Fork North Bend, but beware of the fact that so does everyone else. 

Happy hiking!

Little Si always a pleasure early season.
I LEFT MY HIKING POLES AGAINST THE SIGN at the bottom of the trail near the bathroom.
I realized when I got home in TACOMA.

They are REI black piles with turquoise metal clips.
If anyone lives in the North Bend, Seattle, Renton, or Tacoma area and would pick them up I would come and get them.
My name is Dixi and my phone number is 206-619-4495.
Thank you!!

Easy drive in a sedan.
Arrived at 11 am on this sunny day and found the last parking spot in the overflow lot. Great early season hike. Definitely some elevation gain but other areas are quite flat for recovery. We took a leisurely conversational pace as I’m not in great hiking shape and it took us 3 hours, including about half hour break for lunch. Saw what appeared to me a middle school group enjoying the trails, as well as some groups with dogs.
Returned to trailhead a little after 2 and lot was almost empty. Could be a good afternoon hike.

What an absolutely gorgeous hike! From the descriptions here, I was expecting a much steeper hike, but found the grading to be gentle throughout, including the “bookends.” I hardly noticed them, and my bro who has a bum knee and walks with a cane said that he really enjoyed this trail, and didn’t notice any steepness until we were on our way down. Going up, the many levelled paths gave him enough reprieve that he didn’t need to stop as frequently as he did on Dirty Harry’s Peak Trail, which didn’t level off anywhere. He had no trouble navigating the steeper parts as he did on DHPT. I mention him in my reports with the hope that it would help hikers who might also have a physical challenge to better gauge a trail. 

On a sunny Wednesday, there were quite a few hikers, and the parking lot was at near-capacity when we arrived close to 11 a.m. It never felt crowded on the trail, and we had the summit to ourselves for nearly twenty minutes in the middle of the afternoon, which was an unexpected bonus. The trail is well-kept and clearly marked. The old-growth forest parts smelled like Christmas, it was magical. The toilets here are a bit stinky, but we were still very grateful to have them.