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 HikesBlack Diamond Open Space
Puget Sound and Islands > Seattle-Tacoma Area
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Length
- 17.0 miles of trails
-
Highest Point
- 700 feet
The Black Diamond Open space consists of 1,240 forested acres including wetlands, peat bogs, streams and portions of the protected migratory corridor known as the Wildlife Habitat Network. Explore the 17 miles of non-motorized trails only two miles north of Black Diamond and six miles to the south of Maple Valley.
Fort Worden State Park - Point Wilson
Olympic Peninsula > Northern Coast
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Length
- 2.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 0 feet
On the shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, you can walk a fine sandy beach between high bluffs and two access points to reach the Point Wilson Lighthouse at Fort Worden State Park.
Twin Firs Loop
Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise
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Length
- 0.5 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 50 feet
-
Highest Point
- 2,550 feet
This short, family-friendly trail is a great spot for viewing impressive old growth and finding a reprieve from the strong summer sunshine.
Columbia Plateau Trail - Washtucna Coulee
Central Washington > Tri-Cities
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Length
- 7.0 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 140 feet
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Highest Point
- 940 feet
A segment of the Columbia Plateau Trail passes through a former railroad tunnel and along an ice age coulee, past the dried basin of what was once Lake Kahlotus.
W.E. Johnson Park
Central Washington > Tri-Cities
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Length
- 2.3 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 50 feet
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Highest Point
- 370 feet
W.E. Johnson Park is a Richland city park with an interesting mix of riparian, wetlands and shrubsteppe habitat adjacent to the Yakima River.
Hock Mountain
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 16.0 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 5,000 feet
-
Highest Point
- 7,750 feet
Highway 20 is closed between the Ross Dam trailhead (milepost 134) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171) for the winter season.
Hike a valley trail through old growth forest to the base of a peak, then an off trail class 2 scramble to the summit.
McGregor Mountain
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 16.0 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 6,200 feet
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Highest Point
- 8,122 feet
The most prominent peak in the Stehekin Valley, McGregor Mountain offers commanding views of the valley, Lake Chelan and a wide swath of the North Cascades, in addition to a high alpine environment that is equaled by few other trails anywhere. Though long and challenging, the trail is moderate in pitch, gaining a little over 6,000 feet in elevation over a measured eight miles, until the final scramble to the summit.
Howard Lake
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
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Length
- 3.3 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 600 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,180 feet
Just behind the High Bridge Guard Station at the end of the road in Stehekin, a trail leads to a quiet little lake nestled in lush, vibrant forest. This trail is primarily used by hikers heading to the summit of McGregor Mountain, the most prominent peak towering over the Stehekin Valley, but Howard Lake is a nice destination in and of itself, if you don’t have the time or the desire to tackle the 16 mile roundtrip hike up McGregor.
Kamiak Butte
Eastern Washington > Palouse and Blue Mountains
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Length
- 3.5 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 900 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,600 feet
Hikers who venture to the summit of Kamiak Butte are rewarded with a rolling patchwork of green and yellow fields in every direction, and bright blue skies overhead.
Chambers Creek Canyon
Puget Sound and Islands > Seattle-Tacoma Area
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Length
- 2.5 miles of trails
-
Elevation Gain
- 500 feet
Chambers Creek Canyon is a deeply incised, forested stream corridor between Lakewood and University Place in the South Puget Sound region.
Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer
Southwest Washington > Long Beach Area
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Length
- 5.6 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 0 feet
-
Highest Point
- 20 feet
The 5-mile Center Road trail is closed between Oct 1 and May 31 each year.
Julia Butler Hansen was the first woman to serve on the Cathlamet City Council and to head an appropriations subcommittee in the Washington Legislature. This wildlife refuge is an excellent way to honor and experience what Butler Hansen held dear: protecting our nations natural resources.
Number Two Canyon Trails
Central Washington > Wenatchee
All trails in this area are closed from Dec 1 to April 15 due to a seasonal wildlife closure.
While mostly used by mountain bikers, the over-20-mile trail system is open to hikers and equestrians as well.
Cleman Mountain - Waterworks Canyon Loop
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 6.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,000 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,582 feet
The area closes between early Dec and April 30 to protect wintering elk herds.
Great views, a canyon beneath spectacular cliffs, buttresses and pinnacles of weathered basalt, wildflowers in the spring, color and wildlife in the autumn, and sunshine through most of the day in the winter make the Point 3582-Waterworks Canyon loop on Mount Cleman a great hike.
Mystery Bay State Park
Olympic Peninsula > Northern Coast
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Length
- 0.1 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 0 feet
-
Highest Point
- 5 feet
A nice spot on Marrowstone Island for a picnic, birding or a very short walk on a beach.
Middle Fork Connector Trail
Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area
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Length
- 0.5 miles, one-way
-
Elevation Gain
- 40 feet
-
Highest Point
- 1,150 feet
Enjoy Garfield Mountain from the Taylor River, spot Stegosaurus Butte through the trees, enjoy the lush moss, and get a quick dose of nature on this short ramble.
Dry Creek Falls
Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - OR
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Length
- 4.6 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 860 feet
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Highest Point
- 870 feet
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) runs from Mexico to the Canadian border through the Columbia Gorge. While it is well-known for traveling along the waterfall-filled Eagle Creek Trail, purists know that it is an alternate route; the actual trail runs a bit south closer to the Bridge of The Gods. Here, the PCT leads you to the secluded gem of Dry Creek Falls just a few miles away from the noise and bustle of I-84.
Rampart Ridge Loop
Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise
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Length
- 4.5 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 1,300 feet
-
Highest Point
- 4,080 feet
This short loop out of Longmire makes for a great, quick way to get some elevation gain, some forest views, and a fantastic vista of Mount Rainier, all in less than five miles!
Headlee Pass and Vesper Lake
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 7.0 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 2,700 feet
-
Highest Point
- 4,950 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
Vesper Lake is squeezed, like a thumbprint in clay, deep in the saddle between the twin summits of Sperry Peak and Vesper Peak. Rarely is a lake situated so close and steeply below two summits like this–its unique setting gives you remarkably up-close (and straight-up) views of mountainous terrain. And all that comes after the former mining trail that provides incredible scenery along the way.
Glacier Basin
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 12.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,159 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
This strenuous hike out of Monte Cristo features everything from smooth incline to rough rock scrambles. There is tough but absolutely beautiful trail along the way and it gets even better once you reach your destination.
Vesper Peak
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 8.0 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 4,000 feet
-
Highest Point
- 6,214 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
Vesper Peak is definitely not for the novice hiker, but for those thirsting for one step beyond hiking into backcountry adventure, it's a good leaping off point. The smooth, low angle granite of Vesper's upper reaches make for relatively easy off-trail travel and beginning routefinding.
Sperry Peak
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 6.4 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 3,800 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,120 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
Scramble to the top of this peak from Headlee Pass, located off the Mountain Loop Highway.
Silver Lake - Monte Cristo
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 13.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,791 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,405 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
Visit the remains of an old mining town in a basin surrounded by high peaks. Climb to Silver Lake nestled under the steep side of Silvertip Peak with good camping and good views of surrounding peaks.
Perry Creek
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 10.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,400 feet
-
Highest Point
- 5,250 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
Perry Creek proves you can have it all in a single hike — old-growth forest, wildflowers, waterfalls, meadows, expansive mountain views, even lakes! Tread lightly, though — due to its unparalleled diversity of native plants, the area between the summits of Stillaguamish Peak, Mount Forgotten and Mount Dickerman is a research natural area that could (in theory) be closed to all uses but scientific study.
Old Government
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 4.0 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 300 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,400 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
This is a pleasant, short, lowland forest walk, accessed in Barlow Pass, the popular jumping-off point for locations like Monte Cristo and Gothic Basin.
Mount Forgotten
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 13.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 4,300 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,005 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
Mount Forgotten is an appealing target for the peculiarly determined hiker-turned-climber. Its sheer wall of a summit is very striking and easily instills visions of alpinism in those headed to Mount Forgotten Meadows, but the route takes a roundabout journey that requires not so much vertiginous daring-do as it does oodles of patience. The views from the top are spectacular, particularly the unobstructed view straight up Glacier Peak.
Mount Dickerman
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 8.2 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 3,950 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,760 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
If the best views come to those who earn them, Mount Dickerman offers the fairest vantage along the Mountain Loop. You’ll huff and puff through 4,000 feet of elevation on your way to the summit; in return, you’ll get a superb panorama of nearly every peak in the Mountain Loop. In late summer, it also rewards the intrepid with a bounty of mountain blueberries.
Monte Cristo Ghost Town
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 8.0 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 700 feet
-
Highest Point
- 2,800 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
Hike to an old mining town by heading up a long-closed road along the South Fork Sauk River. This route largely sticks to the old route taken by miners over a century ago.
Gothic Basin
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 9.2 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,840 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,200 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
Rough and tumble is the trail, just like the miners that constructed this path. Becoming progressively more rugged, the ascent to Gothic Basin offers tremendous rewards at its end. Early on, one simply meanders alongside the relentless South Fork of the Sauk River, then turns into a forested, increasingly steep bee-line to the basin with waterfalls, flowers, and views of the surrounding mountains to keep one distracted once you leave the forest.
Goat Lake
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 10.4 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,400 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,161 feet
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
A nice hike with plenty of variety. Beautiful forest, a rushing creek, waterfalls of all shapes and sizes, history, and of course a large blue-green lake surrounded by snowy peaks. At 10.4 miles, it can be either a day-hike or a quick early season overnight. You won’t be alone, though – this is a popular trail with both hikers and backpackers.
Big Four Ice Caves
North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway
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Length
- 2.2 miles, roundtrip
-
Elevation Gain
- 220 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,938 feet
Never go into or climb on top of the Ice Caves.
The Mountain Loop Highway is closed between Deer Creek and Bedal Campground for the winter season.
This is an easy walk on a wide gravel and boardwalk path to views of Big Four Mountain and the caves beneath the snow. Hikers of all ages and abilities can enjoy this trail.