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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

4222 Hikes

Middle Tiger

Issaquah Alps > Tiger Mountain
 
Length
7.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
1,600 feet
Highest Point
2,607 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.29
(7 votes)
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Mountain views
  • Old growth
  • Rivers
  • Summits
  • Wildlife
A short trail on Tiger Mountain that makes up some of the Tiger Mountain Trail thru-hike.
 
 

Slavin Pond Loop

Eastern Washington > Spokane Area/Coeur d'Alene
 
Length
3.3 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
246 feet
Highest Point
2,341 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.60
(5 votes)
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Good for kids
  • Lakes
  • Wildlife
With more than 600 acres of rolling fields, pine-forested buttes and wetlands, the Slavin Conservation Area provides plenty of room to stretch legs all year-round.
 
 

Lena Lake

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal
 
Length
7.2 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
1,300 feet
Highest Point
2,000 feet
Rating
Average rating:
4.14
(114 votes)
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Established campsites
  • Good for kids
  • Lakes
  • Mountain views
  • Old growth
  • Waterfalls
The hike to Lena Lake is a mild to moderate hike through old- and second-growth forest to a large beautiful lake, where the traffic on the trail is evidence of its beauty.
 
 

Ruby Mountain

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
17.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
6,300 feet
Highest Point
7,408 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.80
(10 votes)
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Established campsites
  • Mountain views
  • Ridges/passes
  • Summits

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

Ruby Mountain is a 7,408-foot peak in the center of the North Cascades. It has one of the best panoramic views of the lakes, snow-capped peaks and glaciers of the North Cascades National Park.
 
 

Ruby Creek

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
6.4 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
1,230 feet
Highest Point
1,935 feet
Rating
Average rating:
2.00
(5 votes)
  • Dogs not allowed
  • Rivers

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

Ruby Creek is a short, mellow river ramble that is often traveled as a part of the longer Devils Dome Loop.
 
 

Pierce Mountain Trail

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
9.9 miles, one-way
Elevation Gain
4,500 feet
Highest Point
5,965 feet
Rating
Average rating:
0.00
(0 votes)
  • Dogs not allowed
  • Established campsites
  • Lakes
  • Mountain views
  • Ridges/passes
  • Summits

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

Pierce Mountain Trail is a gentle trail up Sourdough Mountain from the Big Beaver trail.
 
 

Park Creek Pass via Thunder Creek

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
40.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
7,000 feet
Highest Point
6,000 feet
Rating
Average rating:
2.80
(5 votes)
  • Established campsites
  • Mountain views
  • Old growth
  • Ridges/passes
  • Rivers
  • Waterfalls
  • Wildflowers/Meadows
  • Wildlife

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

Try a multi-day backpack up the tumbling, boisterous, river-like Thunder Creek from the Colonial Creek Campground to just beyond its headwaters at Park Creek Pass. Backpackers can turn around at Park Creek Pass or do a traverse to Cascade Pass.
 
 

Heather - Maple Pass Loop

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
7.2 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
2,020 feet
Highest Point
6,650 feet
Rating
Average rating:
4.84
(166 votes)
  • Fall foliage
  • Lakes
  • Mountain views
  • Old growth
  • Ridges/passes
  • Wildflowers/Meadows
  • Wildlife

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

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.
 
 

Little Jack Mountain

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
13.6 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
3,935 feet
Highest Point
5,896 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.33
(3 votes)

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

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
 
Length
15.2 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
3,000 feet
Highest Point
6,800 feet
Rating
Average rating:
2.60
(5 votes)
  • Mountain views
  • Ridges/passes
  • Wildflowers/Meadows

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

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.
 
 

Happy-Panther

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
12.5 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
1,200 feet
Highest Point
2,100 feet
Rating
Average rating:
2.67
(3 votes)
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Fall foliage
  • Rivers
  • Waterfalls
  • Wildflowers/Meadows
  • Wildlife

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

Enjoy some fine ‘forest bathing’ on a quiet trail just off the busy highway. No grand views, but soft green moss, little creeks and large noisy waterfalls will be your reward. It’s nice anytime, but in spring before the highway opens or fall when the vine maple is turning would be a prime time for this one.
 
 

Fourth of July Pass via Panther Creek

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
11.5 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
2,000 feet
Highest Point
3,500 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.40
(5 votes)
  • Dogs not allowed
  • Established campsites
  • Mountain views
  • Rivers

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

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
 
Length
14.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
4,000 feet
Highest Point
6,560 feet
Rating
Average rating:
2.83
(6 votes)
  • Dogs not allowed
  • Established campsites
  • Fall foliage
  • Mountain views
  • Ridges/passes
  • Rivers
  • Wildflowers/Meadows

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

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
 
Length
7.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
2,800 feet
Highest Point
6,500 feet
Rating
Average rating:
4.00
(23 votes)
  • Fall foliage
  • Mountain views
  • Ridges/passes
  • Wildflowers/Meadows

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

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
 
Length
18.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
4,500 feet
Highest Point
6,500 feet
Rating
Average rating:
4.00
(5 votes)
  • Fall foliage
  • Mountain views
  • Ridges/passes
  • Rivers
  • Wildflowers/Meadows

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

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
 
Length
31.0 miles, one-way
Elevation Gain
800 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.42
(12 votes)
  • Good for kids
  • Lakes

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

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
 
Length
43.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
13,000 feet
Highest Point
6,980 feet
Rating
Average rating:
4.23
(13 votes)
  • Established campsites
  • Lakes
  • Mountain views
  • Old growth
  • Ridges/passes
  • Summits
  • Waterfalls

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

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
 
Length
10.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
2,000 feet
Highest Point
6,800 feet
Rating
Average rating:
4.21
(39 votes)
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Established campsites
  • Mountain views
  • Ridges/passes
  • Wildflowers/Meadows
  • Wildlife

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

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.
 
 

Chancellor

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
13.8 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
3,500 feet
Highest Point
6,300 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.00
(4 votes)
  • Mountain views
  • Ridges/passes
  • Summits
  • Wildflowers/Meadows

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

Climb most of the way up Center Mountain along this trail as you enter the Pasayten Wilderness.
 
 

Canyon Creek

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
6.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
1,994 feet
Highest Point
2,732 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.17
(6 votes)
  • Good for kids
  • Rivers
  • Wildflowers/Meadows

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

When looking for solitude or a quiet, cool creek to ramble along, look no further than Canyon Creek. This trail’s gentle tread and easy grade were cut long ago for horse-pack trains. Along this old supply route to the mines there are numerous babbling brooks, and other natural wonders to keep you entertained. Once this river trail could be followed all the way to Chancellor and then into the Pasayten Wilderness or towards Harts Pass. Alas, wash outs now close the trail five miles in at Mill Creek.
 
 

Boulder Creek

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
24.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
5,000 feet
Highest Point
6,500 feet
Rating
Average rating:
5.00
(1 vote)

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

High ridge traverse from Gold Hill Mine to North American Mine, connects East Creek to Canyon Creek.
 
 

Big Beaver Trail

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
24.6 miles, one-way
Elevation Gain
500 feet
Highest Point
1,980 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.27
(11 votes)
  • Established campsites
  • Good for kids
  • Lakes
  • Mountain views
  • Old growth
  • Rivers
  • Waterfalls

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

Visit one of the best old-growth hikes in the North Cascades, with views of a vivid blue lake and jagged, snowy peaks thrown in for good measure.
 
 

Willow Lake Trail

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
23.5 miles, one-way
Highest Point
2,880 feet
Rating
Average rating:
0.00
(0 votes)
  • Dogs not allowed
  • Established campsites
  • Lakes

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

The Willow Lake Trail is part of the East Bank Trail in the North Cascades National Park. Willow Lake is a small lake along the route and sits on the north end of Ross Lake.
 
 

Twisp Pass via Dagger Lake

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
15.2 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
3,320 feet
Highest Point
6,060 feet
Rating
Average rating:
0.00
(0 votes)
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Established campsites
  • Fall foliage
  • Lakes
  • Mountain views
  • Ridges/passes
  • Rivers

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

Take a walk in the forest on this trail as it climbs past a shallow lake and continues nearly to treeline at Twisp Pass. The upper half of the trail is flowered in summer and the power of avalanches is evident in the pick-up-sticks debris field shortly before Dagger Lake. At Twisp Pass in an intersection with many informal trails for further exploration.
 
 

Thunder Knob

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
3.6 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
635 feet
Highest Point
1,875 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.93
(42 votes)
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Established campsites
  • Good for kids
  • Lakes
  • Mountain views

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

Hike this easy leg stretcher while taking in the beautiful scenery of the North Cascades Highway. A good stop if you have a car full of restless children or you are showing off the area to visiting relatives. The views from the top are a big payoff for such a short hike.
 
 

Thunder Creek

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
12.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
1,300 feet
Highest Point
1,900 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.78
(27 votes)
  • Established campsites
  • Good for kids
  • Old growth
  • Ridges/passes
  • Rivers

Highway 20 is closed between Colonial Creek Campground (milepost 130) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156.8).

A pale green creek, big old trees, a variety of understory, and peek-a-boo views of snow-capped peaks. Day-hikers should take it easy, as the joy here is in the journey not the destination. Backpackers, however, may disagree. Families and first-time backpackers will enjoy beautiful camps just two miles from the trailhead. Experienced backpackers will note that Thunder Creek is a gateway to an extensive network of trails.
 
 

Silver Star Mountain (Okanogan)

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Elevation Gain
4,500 feet
Highest Point
8,876 feet
Rating
Average rating:
4.50
(2 votes)
  • Mountain views
  • Summits
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.
 
 

Rainy Lake

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
2.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
70 feet
Highest Point
4,800 feet
Rating
Average rating:
4.08
(13 votes)
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Fall foliage
  • Good for kids
  • Lakes
  • Mountain views
  • Waterfalls
This one-mile long paved trail takes you to a beautiful alpine lake.
 
 

Rainbow Lake

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
11.5 miles, roundtrip
Rating
Average rating:
2.75
(4 votes)
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.
 
 

Lone Fir Loop

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
 
Length
2.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
100 feet
Rating
Average rating:
3.80
(5 votes)
  • Dogs allowed on leash
  • Good for kids
  • Old growth
  • Rivers
  • Wildlife
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.