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
4203 HikesDiablo Lake
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 7.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,400 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,950 feet
Follow the Diablo Lake Trail up and across talus slopes on the flanks of Sourdough Mountain to impressive cascading waterfalls and stunning views of Ross Lake and Colonial, Pyramid, Davis Peaks, as well as Jack Mountain.
Denny Creek
Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass
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Length
- 6.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,345 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,642 feet
A popular trail, thanks to its gentle, family friendly grade with amazing destinations. The natural water slide area at Denny Creek is a must visit for families! Keekwulee Falls offers a stunning viewpoint that is easily accessible. Snowshoe Falls maybe a bit elusive and more difficult to see from the trail, but is also a beautiful natural wonder.
Deception Pass
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 28.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,100 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,500 feet
Accessible from Highway 2, I-90, or the iconic Pacific Crest Trail, Deception Pass is a gateway to alpine lakes, stunning mountain views or, if you're a thru-hiker, Mexico or Canada.
Deception Lakes
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 9.85 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,630 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,090 feet
This group of small lakes in the Alpine Wilderness sits along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) between Mac Peak and Surprise Mountain. It's a great rest stop for a multi-day backpacking trip along the PCT, a campsite for an overnight trip, or even a destination for a long day hike.
Deception Falls National Recreation Area
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 0.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 50 feet
The short half-mile interpretive trail along Deception Falls is a great stop for a quick stretch of the legs as you drive over Stevens Pass. The highlight is the tumbling, multi-tiered waterfall and its distinctive 90 degree turn the creek makes at a stop along the way.
Deception Creek
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 11.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,200 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,150 feet
Everything that makes a river hike fun is here, cool bridges, waterfalls, big trees, lots of dripping moss, and mushrooms.
Deadfall
Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal
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Length
- 7.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,240 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,273 feet
A longer, steeper, pass free, alternate route to the summit of Mount Zion.
Dark Meadows
South Cascades > Dark Divide
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Length
- 6.4 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,700 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,200 feet
This rugged trail in the Dark Divide is part of a large network of trails that offer miles of wandering in the forests between Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams.
Cultus Creek
South Cascades > Mount Adams Area
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Length
- 4.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,100 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,100 feet
The trail climbs sharply through a forest of Douglas fir for a mile to a view of the Goat Rocks, Sawtooth Mountain, Mount Rainier, and Mount Adams. From this viewpoint you get a great view of Mount Adams and the Goat Rocks. It's worth bringing a camera for this one.
Crowell Ridge
Eastern Washington > Selkirk Range
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Length
- 8.4 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,700 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,880 feet
Crowell Ridge is visible from many valley roads but hikers rarely tread on it. Rough roads, steep trail, and sheer distance from city centers keeps this ridgeline lonely, but the expansive views to be had from the summit are worth the work.
Crooked Creek
Eastern Washington > Palouse and Blue Mountains
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Length
- 17.0 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 3,800 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,700 feet
A long approach to access wild creeks that flow through steep terrain from the top to the bottom of the Blue Mountains makes Crooked Creek best hiked as part of a backpacking adventure.
Crescent Beach Preserve
Puget Sound and Islands > San Juan Islands
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Length
- 1.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 40 feet
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Highest Point
- 60 feet
Just outside the little town of Eastsound on Orcas Island is a sweet little beach that offers some nice rambling; the perfect place to walk off a meal, or simply take in low tide and the lovely animals that come with it.
Craggy Peak
South Cascades > Dark Divide
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Length
- 11.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,800 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,275 feet
The Craggy Peak Trail is a beautiful, albeit difficult hike located in one of Washington's least recognized areas: the Dark Divide. Nestled between imposing St. Helens to the west, Adams to the east, and Rainier to the north, the Craggy Peak Trail boasts spectacular views of the surrounding snowy peaks. Because of some necessary bushwhacking, this is quite a difficult hike, yet is doable in a day.
Coyote Trail
South Cascades > White Pass/Cowlitz River Valley
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Length
- 6.8 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 1,480 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,600 feet
The Coyote Trail is within the Goat Rock Wilderness, part of the Gifford Pinchot Forest. It begins at a junction with the Packwood Lake Trail, offering access to Lost Lake and after a grueling climb, the Pacific Crest Trail. This trail will provide the hiker and the backpacker with great views and challenging terrain along with some solitude since it is not a popular or a frequented trail.
Coyote Creek
Issaquah Alps > Cougar Mountain
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Length
- 1.1 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 150 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,350 feet
The Coyote Creek Trail runs north-south through the northern half of Cougar Mountain Regional Park.
Cowlitz Trail
South Cascades > White Pass/Cowlitz River Valley
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Length
- 10.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,348 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,148 feet
Originally a Native American travel route across the Cascade range, the Cowlitz trail now offers visitors multiple loop options and beautiful destinations in the William O. Douglas wilderness.
Cowen and Ravenna Parks
Puget Sound and Islands > Seattle-Tacoma Area
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Length
- 4.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 115 feet
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Highest Point
- 200 feet
Cowen and Ravenna Parks form a contiguous urban nature area and green space, containing Ravenna Ravine and Ravenna Creek, in the middle of North Seattle. They contain 4.5 miles of trails that traverse a 0.75-mile stretch of Ravenna Ravine.
Cow Heaven
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 9.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 4,040 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,460 feet
With a trailhead accessible year round, Cow Heaven and views of the Skagit and Sauk River Valleys along with the majestic North Cascades are a promising paradise despite the challenge of a zigzag ascent spent mostly within the shelter of the forest.
Cow Creek Meadows
Central Cascades > Entiat Mountains/Lake Chelan
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Length
- 11.25 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,500 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,000 feet
Hike through an old burn zone to reach an idyllic meadow high in the Entiat Mountains.
Angel Falls Loop
South Cascades > White Pass/Cowlitz River Valley
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Length
- 3.4 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,100 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,300 feet
Covel Creek trail is a very short, one mile trail with only 50 feet of elevation gain. Hikers can travel through dense forest to a small waterfall, but there is an option to continue on the Angel Falls Loop, which creates a figure-eight, making this longer hike about 4 miles roundtrip.
Constance Pass
Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal
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Length
- 7.3 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 4,939 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,501 feet
The Constance Pass Trail climbs from the Dosewallips River, over the pass and on to the border between Olympic National Park and the Buckhorn Wilderness in Olympic National Forest, where it continues on with a new name, the Home Lake Trail.
Columbia Springs
Southwest Washington > Vancouver Area
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Length
- 0.3 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 10 feet
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Highest Point
- 20 feet
Just east of Vancouver, off the Evergreen Highway is a delightful little education center that houses a fish hatchery (complete with feeding pond), a small greenspace, and three little trails that are friendly to even the littlest hikers.
Columbia Mountain Snowshoe
Eastern Washington > Okanogan Highlands/Kettle River Range
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Length
- 7.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,400 feet
Go north on the Kettle Crest National Scenic Trail across the southwestern flank of Columbia Mountain. The open summit, the high point for this adventure, holds views of the surrounding Kettle Range.
Colonel Bob Trail - Colonel Bob Peak
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
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Length
- 14.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 4,292 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,492 feet
Start at 200 feet above sea level and climb to a lofty, scenic peak of 4492 feet on a long, switchbacking trail through stunning old growth forest. WTA has done a lot of work on this trail to improve it after a huge storm in 2007.
Pete's Creek - Colonel Bob Peak
Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast
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Length
- 8.2 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,500 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,510 feet
This peak allows for unrivaled views of the Olympic Peninsula. Located on the southwest side of the park, views include the Pacific Ocean, Grays Harbor, Lake Quinault and the Quinault River, the Olympic rainforest and Mount Olympus.
Cold Creek Loop via Tinkham and Silver Peaks
Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass
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Length
- 8.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,600 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,500 feet
This loop takes you past two clear and calm lakes, up a steep, brushy trail to the beautifully manicured Pacific Crest Trail, then west under the blocky granite summit of Tinkham Peak and the shining pyramid of Silver Peak before dropping to Windy Pass.
Colchuck Lake
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
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Length
- 8.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,280 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,580 feet
Set beneath two of Washington’s tallest peaks, Colchuck Lake is an alpine gem. It is a larger cousin to the nearby fabled Enchantment Lakes and offers many of the same payoffs – including groves of larches on its far shore – but can be reached with less than half the effort.
Clear Fork Trail
South Cascades > Goat Rocks
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Length
- 9.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,200 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,800 feet
Many hikers only see the first couple miles of this trail, since Lily Lake is a popular location for families. But the Clear Fork Trail is many miles long, and offers fantastic adventure past the small lake.
Clackamas Mountain
Eastern Washington > Okanogan Highlands/Kettle River Range
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Length
- 8.8 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,500 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,443 feet
Clackamas Mountain Trail is a focal point for this area. There is a moderate loop here following ridgelines and much of this trail is part of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. Many options exist, so take a map to make your adventure.
Cinnamon Trail
South Cascades > Mount St. Helens
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Length
- 8.6 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 2,900 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,000 feet
The trail is closed until further notice due to damage from the Kalama Fire.
This long, meandering trail in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument makes for a lovely out-and-back, or as part of a big loop hike.