Washington Trail Association- Trail Report
General: Good hike. Ideal for trail runners or for folks needing a jolt of workout. For sure, not worth family weekend climb. Trail approach is easy to find, good parking (with Discover pass), facilities at trailhead, clean signage, wide very well maintained Trail, not tough but good enough to challenge (2K gain, 5+ miles). Not much views on the way and limited views on the top (with tree growth now). One negative thing about this hike is the highway noise.
Day specific: I did this in the evening (started at 4 PM).
• People: There was a steady stream of folks climbing. During my climb above I would have crossed 10-15 folks.
• Condition: There was not a single spot of water on the trail. Trail very well maintained.
• : Some flowers near top, stretches of berry growth.
• : Tons of bugs.
Details:
• Follow directions to reach the trailhead, its straightforward. Just take exit 20, turn right and then follow frontage road (coming west). You have two options to park 1)If you have Discover pass (or you can buy day pass there online or by phone for around $11) you can park at the extensive parking inside or 2) if you don’t want to pay, just park outside. There is a stretch of parking just before the gates or parallel to road. Note gates close at dusk, so if you are planning to come late better park outside. There is a trail which goes from outside of gates to main inside parking (it’s around 0.3M). At trail head there is education hut and restrooms.
• Clear signage directing you towards the WT3. There are couple trails that also go from this point (lake tradition loop, bus trail etc.). For whole stretch you will see clear directions except at one point where Talus trail goes. Someone has etched on wood the direction to WT3, in case you are confused.
• I parked outside the gates (was cheap). My Runtastic app calculated roundtrip of 6.3M taking 3:45 hrs. (around 20 min I spent on top). Total elevation gain of 2100 ft. Guide says roundtrip of 5M, but I think it’s more around 5.5M.
• Right from start there is a climb. The whole trip is gaining elevation –very steady though. So don’t expect any sections to relax . Hike is mostly climbing ramp. Except for the last 0.5Miles where trail is more steeper and a bit rocky. At this last section you will start seeing some views b/w the trees.
• Straightforward climb up so no needs for maps or confusion.
• There is very limited view on the top – you can see on East the TM with cell towers and on West some views of / .
Good climb for practice or staying fit. Enjoy!
