What a beautiful birthday hike! Absolutely stunning views on a clear day. Though we saw some older human footprints in the mud and snow, we had the mountain to ourselves the whole time.

We drove FR5700 to the FR5713 turn off (there is a small brown sign marking the road ~14 mi from the start of Mad River Rd) and attempted up the dirt road for about 0.25 mi before we opted to park. Our Toyota Corolla thanked us.

It was hot and sunny and the ponderosa pines smelled amazing. We followed the road all the way to the trailhead -- it is exposed the entire way which made for spectacular vistas but also a lot of UV rays. Bring water and sunscreen!

A few small trees were down but easy to step over. Some actively melting snow patches became larger snowfields for the last mile. We brought our microspikes and donned them for the last 0.75 miles or so -- not explicitly necessary but nice to keep from slipping on each step. The last 1000 ft from the trailhead to the lookout was covered in deep snow but the trail was easy to follow. We ogled at the high peaks around us and ate lunch with some very friendly ladybugs.

What a road for the last 3 miles!  Really put my 4x4 Tacoma through a workout.  this is a great low usage ridge trail.  I've included 3min of video highlights below..

ROAD: paved great forest road until you reach the unsigned turn off to the lookout.  Then you have 3 miles of steep misery requiring both 4WD and high clearance.  Trailhead is well signed at last switchback before the lookout (which is 1000ft further) with a nice small parking area.  The lookout also has a small turnaround area.

TRAIL: In great condition.  A great ridge walk gaining and losing 200-400ft between summits along the ridge.

WILDFLOWERS:  lupine and paintbrush mainly - lots of them!

WILDLIFE: several ruffed grouse, one an angry mama that feinted attacks until I saw her well camouflaged  chick near me and backed away.

I went about 2 miles along the trail, to the other end of the summit just before Signal Peak.  Turning around, I did the easy scramble up that side, enjoyed the views and then continued the scramble down the other side to join the trail again, forming a lollipop loop for the hike.  My gps claimed 4-5miles total with about 800ft total elevation.

From the trailhead, the historic lookout is an easy 1000ft walk or tough 1000ft drive.  The local Entiat Forest Fire Team was up there - brave, friendly fun bunch to visit with.

Next time without storm clouds building I'll get all the way to Signal Peak..

I drove most of the way up to the lookout and hiked the last 2.5 miles along the road. The road was getting very rough and although my vehicle probably could have made it but I wanted the hike too. One one of the switchbacks there was a turn-off so I parked my car there so it was out of the way.

The lookout was all locked-up but I did manage to stick my camera up underneath one of the shutters for a view of the inside. Looking to the south you could see the knob where Sugarloaf Peak Lookout is located (when I zoom in on the photo that I took I can see the lookout. The views were a little hazy but not too bad. Some butterflies but not really any bugs. Dry and hot.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS (STARTING FROM THE TOWN OF ENTIAT):
1) Starting from Highway 97A, turn west onto on Entiat River Road (County Road 19) towards Glacier Peak Wilderness as well as the community of Ardenvoir.
2) After 9.8 miles, at the community of Ardenvoir, turn left onto Mad River Road (County Road 119A). This might be a good place to set your odometer.
3) After 2.1 miles, the road name changes to Forest Road 5700.
NOTE: This road name changes occurs where Forest Road 5800 (French Corral Road) intersect the main road from the south.
4) After 14.2 miles from Ardenvoir, turn right onto Forest Road 5713 (approximately 4400' elevation). Note, I never saw a sign with the road number but shortly after the turn-off the pavement on 5700 ends.
5) After 4.2 miles (18.4 miles from Ardenvoir), arrive at the summit of Tyee Mountain.

Although this hike simply followed an NFS road, rather than a trail, the solitude and views all along the way and at the lookout at the summit of Tyee Mountain made this a great day hike.

We started at the Pine Flats campground (Entiat River Rd to Ardenvoir, then left on Mad River Rd), and followed NFS 5700 up. There are quite a few NFS road intersections, but 5700 is the only road that's paved, so it's easy to follow. We didn't see another car or person anywhere on this road past the first few major junctions where there were large turnouts and a few groups camping. We turned right onto NFS 5713 (dirt). There was a tree down on the road, but it was partially cleared (one end cut off) and easy to drive around.

At a point, 5713 became too rocky and rutted for our SUV (a more rugged vehicle could handle it), so we parked about 3 miles from the summit and began our walk. Within 1/2 mile, the road was blocked by snow anyway. The road is exposed, affording stunning views in all directions, but bring a hat and plenty of water.  Snow cover was patchy and easy to cross except at the top/last 1/2 mile which was entirely covered.  However, it was possible to make out the general contour of the road and easily pick our way forward.

The lookout was still locked, but a beautiful place for lunch. Interestingly, there was a huge hatch of lady bugs covering a rock and surrounding bushes next to the lookout. They were biting/apparently hungry, so we could only briefly get close enough for a picture!

We left Wenatchee at 8:30 and parked at 10 a.m. Driving paved roads all but the last mile or so certainly helped! The Mad River Road is paved to the road that goes up to the Tyee lookout, but is in good condition almost to the gate and the #1413 trailhead. We came to a diagonal washout about a quarter mile before the gate that caused us to return to the last road junction and park, but I assume a high clearance vehicle could drive it easily. The sheet in the trail register was emphatically marked by a motor biker that there is a log over the trail, but we found no obstruction. Perhaps he was on another route. We found some bike tracks on the trail, but more recent deer tracks than bikes. The trail is in good shape - except for the trench left by heavy motor bike use. We - very luckily - met none the day we hiked. It is 7 mi RT from the TH. The temperatures were perfect - we started in the 60s and it was 75 when we returned to the car. There were no bugs! There was a volunteer lookout in the cabin that is visible from far below. He was happy to show us his equipment and let us try out the Osborne firefinder. it is fun to spot the other standing lookouts from that view: Sugarloaf and Alpine off toward Lake Wenatchee. It was a great day to be on the trail!