Western Washington hikes ranked
- Rachel
- Jun 19, 2023
- 7 min read
A little over a year ago, I fulfilled a years-long dream to move to the Pacific Northwest. Like most people from the Midwest, I had wanted to leave my hometown from a young age. My interest in the PNW specifically goes back about ten years.
I was a heavy Tumblr user when I was a teenager. One day, I saw a stunning photo of snow-capped mountains on my dashboard. I clicked on the original poster’s blog link and discovered a Seattle-based videographer named Caleb Babcok. From there, I found his Vimeo and watched vlogs of him and his friends hiking in the most beautiful landscapes I’d ever seen (through a video screen).
He was doing everything my teenage self living in a high rise apartment building didn’t have access to: camping, kayaking, making coffee on mountain tops.
So when I was looking for a job in the spring of 2022 Washington state was still high on my list, even though I had never been there before. I applied for an open reporter position at a small newspaper on the biggest island in the state (and there are a lot of islands, I soon discovered). I got the job and was able to live out my Pacific Northwest granola girl fantasy.
Hiking in this region's can be a lot more challenging hiking in Ohio and my partner and I had varying degrees of success on the trails listed below. I always utilize AllTrails to scope out the mileage and elevation gain and read reviews on the recent conditions of trails and roads. Some valuable and probably obvious lessons I learned were to always bring lots of water, snacks (or pack a lunch on longer hikes) and take it as slow as you need to. Also, it's okay to turn around for whatever reason!
Here's the low down on eight different hikes in Western Washington. I think this is one of the most beautiful areas in the the world and hiking is a great way to see and appreciate the landscape.
Ebey's Landing Trail - Whidbey Island
3.6 miles, 324 feet elevation gain.
This was our first real hike on the island and it’s located in Ebey’s National Historic Reserve on central Whidbey Island. The reserve is part of the U.S. National Parks Service.
If you're ever on Whidbey, I think this hike is a must. It has mild elevation gain and quintessential Whidbey Island views: green farmland, blue mountains, and white clouds (if you're lucky enough to be here on a sunny day.) It's also close to the small sea-side town of Coupeville (it's so charming Practical Magic was filmed there) and Fort Ebey and Fort Casey state parks.
To hike Ebey's Landing, we parked at the charmingly named Sunnyside Cemetery in Coupeville and walked by the historic Jacob and Sarah Ebey House. This is a cool place on the trail to stop and learn a little history about the first European family to permanently settle on the island.
From there, you will walk over a rocky beach. I'm docking a point for this because it's a little rough on the legs. Then you will walk up the bluff and loop back to the cemetery. Parking there are adds a little more distance but it is free. If you want to park within the reserve, you will need a Discovery Pass. Personally, I think the addition of the cemetery and Sarah and Jacob Ebey house visit adds the perfect touch of historical context for this trail.
Ranking: 4/5
6.8 miles, 1,473 feet elevation gain.
This was our first longer hike in the state and is located in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It's about two hours from where we lived in Oak harbor and about one hour from Seattle. The trailhead is located east of Granite Falls off Mountain Loop Highway.
I chose this hike because it was the highest rated on AllTrails in the national forest. The highest point leads to an alpine lake surrounded by trees and with views of Mt. Pilchuk.
It was quite a challenging one (for us, anyway) but the weather was perfect for hiking -- overcast and cool.
Unfortunately, the lake was super socked in (this is a term I picked up in Washington; it means foggy) so our view was a little limited. It was also too cold to take a dip in the water, which was what I was hoping for.
We went on nearly all of our hikes on the weekend, so a lot of the time trails were crowded and this one was no exception. I'm docking a point because of that and the obstructed view at the lake, but that can be blamed on timing. This is still a fantastic hike.
Ranking 4/5
Goose Rock Summit Trail - Deception Pass State Park
1.1 miles, 308 feet elevation gain.
Back on Whidbey Island, this hike is located in Deception Pass State Park. This is the most visited state park in Washington and it was named the fifth most beautiful state park in the country by Travel Lens.
Goose Rock is the highest point on Whidbey Island but it actually has less elevation gain than Ebey's Landing. It is short and steep but you can also take a longer and more scenic route to get there via Goose Rock Perimeter trail.
I took this trail several times while living in Oak Harbor, including solo on Christmas Day. I think the optimal time to do this hike is at sunset because you will get some stunning views of Puget Sound. Since it's so short, you don't have to worry about walking back in the dark.
Ranking 5/5
5.3 miles, 1,459 feet elevation gain.
Located in Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area, the trail is about two hours away from Oak Harbor and only about 40 minutes away from Seattle. It is 16 minutes away from Snoqualmie, the town where Twin Peaks was filmed.
While we were in the area, Brandon and I visited Snoqualmie Falls (featured in the opening credits of Twin Peaks) and one of Washington's most iconic diners, Twede's Cafe (frequented by Agent Cooper). It is definitely worth a stop for some damn fine cup of coffee and a slice of cherry pie.
We camped in the nearby Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
If you don't want to do a hike, Rattlesnake Lake itself is beautiful. We kayaked in the lake before ascending the mountain.
The trail was steep but you only have to hike about two miles mile to get to the first peak which is where we stopped. If you're in better shape than us, you can keep going.
Ranking 5/5
5 miles, 485 feet of elevation gain.
We didn’t do a real hike again until February. I wanted to try snowshoeing and I found the details for this "beginner trail" on the internet. It's very close to Mt. Baker Ski Area. To find it, type in "NF-3075, Deming, WA" into Google Maps. The trailhead if right off Mt. Baker Highway and you don't need any sort or parking pass. There was room for a few cars to park right at the trailhead but it was quite snowy.
The avalanche danger was 'moderate' on this day, so my worry-wart partner was reluctant to go. To hear his side of the story, you can can read his hilarious account of the day here.
Always eager to save a buck, Brandon opted not to rent snowshoes or hiking poles like me at Glacier Ski Shop in Deming. We both had a couple of other things working against us as well. Mainly, it was lunchtime when we were on the hike and we hadn't packed a meal, only snacks. It was also raining the entire time which just made us uncomfortable.
I was doing okay with my snowshoes and poles but Brandon was struggling in his snows boots. About a mile in, we decided to call it quits and doubled back. Unfortuntely, we did not get to see any views of Mt. Shuksan. I'm docking a couple points because of our less than stellar experience on this trail, but believe me -- I know that it's our own fault.
Ranking: 3/5
4.9 miles, 1,489 feet elevation gain.
Our next hike was also done completely in the rain. Wallace Falls State Park is near Gold Bar, WA and is about two hours from Oak Harbor and an an hour from Seattle. Because it's a state park, you will need to pay to park or have a Discover Pass.
I didn't want to leave Washington without doing a waterfall hike. The trail was extremely mossy and green but the constant rain made it less than enjoyable. We only hiked to the Middle Falls viewing point. I'm sure if we had continued on to the Upper Falls (the waterfall in the center of the above picture) the view would have been much more spectacular. However, the wetness and Brandon's need to eat his packed sandwich as soon as possible had us calling it quits early.
I'm again docking points because of the less than ideal experience we had, but this time the weather is to blame.
Ranking 3/5
Mount Storm King - Olympic National Park
4.1 miles, 2,016 feet in elevation gain.
I had seen a couple of TikToks about this hike, so you know it's well known.
Our last road trip in Washington was a weekend camping trip to Olympic National Park. We had booked a Hipcamp on someone's property but it was so rainy they let us sleep in their in mice-infested barn instead of outside.
Mt. Storm King is the highest rated hike on AllTrails in Olympic National Park. The last section of the trail is famous for The Ropes. It is so steep that people hold on to ropes as they ascend the mountain. This hike had the most elevation gain we'd ever attempted and were planning to stop right before the ropes. Brandon even said: "As soon I see the ropes, I'm taking out my sandwich."
The trail is straight up from the very beginning. I was feeling okay but Brandon had a headache and ended up stopping about three quarters of the way up. I continued right up to the ropes. It was extremely foggy up there and I heard from a couple people coming down that there wasn't much visibility at the summit. I was content to stop there and watch those braver than I scale the mountain face.
Ranking 4/5
1.9 miles, 879 feet elevation gain.
Before we left Washington, both Brandon and I wanted to do a hike an old fire lookout tower. We were both inspired by Jack Kerouac's account of living in the Desolation Peak fire tower featured in The Dharma Bums. I chose the tower that had the shortest trail because we're us.
Heybrook Lookout is near Index, WA and is two hours away from Oak Harbor and an hour away from Seattle. This lookout was built in 1965 and staffed until the early 1970s. You can reserve a spot to sleep in the refurbished tippy top of the tower but good luck finding a free night.
While the tower itself was cool, the fairly short trail was more than worth beautiful mountains views of Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
The tower was crowded and it definitely smelled like B.O. at the top thanks to our many fellow hikers, but other than that this was close to the perfect hike.
Ranking 5/5
What state do you think has the best hikes?
Happy trails!
ZigZag
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