This last Wednesday I hiked an out-and-back combination of seven Newcastle and Cougar Mountain trails to visit Far Country Falls and Doughty Falls. My mission was to create spherical panoramic images at both falls.
I hiked from the Terrace Trail trailhead, located at 144th Place SE and SE 97th Street in Newcastle. The Terrace Trail switchbacks up past a bench at Boulder Grove and connects with the East Cross Town Trail which passes through several Madrone groves to connect with the entrance to Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park and the De Leo Wall Viewpoint Trail which also passes through several picturesque stands of Madrones.
The De Leo Wall Trail eventually intersects with the Indian Trail. Turning right, hike about a tenth of a mile to a marked trail to Far Country Falls. There is an earlier unmarked trail to the headwaters of the falls. This magical waterfall gorge could well be in Rivendell, the sanctuary of a magic Elvish otherworld. Far Country Falls is intermittently shrouded by sword ferns and mossy fallen tree branches as it meanders down through a garden of moss-covered boulders.
I took three panoramas and continued to Doughty Falls. Heading south on the Indian Trail, I took the Far Country Trail, the Shy Bear Trail, and finally, the Deceiver Trail down to the Doughty Falls overlook. Doughty Falls was not as dramatic as the Far Country Falls, but I had to see them both. I took one panorama and headed back. This last leg doubled the miles traveled.
One of the benefits of hiking in the Cougar Mountain area is that there are a great many trails that intersect with each other so you can create various routes and loops by combining them. This route, while only-an-out and back, combined seven trails: Terrace, East CrossTown, De Leo Viewpoint, Indian, Far Country, Shy Bear, and Deceiver Trails
The overall hiking distance was 8 miles with 1,760 feet of overall elevation gain. This hike is varied and visually interesting and I can recommend it. The links to the panoramas are below. Be sure to click the full-screen icon as you roll over the upper right of the photo for the best viewing.
King County Parks provides a detailed downloadable map with trails in the Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park in PDF form. https://aqua.kingcounty.gov/gis/web/VMC/recreation/BCT_CougarMtn_brochure.pdf
Headwaters, Far Country Falls, Cougar Mountain, WA: https://www.360cities.net/image/headwaters-far-country-falls-cougar-mountain-wa
Mossy Kingdom, Far Country Falls, Cougar Mountain, WA: https://www.360cities.net/image/mossy-kingdom-far-country-falls-cougar-mountain-wa
Enchanted Forest, Far Country Falls, Cougar Mountain, WA: https://www.360cities.net/image/enchanted-forest-far-country-falls-cougar-mountain-wa
The Overlook, Doughty Falls, Cougar Mountain, WA: https://www.360cities.net/image/the-overlook-doughty-falls-cougar-mountain-wa
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