The trail itself was great and well maintained. I want to add a side note warning to those who were wandering off onto the little side trails that take you to the Mt. Baker wash area. The trail I took didn’t have a closed sign on it. We got to a trail intersection where we did find a closed sign on the trail but no closed sign on a set of steps that went up the side of a cliff… turns out the stairs lead to NOTHING as the trail had quite literally fallen down the wash. Do NOT try to hike over to the wash edge. From the observatory the wash doesn’t look steep, it is. Don’t do it. VERY unsafe.
Washington Trails
Association
Trails for everyone, forever
Comments
evan_1 on Park Butte
The pic you posted looks like the beginning of the Railroad Grade trail which is a legit trail and an approach to climbing Baker. That particular part of trail, if I remember right (I did a few weeks ago) requires going slightly back down (west) to go around. But the trail pretty much follows that knife edge of the moraine the whole time, so there’s always a bit of exposure. Anyway, thanks for being safe out there!
Posted by:
evan_1 on Oct 21, 2025 05:16 PM