The good: Green Mountain Lookout had been on my bucket list for a while, and I chose the perfect summer day to hike it. Alpine green meadows replete with wildflowers competed for attention with the snow-capped peaks in the background. Glacier peak dominated the scenery even with the 360 degree view of mountains at the lookout. There is even a marmot to give you company (though don't feed it anything please). It was the epitome of a PNW hike.

The bad: Bugs were there, but they were an annoyance. The latter half of the trial is exposed to the sun, and has very little shade, and it would be challenging to do on a warmer day. 

The ugly: the access road to it was not easy to drive on a low-clearance road. I made it in a civic, but it was painfully slow. The ditches were hard to see in mid-day, and washboarded road made it hard to drive. It took nearly an hour and half to get from the cutoff from WA-530.

Green mountain has the best views of all the hikes I’ve done in the cascades and Olympics. It’s incredible. It is a challenge though.
First, the bugs were awful. We left the parking lot at 9 am and learned quickly that we couldn’t stop to rest. As long as we were moving, we’d only have a few flies and mosquitoes buzzing around us. The moment we stopped, we’d be swarmed. A breeze picked up when we got to the top that greatly reduced the bugs for our trip down.

The first part of the hike, through the forest, is a nice hike with a relatively easy grade. Once you move above the tree line the trail became more challenging. The incline wasn’t difficult at first, but the first mile or so of meadows, the trail is so overgrown, you are walking to your hips and sometimes shoulders through the overgrowth. Pants would help, but it slows you down because it’s hard to see holes, rocks, and washed out areas in the trail.  It does open up after a while and it’s easier to see where you’re walking even though the plants are still encroaching on the path. Once you get to that last mile/1300 feet, the trail becomes much more sandy/silty and steep making for a challenging and dirty climb but it’s well worth it!

The high for the day we climbed was 79 and we were glad we hiked up before it got too hot since you’re in the sun for most of this hike.

Also- a warning about the road. There are abt 20 miles of dirt roads to get to the trailhead. The roads overall are in good shape but some pretty significant potholes are starting to form and they can be really hard to see in the dappled light of the forest. Be prepared to drive this section slowly. Plan for well over an hour for this section

The road to the trailhead was passable for any car, but very very slow going. The Suiattle River road past about mile 13 was quite washboarded, and the Green Mountain road had large pokey rocks. My car had no issues, but it took me well over an hour from HWY 530 to the TH. The trail was in good shape aside from some overgrown vegetation in the first meadow section. Flowers were blooming everywhere, and huckleberries were ripe in places. My dog and I had the trail to ourselves for the majority of the hike as it was a Sunday evening. We were highly entertained by the playful marmots and lovely views!

I exited Green Mountain trailhead today, July 27th after a multi day backpacking trip.

As I exited at noon, I came across a thief breaking into car windows. It destroyed a 4runners back window and I don't know how many other cars were smashed. They were on to the next one

When the getaway driver saw me, they tore off. I chased them down, got their license # (CSC0620) off their black 95 Subaru Outback Legacy (not a hatchback), and called the cops. They tore off driving at dangerous speeds.

If you are the victim of these scumbags, now you have their plates, which do match their car.

man: tan and bald
woman: white, trashy hair and glasses.

I was the 3rd car pulled up at the parking lot this morning at 8:45 am.
The road was rough, 24 miles from the Hwy 530.
The first 9.5 miles is paved, the next part is a classic forest road; Full of potholes. but it's not too bad, I managed to drive my Elantra to the trailhead.

The trail is extremely beautiful. the switchbacks on the exposed ridges are very brushy/ overgrown. It's better to wear a breathable pant. I found that part is tricky, especially the views around you are astounding.
if you're not focusing on your footing, then you can easily get tripped in that overgrown part.

The bugs were not too bad, although it was mostly cloudy today with the temperature was at 50 degrees.
Marmots were all out though today, and they were talking so much!
There was a big one at the Lookout, who was constantly trying to get food out of my backpack. 😄

Sadly, Glacier peak was hiding behind the clouds today. Perhaps I need to come back again here!

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed this hike. I saw barely 15 people in the whole hike.

BTW there is no Toilet at the Trailhead.