We were worried about the weather after a heavy downpour on the west side of the Cascades on our way to the trail, but after turning east on Hwy 20, the weather turned for the better and remained that way! Being a beautiful day, the parking lot was pretty full by the time we arrived at 10 am on a Sunday, but we were lucky enough to score the last parking spot. Since it is a fairly easy trail, expect it to the popular on weekends and plan accordingly! There is an overflow parking area across the highway, and there were about 10 other cars parked along the sides of the highway. 

The trail is well-marked and easy to traverse. We passed many groups both directions. Make sure to take the bridge one at a time because it definitely is a removeable bridge! We made it up to the viewpoint in less than an hour, and the reward was more than worth the trek. Be sure to keep walking past the benches up top to get additional views of Diablo Lake. All in all, beautiful day for a great hike in the North Cascades!

We had some friends that have been wanting to go hike up in the mountains but wanted something easy to get to, easy to hike, kid friendly and with views. Thunder knob checks all those boxes.

Trail: bridge is in over colonial creek and that was the coolest part of the hike. The rest of the hike was hot, dry and dusty. Views are worth it. Some flowers blooming here and there but this isn’t a spectacular place to view flowers. We saw a mama duck and her babies at the pond near the top.

After we went swimming down in the lake and it felt amazing! 

I enjoyed this hike with my parents (both in their mid/late 70s) who were visiting from out of town. The seasonal bridge is in! The trail is currently dry, dusty, and exposed the further you go. 

There are a few wild flowers blooming, but definitely more will come as the summer weather continues. We took our time and enjoyed a snack at the trails end on the conveniently placed benches. 

We were not expecting as strenuous of a hike as this was for us, so we did not mane it to the top. However, lots of others including young children were easily passing us, so if you are in good shape and without a heart condition, it should be fine. The trail that we did see was beautiful, including a fun river crossing and an unexpected snake visitor!

I arrived to the trailhead on this sunny Sunday of Memorial Day weekend at 8:30 a.m. There were several parking spaces left but filling quickly. Pit toilet wasn't good but I've seen worse, and there was toilet paper. 

The trail was pretty easy and beautiful all the way up. The rushing stream, the forest, and the rocky top left no disappointment.  No trash on trail, and all dogs were on leashes. It took me about an hour to get to the top. There are several benches to enjoy views along the way and at the top. On my descent there were 2 deer enjoying lunch literally right along the trail, but other than that, just birds. 

The parking lot was overflowing along the road and campground by the time I got back to my car at 10:40.