Beautiful trail, amazing views. As other reports have said, there are a few small downed trees across the trail on the spur to the summit, but won’t pose a problem for most hikers. I don’t recommend shorts due to the nettles crowding the last portion of the trail, but no mud and no bugs. Elevation gain is constant, but nowhere was too steep for kids.

A few navigational notes to add - I had hiked Ship Peak quite a few years ago, and confused this trail with that one, since they are all part of the Turtleback area. If you don’t know there are multiple routes here, take a look at the overall map because you’ll have a very different hiking experience and views! I am so glad I wasn’t paying attention and had the chance to take this route by mistake! 

Also note that at the fork in the trail for Waldron overlook, you DO actually want to take the overgrown looking path downhill, and not continue along the forest road. We made this mistake, as did the 3 other groups we saw hiking that day, and all of us added an extra 1.5 miles before realizing our mistakes. Seems silly to have missed in retrospect, but it happens!

Overall, this trail was perfect - beautiful forest the whole way, more ripe salmon berries than I’ve ever seen, the views at the overlooks were worth checking out but the final view at the peak was truly breathtaking. We only saw 4 other groups on a Saturday starting at 9am and had the final overlook to ourselves for an hour, where we saw a golden eagle and clear views all the way into Canada. 

Trail was dry and clear. The spur to Turtleback Summit had a few downed trees across it, small and easy to step over. Lots of pretty moss around. Plus birdsong and frog song. We arrived at the trailhead around 11am, and there were a few cars. We saw more hikers heading up in the afternoon on our way back. Fab views from the summit, and a turkey vulture or two swooping and sailing through the air.

This was an interesting hike. It was mostly confined to a long dirt road until you make a sharp turn and veer into a forest. You travel along that path for a while until you come upon the viewpoint. It is beautiful look out point. You can see miles in every direction. I went on a sunny winter day and I was the only one there. If you are already on the island, this is a wonderful hike. Not sure I would travel for it though.

Stats:

Total Mileage: About 5

Total Time: Less than 2

Dogs: 6

Snacks: Sadly, none.

Trailhead had only one car at 8:40

Weather was clear, and cool. 

Trail is about two thirds roadlike and one third foot path. Very easy to identify where to go with only one marked fork in the whole trail. At the fork, leave the wide multi-use and take the trail to the right down. At one point in the footpath portion, the trail makes a switchback downhill which caused doubt about the direction, but the WTA app with the map and gps point assured us we were on the right path.

No obstructions at all and no standing water on any part of the trail. There were a couple of small sections where the nettles alongside tried to tag bare legs, but they did not grow in the trail itself. No bugs (well, a couple of impressive slugs).

This trail has a significant gain of elevation, but not scary or exhausting.

We only saw three other hiking parties - two of them had a dog.

Finished at 11:30

Very easy hike with great overlooks along the way. We saw maybe 5 people on the trail. 1hr 10min to the summit.