We've enjoyed hiking here on several occasions. Great for hike with wonderful views. Did this one…read morea couple of Mondays ago. It was foggy initially, but it lifted to reveal Mt. Ranier. But my favorite was as the sun shone through the trees! Highly recommend. Parking does fill up quickly.

very beautiful hike! Not too hard on the legs, but steadily goes up in elevation with nice rest…read morestops under the shade. Came out in a very sunny day, so I loved to watch the paragliders flare as they prepared to land. Hard to find where they do that, though, bc hidden behind the big ahh trees lolol ! I gave up after like ( minutes, but at least there are business cards and flyers everywhere at the start point so you can contact them then and there. I like that there is evening seating arrangements at the ground level where you are about to enter or exit from the hike for people to dine. Parking was :/ , though, so had to go to a nearby house where they charged $10. They take cash, Venmo, or Zelle, so thank goodness that there was space there because the lot for this hiking trail is extremely limited!

"Tales of Trails and Tea Houses" April - September, 2022…read moreMy new theme for some of my yelp reviews for this year! My husband and I are planning on exploring a new trail and a new tea house for our monthly dates for the 6 warmer months of this year! :) Welll... I am glad that my husband and I decided to explore this trail today for our monthly date for April, but it was not altogether an entirely pleasant experience for us, which is why I have deducted one star. This trail is entirely paved and there are almost no inclines to it, so "trail" is a slight misnomer (at least, how I think of a trail, that is). The entire trail is a paved, wide, cement path with about 2 feet of grass on either side of it on most parts of this trail. The trail has only very slight inclines. So, we most definitely did not need to be wearing our hiking boots! Almost any sort of walking shoes would be just fine to wear here. The trail is more like a wide sidewalk through a park/wetland than it is like a hiking trail. There are some beautiful trees, plants, and greenery to feast one's eyes on along this trail, and there is a wetland to one side of the trail. Please do not step off of the paved path if you decide to explore this trail, so as not to disturb the wildlife. We liked it that there was almost no one on this trail today other than us. We saw a lady walking her dog, and we saw one other couple walking along the trail. There was an 80% chance of rain today, so we wore rain coats and brought an umbrella, but fortunately our time here ended up falling in between today's intermittent rains. Apparently the Pickering Barn, which is in the middle of the Pickering Trail, is available to rent out for events. There was a beautiful wedding there today, and we saw the wedding party out near the trail getting their photos taken. It warmed my heart to see that the bridesmaids all had the groomsmen's suit jackets on. At 42 degrees, today was not a warm April day in Issaquah. How thoughtful of the gentlemen. We saw one tiny, beautiful, black and white bird. This beautiful bird was the extent of the wildlife that we saw on this trail today. We have a bird book, but there are so many neat birds in the PNW that I am not able to identify very many types of birds on sight. This bird was a joy to behold, however, whatever it is called. We couldn't get a photo of it; it flew off too quickly. There is a connector trail on one end of the Pickering trail to Lake Sammamish State Park, and a connector trail on the other end to a couple of other, smaller parks. We started at the Pickering Barn and walked to the end of the trail one way (about a 10 - 15 minute walk), then walked back and walked to the other end of the trail. At both ends of the trail, the trail dips under 2 busy traffic overpasses. Underneath the low overpass that is built over a wide stream, which is located near to the connecting trail to Lake Sammamish State Park, there were some of the worst stenches that my husband and I have ever smelled in our entire lives. We were both unable to place exactly what the complex blend of multiple different stenches was made up of. It was just horrible! Walk underneath the lowest overpass at your own risk! I have visited Issaquah countless times in the past, since my Sister's first husband and some of his family is from Issaquah, and my Sister and her first husband lived in Issaquah for several years, near his parents' home. However, over 95% of my visits to Issaquah have been for family events or to babysit my niece and nephew. So, I really haven't explored much of Issaquah other than visiting a handful of homes scattered among the beautiful forests of trees in this lovely city. This trail was a somewhat mediocre and slightly disappointing way to begin my Issaquah explorations. However, the trail did have only one other review here on yelp, so there wasn't much for me to go on. I actually really enjoy putting new places on the yelp map and/or adding a review and/or photos to a place that only has 1 or 2 reviews and little to no photos up for it, so that's on me. There were several tall office buildings, some of which are currently under construction, very near this trail. There are very few sections of this trail from which we could not hear busy traffic, which surprised me - since the trail is adjacent to a wetland, I guess I did not expect that. I was quite delighted by some of the botanicals along this trail, though. Like the bird, I don't know what most of them are called. However, it was hard for me to stop gazing at the beautiful willow tree near where the trail meets the path to the Pickering barn. I love willow trees. I doubt we'd return, but I feel like avoiding walking under the lower overpass near the wide stream would've made our walk so much more pleasant overall, so perhaps someone else can learn from our experience. I'm not sure if the smell is worse after rains or not, but it does rain a lot here! Happy Hiking!

I love this trail!…read more My work office recently moved to Issaquah and my office overlooks this trail. Since the weather seems to be improving, I decided to walk this trail during my lunch breaks. It is wonderful! It connects to the Sammamish Trail on the northern side, and it winds to the south to the Pickering Farm and the Pickering "commercial area", passing over bridges and through glades of trees, heady with the aroma of lilacs and sweet botanicals. Today alone, during my brief 30 minute walk, I saw up close and personal a magnificent blue jay, a crow wrestling with a small snake (and winning that battle, I might add - soundly!), a vibrant Monarch butterfly that flew so close to me, I could touch it, and lots of folks out with their dogs. What a great way to escape the corporate world, if just for a brief respite.

A trail is right outside my home! Walk a few feet and take a quick trail run, walk or hike…read more Whatever your mood wants. The level on most trails are gentle uphill. You can take your dog, family or out of town visitors to show them the beauty of our forested natural neighborhood without them being overwhelmed. I personally loved trail running when I was younger and would go out most days . Now I mostly hike or walk the trail to take a break from working remote. I feel lucky to have this beautiful gem so close by! Beware on weekends in nice weather the parking fills up quickly, but you can usually find a spot most weekdays.

Cougar Mountain has some great trails with a variety of difficulty levels throughout. Once a coal…read moremining area, a lot of work has been done over the years to help nature be nature and restore things as they should be, complete with lots of trails so that us humans can enjoy and obverse what's going on in our environment. Trails are well maintained and clearly marked. Please stay on them! Yes, there are some fun caves that are left over from the mines, no I will not tell you where they are, because they are extremely dangerous and you never know when there's going to be a problem. Either way, it's a great place to go as far (or not) as you'd like. Parking can get a little crazy depending on which trailhead you're aiming for and it's good to come earlier in the day. Also keep in mind that Cougar Mountain isn't just some cute, random name. Know what wildlife lives here, how to handle yourself, and remember that you're the trespasser.

After doing West Tiger Trail #3 (who named that?) with a friend, my partner and I decided we wanted…read moremore exercise and picked a second route to pursue. Around the Lake Trail seemed like a super obvious name for the dirt road surrounding Tradition Lake. Super pretty on such a gorgeous Washington day. We scrambled over trees and rocks to get to the lake itself, taking pictures and monkeying around on nearby branches. I will admit that we both managed to touch something allergy-inducing and potentially poisonous. So uh... don't do that. Love the various bridges and paths along the trail. Would check it out again.

Cougar Mountain has some great trails with a variety of difficulty. This particular listing is for…read morethe Wilderness Creek Trail portion of Cougar Mountain. One of the steeper parts of the trail system, it's about 3 miles long and allows you to enjoy some of the beautiful scenery that Washington has to offer. Of course, many of the trails interwind so you can choose your own adventure! Parking can get a little crazy, it's good to come earlier in the day. Also keep in mind that Cougar Mountain isn't just some random name. Know what wildlife lives here, how to handle yourself, and remember we're the ones trespassing.

This is a good trail to go for a walk or hike. Off of SR 900 in Issaquah, between Issaquah and…read moreRenton, next to the road with easy parking and public restrooms. Dog friendly, well taken care of wooden pathway in some areas, dirt path in others and some snow run off in the warmer months. There are some creek crossings with some scantily made bridges. It's 2.6 miles in according to the website so 5.2 miles round trip. Nice view of the mountains and the surrounding woods. Feels like you're in the middle of nowhere. You can go back out to the parking area or it connects to another trail, Wilderness Cliffs, and you can keep going. I'd say this is an easy to moderate trail.

Beautifully thought out area~ Always enjoy walking through here~ I'm fortunate enough to have this…read morepark entrance at the rear of my apt complex ~

There is a small playground for kids and a walking trail as well. When the water lever is high you…read morecan even go tubing!

Beautiful park that has something to do for everyone! There are slides, swings, monkey bar,…read morebasketball court, soccer field, lake access, boardwalk. Benches, gazebos, trails! Best part is it has tall trees so even if it's very sunny it still has shaded areas.

What a fun park to have an end of the summer party! My kids and their friends met up for a beach…read moreparty to celebrate the end of summer and start of the new school year. They have reserved picnic spaces but also lots of spaces where you can simply claim to use the day of your gathering. The bathrooms were not the cleanest nor was the lake water as my son left with a stomach bug the next day. The parking lot is a bit of a hike to get to the lake and picnic areas. I highly recommend using a wagon to transport food and drinks. Or you can have somebody pull up in the handicapped parking loop to drop off party supplies.

Absolutely stunning state park, just moved to the area and this has quickly become my new favorite…read morespot to touch grass. The lake is very nice, it doesn't get too crowded (even on a Sunday afternoon). Perfect for a beach day, a dip, a paddle, a run or just to relax and enjoy nature.

Decided to come on a crowded Sunday afternoon with the hopes of purchasing an ice cream. Mission…read moreaccomplished. But dang it so crowded! Thank goodness there are many places for large groups here. On the opposite side of the lake there was NOT a lot of people. And still plenty of picnic tables and available barbecues. The sun was extremely hot and the ice cream cold and yummy. Enjoy your life. SYOY!