A clarification on the road and parking- close to the 5 mile mark the road turns to the right and there is a side road that juts straight and slightly left.  In between the two is where you need to park in a decent sized lot.  Walk up the road to the right and you will see the gate and trail to the left.  If you drive to the gate there is not a great place to turn around.  Of course you can keep driving to the top but that’s no fun! The volunteers manning the lookout were very nice and helpful. They are hoping the forest service will complete the ramp needed for ADA access next summer.

A quick clarification for some of the most recent trip reports and info out on Social Media: While the ADA access is ALMOST Done, we still have some barriers we are working on.  The trail remains packed gravel, not hard surface; we still have to put in hand rails on the ramp; and there is a gap between the trail and the beginning of the ramp we need to bridge.  We welcome everyone at the lookout, but it isn't quite ADA accessible-- yet!

Tagging along with a friend who is a volunteer with the Snoqualmie Fire Lookout Association was an amazing experience at Suntop Fire Lookout!  Our shift was from 12:00 noon to 12:00 noon when another volunteer took over.  We were blessed with this incredible dry  weather streak and clear skies which had incredible views 24 hours a day. Visitors during our shift hiked up, ran up biked up and came by car!  The reasons for wanting to visit Suntop Lookout varied and we had some great conversations with all visitors. One surprise for us was a small wedding party (without a required permit) showed up at 7:45PM to take their vows at sunset with Rainier in the background. That group relocated their vehicles down the mountain to the parking area 1+miles from the lookout so we could lock the gate by 8:00PM.  Others taking in the sunset and star gazing were also hanging out. The last to leave was the wedding party who stayed until 10:00PM and then walked back down to their vehicles.  Early risers walked up at 5:50 to catch early morning sunrise.  You’re not on duty from 8:00PM - 8:00AM but you sort of feel that responsibility to be aware of any situation that might arise.  Your duties as a volunteer are: 1) hiking to the lookouts with all needed equipment 2) observing the local area for signs of smoke, 3) talking on the  radio to Snoqualmie Dispatch, 3) carrying out cleaning and minor repairs 4) interacting with the public 5) responding to emergencies. For more information visit:

https://www.snoqualmielookouts.org/membership.  Suntop is the only fire lookout you can drive to so it made it much easier to bring extra water and supplies up to the lookout. The association is making the lookout ADA accessible and work will be complete when a missing section of the ramp will be completed this coming week!   An additional duty here is opening and closed the gate on FS road 7315 (about a mile downhill from the lookout) at 8:00AM - 8:00PM.  We walked down in the morning to open the gate and saw grouse, a rabbit, pika and heard a few song birds in the distance.  Wildflowers are at their peak around the lookout and close up meadows. A few hornets are in the area of the lookout, we were not really bothered by mosquitoes. This opportunity was perfect for me after a recent knee injury which has kept me off the trails, but allowed me to be in nature at a beautiful location. Another amazing experience out in nature!

After finishing for the day at Sunrise, my hiking buddy and I swung by Suntop for a quick lunch at the refurbished lookout. As usual, FS 73 is kind of dicey. Lots of moderate potholes to avoid, but the real trick is making them out in the dappled sunlight. Once you turn off onto FS 7315, the road gets considerably easier to drive. Make sure to keep your lights on and watch the turns. The good road condition makes people pick up speed heading down, and we had two close encounters with folks not paying attention. 

Both gates were open, so you could drive all the way to the top. We opted to park at the second gate and hike up the mile-ish to the lookout, though. The bear grass is just starting to bloom, but I didn't spot any other interesting flora. The lookout was fully staffed today, and the volunteers were all working diligently on the ongoing ADA updates to it. Shoutout to the Snoqualmie Fire Lookouts Association - I had no idea they worked in conjunction with the Forest Service and were 100% responsible for the upkeep of both Suntop and Kelly Butte. Thank you, volunteers!

Road: FS73 has quite a few chuck holes. But after turning uphill to go to Suntop, the road is often bumpy but is in much better shape. Three was no snow on the road all the way to the parking lot at 4.5 miles. The road is closed after the parking lot. We hiked up the road to the lookout, which was about 1 mile. There were a couple sections with snow but not very long. My wife walked on the side of the road, avoiding walking on the snow, while I walked on the snow.

Toilets: There is a restroom/outhouse before driving up the hill just after crossing the White River. There is no restroom at the parking lot for Suntop trail. However, there is a nice outhouse at the top by the lookout. Neither restroom had toilet paper.

Parking lot: Even though today was Memorial Day, there was adequate parking in the parking lot. It could be that since the day was mostly cloudy many did not do this hike. This hike is best done on a sunny day when Mt Rainier can be seen.

Trail: Both the road up to the lookout and the trail back down were in very good shape for hiking. The road route is about 1 mile, while the trail thru the woods is only ½ mile.

Comments: We spoke with another hiker who had spotted a mountain goat walking up the road, and they had a couple photos to prove it.

I did not see any flowers on this hike, but there are a lot of beargrass plants. They should bloom in a month or so.

The elevation sign on the lookout says 5280 ft, which is one mile.

Additional photos are on my Facebook page (see link).