The road was washboardy in places but not bad.  

Our group of 6 started on the Ridge Trail just down the road from the Cleator parking lot.  We made a nice loop that ended with an ascent up the Rock Trail.

Weather was foggy and slightly rainy but the forest is super pretty anyway.

We will return on a clear, sunny day to enjoy the views!

A good hike with great views of Mt. Baker and the Chuckanut bay. This hike kept climbing up and down for most part giving a good workout all throughout the hike.

Route: We started the hike toward Hemlock trail, North lost lake trail which met the ridge trail. We went along lower ridge trail, middle ridge trail until the Cyrus Gate overlook/trail head and came back along the same route. There are great views of Mt. Baker along the Lower ridge trail with lots of view points and places to catch a good break/lunch. The views of the bay from the Cyrus Gate overlook were amazing with views of the cascades, San Juan islands and Canada.

Parking: We reached the north chucknut mountain trailhead around 9.30 AM and there was lot of parking available - about half the slots were free, should have been enough for 25 cars or so. When we got back around 3.30 PM the parking had almost the same number of cars, but there were some cars parked on the road as well.

Trail conditions: The trail was in pretty good shape overall, no major obstacles. There are few sections bit overgrown and steep, having poles would help.

Shade: The whole hike has plenty of tree all around, we hiked in the shade for the entire hike.

Elevation gain: The trail starts gaining elevation from the very begining and is very gradual until the junction to the ridge trails. From here the trail start going up and down quite a bit - and some of the stretches are very steep as well.

Trail map: http://www.co.whatcom.wa.us/DocumentCenter/View/18258

Disappointing. Although visually very beautiful, especially view of Mt Baker, it was disturbingly noisy. The traffic noise from the highway bellowed up most of the way on the trip. Not a place for a quiet nature outing. Seemed more like a place for locals to go on an afternoon jog (saw many), short hike, or mountain bike ride, although not crowded for Sunday afternoon.

I decided to go on a longer hike and started at the Chuckanut Mountain Trailhead parking lot. I started my trip at about 9am on the interurban trail but quickly connected to the Lost Lake Trail system. I was greeted by two owls as I started my hike, which is the first time I have seen owls in this area. I followed this trail up Chuckanut Mountain and eventually around towards Raptor Ridge. It was a very misty/cloudy day with periods of dripping rain throughout, so I didn't get any great views here. After stopping for a short break I turned back and continued on my way down toward Lost Lake. Once I arrived at Lost Lake it was still misty which gave the whole area a very solitary feeling. The Lost Lake trail has many great rock formations to see as you go along, but they are just an appetizer compared to what came next on the aptly named Rock Trail, which connects Lost Lake to the Cyrus Gates Overlook and the Ridge Trail. This was a really cool trail with many great boulders, rock outcroppings, and loads of stairs. Once at the top I dropped down to the Overlook for a view of the San Juan Islands, but was greeted with more clouds and mist instead. I continued my hike along the Chuckanut Ridge Trail for several miles stopping at some of the overhanging cliff edges and looking out over the foggy forest below. On sunny days these provide great views of Mount Baker in the distance, but not this day. After coming down to meet back up with Lost Lake Trail I headed on home but decided to make a quick detour to see the Chuckanut Falls before heading out to my car, just in time as it started to really rain and thunder for the last mile. All told it was exactly 15 miles in a loop and I covered in about 6 1/2 hours. This was a beautiful hike, even in the mist and fog, but the length of it has many ups and downs. The trails were well cared for and freshly maintained! I will do it all again someday when the sun is out!

We headed up the Chuckanut Ridge trail to the viewpoint on Cleator Road, then made our way back to the car by way of the Rock Trail and South Lost Lake Trails. The way up along the ridge trail was a nice leg-stretcher but on an overcast day probably does not deserve the "five star" rating.

Things got a lot more interesting at the viewpoint, however, thanks to Bean Curd the Hiking Pig (pictured). Never seen a hiking pig before? Let me tell you, you're missing out.

The way back down via the Rock Trail was pretty incredible, this was my first time experiencing this WTA project first-hand and it is truly impressive! Hard hats off to the countless WTA volunteers, staffers and partners who worked so hard to create this beautiful trail.