Just wanted to get out in nature and be in the mountains and see some fall foliage.  This trail did not disappoint. It was a gentle hike, saw some beautiful colors, the trail was in great condition, and it wasn't raining. We started at Harvey Manning Trailhead, which is tucked way off the main road (and I would choose a different trailhead for future nature walks around here). We explored the Million dollar view and then started our trail.  Shangri La-Protector-cougar pass-Klondike swamp-coyote creek-shangri la.  

After a great summer hiking season hiking further afield we returned to the Issaquah Alps today and had a great fall hike from Sky Country Th on Cougar Mtn.  It was sunny skies and 46 degrees when we pulled into the TH lot at 9:10. 8 other cars were in the lot and the Porta Potties had been recently cleaned.  We made a 6.4 mile loop hike following Old Man, Cave Hole, Coyote Creek, Shangri La, Viewpoint, Tibbett’s Marsh, East Fork, Fred’s Railroad, Quarry, Coal Creek Falls, Cave Hole and Nike Horse Trails. King County Parks do an excellent job of maintaining and clearing all trails in their parks.  Today two trail workers were toting chainsaws cleaning recent deadfall trees. THANK YOU!!!  All the trails are saturated soil with well drained side channels.  The few vine maples we saw are brilliant orange / red, fall fungi are sprouting up every where and the other deciduous tree are just starting their leaf color change.  You are still hiking in a shaded canopy on most trails.  Trail traffic was really light and was most busy near the Clay Pit road and Tibbett’s intersection where we meet KCP crews and trail users coming in  opposite directions.  The normally busy Coal Creek Falls loop was very quiet, most likely due to the absence of any flowing water.  As we headed back up the Cave Hole to Sky Country TH we passed a very enthusiastic class of Issaquah Middle School students on a day long field trip exploring the park.  In talking with one of the instructors we learned the program takes students on 5 single day field trip hikes all in the Issaquah Alp Peaks.  Great job Issaquah Middle for getting students out to enjoy the forest and become future forest stewards.  We stopped at the Million $ Viewpoint and enjoyed distant views to Mt Baker.  Our lunch snack break was on the log bench overlooking the Clay Pit area and Tiger Mt summits. The sun’s warmth felt great as it was the only really sunny spot on our hike.  Wildlife sightings were limited to a chipmunk, squirrel, robins, wrens and dragon flys.  We heard a couple frogs croaking near adjacent ponds and swampy areas.  More cars were in the TH lot when we drove out at 1:30.  Another fantastic day out in nature with friends.

Support Washington Trails Association. #Hikeathon.

Quick stroll around Cougar Mountain on a lovely day. Headed to the Sky Country trailhead around 11am on a Saturday and though we grabbed the last spot in the car lot, there was plenty of parking in the RV (?) lot and many folks coming and going. 

The trails were in good condition with many folks and families enjoying the nice, summer weather. Check out the MaoVador's trip report to see the trails we covered.

Our ultimate goal was the Million Dollar view. The vegetation is growing fast and the view is close to being obscured. Check it out before it's gone!

Stats: 4.83 miles, 623 elevation gain, 1 hour 28 minutes, 3.3 mph average moving speed.

Hit up the Cougar Mountain area for a quick walkabout before heading to a concert in the evening.

Started at the Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park trailhead and headed out on the Nike Horse trail to the field that was once Nike Site S-20 before connecting with the Cave Hole trail. 

We totally missed the small cave holes due to all the underbrush, but didn't realize until we were on the By Pass trail, so we didn't go back to look for them. Kept following the trails with our ultimate destination of the Million Dollar Pergola. 

Made it there pretty quickly as all the trails are very well maintained, before doing the customer stop at the "summit" of Cougar Mountain, before taking Shangri-La and Coyote Creek back to the trailhead.

Overall: 4.83 miles, 623' vertical, 1:41:26 total time with breaks

Awesome trail! No running water this time (all dried up), so I suggest bringing some for your pup if they’re tagging along. ALSO: for any hiking newbies, some trails ( like shangri la) just stop at housing developments and it’s very disheartening/anticlimactic so I highly recommend planning to attach a loop trail to it so that the whole thing becomes a continuous loop :).