We took the summer trail by driving the Spring Ck Rd to the TH. This saves a lot of road walking and elevation, although the trail itself is a combination of trail and old road. We did a family hike. There were great flowers, especially penstemon, lupine, and, in the bare rocky section near the top, scarlet gilia. We also had large areas of fragrant ceanothus.  The trail gains around 1500 and is dirt biked to the point of abuse in areas. Still, it’s worth it with the fascinating and surprising moonscape and all direction views on top. I have done this many times over 45 years and in all seasons. It’s a good little peak so close in to Roslyn. 

Hiked Saturday, 6/17 and had a great day! It was partly cloudy here vs misty/rainy in Seattle. Maybe the conditions west of the cascades kept crowds at bay?

Either way, there is very limited parking so get there early to secure a spot! We got there at 9 am and had no issues. The trail isn’t well marked so use AllTrails to keep track. We needed to reference AllTrails both to start the hike (as it starts up a service road) and then later as other trails/service roads intersect). You should have good cell service (at least with Verizon and somewhat with AT&T).

The hike is hard - no real respites, either uphill or downhill the whole time, but it’s worth it. It took us 3.5 hours to complete (with 30 min at the summit). We were moving quickly and didn’t have many rest breaks so plan more time if you’re going slower.

The views are awesome - lakes, enchantments, and wide spread valleys.

The trail is a bit overgrown in a couple spots but not bad at all. The biggest issue was downed trees. There were probably 20+ to either navigate around or pop over (see pics). No issue for us 40 year olds or an agile dog but could be a concern if you have mobility issues. There are also some slick gravel spots at times (especially at the very top) - we had a few slips underfoot but no falls. Hiking poles might be good if you have balance concerns.

No bugs, no snow. Wildflowers were still blooming

Note about navigation: there's one point where it looks like the forest road curves left and there is a side road that goes straight/to the right. The trail is the path going straight. If you end up going downhill towards construction, you've gone the wrong way.

Also, eventually, you will reach a fork in the road. Stay right. There's a couple of other points after passing the hex mountain sign where the route is unclear. usually, you can just stay on what looks more like a hiking path.

I would recommend looking at the all trails map if you're unsure since there is good reception through most of the hike, and it has the correct route.

Anyways, on to the actual trip report:


Arrived at parking lot around 11 am, there was only 1 other car there. We got back to the parking lot at about 4, and spent about 4 hours 38 minutes on the trail in total. There were two cars when we came back. Only passed two groups of people on the trail.

Overall, the trail was in decent shape except for the downed trees. Many of the downed trees had a detour around them. Most that didn't have a detour were pretty easy to go over/under. Could potentially pose some problems if there are any mobility issues but we did not find it to be a major problem.

Other things worth noting are that much of the trail is sandy/dusty and loose rock, so it can be easy to slip, especially on the way down. We didn't have trekking poles, so that may have helped. bugs on the grounds were present but minding their own business through the whole hike. only at the summit, they started flying around and were an annoyance.

Arrived at the trailhead at 8:30am on Sunday. I used to park at the trailhead gate, but there is now a “no parking” sign there, so we parked on the side of the road across from the fire station down the street. We were the second and third vehicles to park, with room for about 10 total. No bathroom at the trailhead. Download a map or use Gaia to route along the dirt road portion of the trail. No snow, but a lot of downed trees across the trail. We made it to the top around 11am, and were back down to the car around 12:30pm. Parking area was full when we got back. Very quiet, empty trail due to the limited parking. 

Hex was a great choice for today with sun, blue skies, and a nice breeze which was refreshing as the sweat streamed down my back. I’ve done this as a hike and a snowshoe a few times. I often forget the steepness after the road walk warm up.
Park down across from the fire station and walk to the road with the yellow gate. We were first up to the summit and it was nice to have it to ourselves for a few minutes.
Don’t park by the yellow gate. There is a community that lives there and you will get a ticket.