Hiking Guide
WTA's hiking guide is the most comprehensive database of hikes in Washington, and comprises content written by local hiking experts and user submitted information. All data is vetted by WTA staff. This resource is made possible by the donations of WTA members.
We respectfully acknowledge the lands we are visiting are the homelands of Indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest, some of whom have reserved rights on these lands. Tribes continue to rely on and share in the management of these lands today. Please tread gently and treat these places with respect.
Results List
4216 HikesSloan Peak
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 9.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,900 feet
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Highest Point
- 7,835 feet
This route on the north side of Sloan Peak is steep and challenging. Hikers with navigational skills can make it to the base of the peak -- climbing gear and expertise is needed to achieve the summit.
East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 18.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,400 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,000 feet
The Necklace Valley makes a wonderful 2-3 night backpack trip for hearty hikers, and rewards with cool alpine lakes to swim and fish in, or just camp beside. Or take a day trip along the East Fork Foss River admire the amazing second-growth tree canopy.
Fisher Lake
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 10.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,580 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,171 feet
This is a large lake hidden just south of Tonga Ridge in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Reached by a brushy, boot-beaten fisherman's path, it is less visited than many lakes in the area, but the route is marked on the map, and if you are willing to put up with a bit of inconvenience, this makes a nice day hike or overnight.
Evans Lake
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 1.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 50 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,700 feet
While Evans Lake may be less well-known than many of the other lakes nestled within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, it nevertheless offers a pleasant backcountry experience.
East Fork Foss River Snowshoe
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 12.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 900 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,150 feet
This snowshoe route starts off with a roadwalk, then carries on through the East Fork Foss River Valley on the Necklace Valley Trail.
Wildside Trail-De Leo Wall
Issaquah Alps > Cougar Mountain
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Length
- 4.2 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 489 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,122 feet
12.24.25: The Wildside trail is closed until further notice due to flooding. Nearby trails remain open.
A moderate, year round loop trail in the Issaquah Alps that is popular with hikers, dog walkers and trail runners. Entering the large parking area at the Red Town trailhead (one of several in this 3,100-acre regional park) it’s hard to imagine that what is today a lush green forest was once a busy coalmine operation. Now all that remains are nearly forgotten place names, a few carefully preserved artifacts and caution signs warning of the hazards of travel off established trails.
Tonga Ridge Snowshoe
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 7.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,400 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,100 feet
The route up Tonga Ridge is not clearly marked for winter travel. Visitors to this area should have a route planned, a map, snow travel and avalanche travel skills.
Tonga Ridge / Mount Sawyer
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 8.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,200 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,495 feet
An up and down meandering trail that leads through open forest, wildflower meadows and a side trip to some fantastic views. The road up does most of the work, so the climb is not too long, and can be done by most hikers.
Terrace Mountain
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 5.25 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,000 feet
Woodard Bay Conservation Area
Olympic Peninsula > Olympia
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Length
- 3.5 miles of trails
With five miles of shoreline in South Puget Sound, the Woodard Bay Conservation Area includes forests, wetlands of freshwater, as well as historic and cultural resources that are a valuable diversion in the area.
Umatilla Rim Trail
Eastern Washington > Palouse and Blue Mountains
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Length
- 13.5 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 2,050 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,450 feet
This trail is located in the Umatilla National Forest in Oregon, but is close enough for a day hike from Washington. The route is a thru-hike in the Blue Mountains.
Devore Creek
Central Cascades > Entiat Mountains/Lake Chelan
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Length
- 15.0 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 5,400 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,600 feet
Climbing steeply up into the mountains to the west of Lake Chelan, the Devore Creek Trail begins in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area near Weaver Point Campground, offering miles of hiking and adventuring.
Pacific Northwest Trail
Puget Sound and Islands
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Length
- 1200.0 miles, one-way
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Highest Point
- 7,580 feet
The Pacific Northwest Trail is a 1,200-mile linear trail that stretches from Glacier National Park in Montana to Cape Alava on the Pacific Ocean in the Olympic National Park.
Silver Star Mountain (Okanogan)
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Elevation Gain
- 4,500 feet
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Highest Point
- 8,876 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
Silver Star mountain provides a rewarding hiking and climbing opportunity right off Highway 20. Its majestic barren rocky spires that raise out of the forested slopes seem beyond reach but in fact the summit block requires a bit of exposed scrambling, after a long hike and a glacier traverse.
Ruby Creek
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 6.4 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,230 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,935 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
Ruby Creek is a short, mellow river ramble that is often traveled as a part of the longer Devils Dome Loop.
Rainy Lake
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 2.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 70 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,800 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
This one-mile long paved trail takes you to a beautiful alpine lake.
Rainbow Lake
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 11.5 miles, roundtrip
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
Providing access to Bowan Pass, the Rainbow Lake Trail also allows hikers access to deep blue Rainbow Lake. Used mostly by backpackers, the trail lies deep within a network of other access trails.
Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section L - Rainy Pass to Manning Park
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 60.2 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 15,300 feet
-
Highest Point
- 7,100 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
This last leg of the Pacific Crest Trail (or first depending on whether you're north- or southbound) offers breathtaking views as it passes along the eastern edge of the North Cascades and into the Pasayten Wilderness. Note that as of 2025, hikers are no longer allowed to cross the border into Canada.
Heather - Maple Pass Loop
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 7.2 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,020 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,650 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
If ever there was a hike to satisfy all a hiker's desires, this one comes as close as any. A loop hike with many fabulous changing faces throughout the seasons, Heather-Maple Pass features ridgelines blanketed in wildflowers in summer, lakes ringed with golden larches in fall, and before the highway closes for the season, a dramatic place to experience early winter’s snows.
Lone Fir Loop
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 2.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 100 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
An easy, short loop hike out of the Lone Fir campground. The first bit is paved before giving way to a dirt trail that follows Early Winters Creek. After a creek crossing (log bridge) it loops back to the campground.
Little Jack Mountain
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 13.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,935 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,896 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
This summit off of Highway 20 offers gorgeous views of the craggy North Cascades and a great workout.
Jackita Ridge
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 15.2 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,000 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,800 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
With views of Crater and Jack Mountains, the Jackita Ridge trail takes you up a challenging incline to the top of a ridge above the timberline. It features wildflowers and unobstructed views. Many hikers use it to connect to the Devil's Dome loop or to reach Crater Mountain.
Golden Horn - Snowy Lakes
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 23.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,700 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,900 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
Experience the Pacific Crest Trail at its finest. This backpacking trip takes you across four passes to two lovely alpine lakes in the shadow of Golden Horn, Tower Mountain and Mount Hardy.
Fourth of July Pass via Panther Creek
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 11.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,000 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,500 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
Panther Creek is a small gem in a setting of big gems. The North Cascades boasts some of the biggest, finest views in the country, and quiet, contemplative hikes like Panther Creek can get lost in the mix. Nevertheless, it’s well worth hikers’ time to venture into these forests and meadows to ascend Fourth of July Pass.
Fisher Creek
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 14.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 4,000 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,560 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
Following a meandering path along a valley floor and then steeply up to a broad pass, the Fisher Creek Trail is part of a 14 mile traverse of breathtaking high mountain scenery through the eastern side of the North Cascades National Park.
Easy Pass
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 7.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,800 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,500 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
Don’t be fooled by the name — the way to Easy Pass is anything but easy. But the reward for your efforts is an eastside gateway into the stunning North Cascades National Park. At the pass, you’re greeted by trickling streams of snowmelt and views of the peaks of Golden Horn and Mount Hardy to the east. Venturing further west, gaze into the Park, with awe-inspiring glacially carved river valleys, dark gray craggy massifs of Fisher Peak and Mount Logan dotted with snowfields or cloaked by glaciers, and a host of wildflowers.
East Creek
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 18.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 4,500 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,500 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
East Creek has long been unmaintained, but with the construction of a bridge over East Creek in summer of 2025, the Forest Service has resumed maintenance. It may take time for the trail to be returned to a totally hikable state, but at one time, the trail, at its full length, connected to the Pacific Crest Trail.
East Bank Ross Lake
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 31.0 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 800 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
You'll enjoy moderate elevation gain and fabulous views on this lakeside trail that stretches more than 30 miles north -- nearly to Canada.
Devil's Dome Loop
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 43.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 13,000 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,980 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
Dry, subalpine ridges, old growth forest, massive flower packed meadows, and glaciated peaks makes this trip a nonstop North Cascades life-list backpack!
Cutthroat Pass via the Pacific Crest Trail
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 10.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,000 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,800 feet
Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171).
Cutthroat Pass is a stunner no matter which way you access it. This way, you'll enjoy a wider, more well-maintained trail, and you're more likely to share it with Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers.