On our workation to Seattle, my partner's friend recommended Tiger Mountain as the most epic place…read moreto hike on the Saturday morning we had together. For this brief excursion, we parked at High Point Trailhead and did the West Tiger Trail #3 and Around the Lake Trail. I'm in absolute awe of this forest, especially knowing there's so much more to explore. I love looking at everyone else's photos of Tiger Mountain because there's some cool tree formations I want to check out. I'm obsessed with foot bridges, greenery, and lakes. It's notoriously intense, though. Other things I've read in reviews include only bringing active dogs and watching out for mountain bikers. Would totally come back to Washington just to explore more of Tiger Mountain. Beautiful chunk of nature.

This review is for a hike in WA Mountain State Forest. Meeting friends for a hike on south tiger…read moremountain loop in the tiger mountains. Still orientating myself with logistics here in WA. This hike was approximately 7 miles and beautiful! The forest here is absolutely gorgeous. Green trees and so many ferns. Super wet and foggy but not raining. Our trail destination was the south tiger mountain loop. I followed (and trusted, lol), my more experienced hiker friends with following signage. This, so many photos of signs. The trail had one muddy spot but the rest was easy to follow. Signage mentioned that horses share the trail but we didn't see any. The peak was very foggy so we didn't see anything. No restrooms anywhere that I could see. Parking, I followed AllTrails direction who h led me to park on the road. Beautiful forest! Can't wait to explore more. Happy Yelping.

Not sure what happened to my original review but anyway, this is one of the trendiest and exciting…read moreday hikes you can do in the area. That said it is not for the faint of heart. Be prepared with good shoes and a jacket for the top (it's cold up there at elevation!) The reviews vary from some very athletic folks saying this is not a difficult hike to those who say it's the hardest hike they've done and they had to prepare for it by doing Little Si. Take it all worth a grain of salt. This is an all day endeavor if you aren't a 3-4x a week gym person or are not under about age 40 and fit. In my opinion it was best to go in the fall when the leaves were changing colors and there were less people in general on the trail. The downside is there is less daylight in the fall so take that into account when planning your trek. The last part of this trail is just loose rock and it is pretty steep. So when you read it is a "scramble" it truly is. Bring gloves for those cold little fingers! And lastly bring lots of carbohydrate/protein fuel and water. You will need to power down some calories once at the top. Don't bring something you'll need to sit down to eat for longer than 3 minutes as your body temp will drop and you will get cold very fast at the summit. Definitely worth the hype/hike to get this badge of honor!

What a beautiful and popular hike! Parking can be a beast so go early or later in the day if you…read moredon't want to have to hike from a remote spot far away from the start of the actual hike. I took my teen with me and we conquered it in about 7 hours round trip. We used the "new" trail up and back because I didn't want to hear my kid complaining about the brutal elevation gains on the old trail. We lucked out and had a clear, beautiful, sunny view. This won't always be the case and depending on the time of year you may not see much of anything at the top so plan accordingly and be mindful of the weather. We left a sticker and a heart shaped rock we found along the way in the mailbox before we hiked back. It's a fairly challenging hike if you are t in excellent shape- but it's doable if you use the new trail. Pack plenty of water and snacks and something to leave in the mailbox.

My family came here for my husband's birthday request, a snow hike! This must be our fourth time…read morecoming here and every time we hike it's all worth it! You get to experience the fresh snow, see the frozen lake and be impressed with the Mountain View! Great family venture, easy hike even for small children and elderly during summer time. It can be busy and crowded too!

Area is permanently closed as of May 2025. I had the opportunity to enjoy it the last month before…read moreit was closed in April. The pond is going to be permanently closed to help restore the bully trout population. Beautiful alpine blue waters surrounded by mountains. A great place for a picnic. The trail is not well kept and has some holes in some of the wooden walkways. Watch your step! Also spots can be quite slick where it has melted and frozen over again. The access road is also slick and most folks parked on the main road and walked the extra 0.6 miles to get to the trailhead.

About 1 hour and 15 mins away from the seattle area and it's a great place for hiking! We got there…read morejust passed 9 and the parking lot is packed so get there early if you wanna avoid wasting time on parking. It took us 2.5 hours to go up and 2 hrs to return. It was pretty easy for the first 3 miles but the last mile is definitely a killer. It was kinda steep and really energy-consuming. However it's not bad in general - we got to the top at the point when I thought I would give up, but then the lake is right there. The lake is so pretty!! I was so shocked on how clear the water is. The view itself it's just okay and you can maybe hike more if you want the full picture. I wouldn't say the view is not worth it for the 2.5 hrs hiking but I'm not sure if I would do it again. There are also lots of good views along the way and it was lot of fun to take the pictures. There are also lots of bugs and water crossing area so bring a bug spray and waterproof shoes if you have them!

The views on this hike warrant a five star review for sure! Loads of waterfalls, mountains, and of…read morecourse trees and flowers to see on this route up to Rachel Lake. The problem? Not a clear trail at all. My hiking group and I found ourselves asking, "Is this trail?", numerous times on this extremely strenuous seemingly endless uphill trek to the lake. Now, granted, some of our group was in better shape than others and managed the physicality of the trail better than others but still we all agreed it was extremely hard. First you drive up a gravel road approximately 6 miles to get to the parking lot. One bathroom is available there which wasn't too gross. Once you enter the trail it starts heading up. And up and up and up. It is seemingly endless. I believe it about 4 plus miles up. The trail starts out fairly marked and easy to follow. Then it doesn't. Unfortunately I got separated from my group for a good portion of this hike due to my attempt to stay with the "faster" ladies, lol. I just kept going up. Thank goodness a few other people passed me to let me know I was on the right track. No trail at all really for a good portion and I merely followed a dry creek trail. Extremely rocky and loads of bushwhacking. I had to stop every five to ten feet to catch my breath. The steepness reminded me of a hike in Big Sur called Garrapata which after I competed that one I said I would never do again, lol. Now to the good parts of the hike. Gorgeous scenery beyond words! Loads of amazing waterfalls as you are following a creek flowing from a lake high above. The lake was outstandingly beautiful. I took a quick dip in the icy water at the top! Quickly it changed my outlook on the hike and cooled me off. Will I do it again? Maybe, but next time. I will bring more snacks for the hike that give me energy. I will start out slower and take more frequent deliberate breaks. And please please don't forget your mosquito repellent! Also, long pants as a large portion of this hike you go through tall grasses and overgrowth. I consider myself an experienced hiker when I was in CA, but here in WA, I am a beginner for sure. Stay hydrated and go at your own pace. This is worth it at least once. SYOY and No FOMO for me here! Lol.

Denny Creek Waterslide 4/16…read more Easy hike through the snow along crystal clear waters. So many views to see along the way to the slide. You will want micro spikes but it is doable without. You are unable to park directly at the trailhead so you must walk the access road to the trail head which adds less than a mile extra round trip. 3.09 miles, 577 ft elevation gain, and 1 hr 20 minutes to complete.

We did see some campers but our focus was rock hounding. We drove up this dirt obscure path and…read morethen gradually you will see a lot of cars. Hike uphill and then you still hear 90 freeway noise. Then you reach a flat area and you start climbing up and start digging. We found quartz (a small piece), There were many families here as well as dogs.

This year I'll be hiking Mt Fuji. So, I've been stepping up my game with PNW hikes that are a…read morelittle more challenging. My Krav Maga friends suggested giving Bandera Mountain a try if I'm looking for a challenge. I liked the elevation change and lengthiness this hike promised. Additionally, it still seemed rather doable for our dogs, which was a huge plus. And how can you beat just 45ish miles from Seattle?! Suggestions: - You'll need a parking pass which you can buy and print online before you go - Check the WA Trails Association page for condition reports prior to going. We read the bugs were TERRIBLE, so we brought bug spray. So glad we did because the bugs were, in fact, very aggressive! - Get there EARLY! We snagged one of the last parking spaces at our 7:30AM arrival time! Arrival: Anticipate driving down a single lane, terrifying and long dirt road to get to parking. It's terrifying because there are numerous blind turns. The dirt is kicked up badly by other cars making general visibility an additional issue. Lastly, there is no barrier on the cliff side of the road. So that's scary. The actual trail is called the Ira Spring Trail. And it leads to/splits off to take you to three different locations: Bandera Mountain, Mason Lake, or Point Defiance. We opted for Bandera Mountain, which was beautiful and challenging. However, after seeing photos of Mason Lake, I'm a little salty we didn't take that route. Next time! Like many others have mentioned, the beginning part of this trail is very chill. The path is wide and has just a slight incline. As you move along the trail, incline gets steeper and steeper. Many areas are sandy and dry, which can be slippery. And as you get closer to the summit, the trail turned to giant rocks you actually climb to get up. Nothing too bad--our dogs both did great with these parts of the trails. You'll eventually get to the part of the Ira Spring Trail where you can either go to Mason Lake, or continue upwards to Bandera Mountain. We chose to continue upwards for a while until we reached what I consider the "false summit". It's right when the climb gets really steep and rocky, and is only about 100 ft in elevation short of the actual summit. At this point we decided to turn around based on two facts: 1) WTA info said the views at the false summit are better than the actual summit. And being only 100ft in elevation difference... meh. 2) Our dogs would not have been safe hiking the remainder of the trail. So we turned around at that point and headed back. However, please note this was the area with the horrid bug situation. I'm talking about in your nose, mouth, ears--bugs all up in your shiz. Lastly, our decent down the trail did NOT take us as long as I'm reading it took other Yelpers. It took us about 45mins to an hour to get back to parking. DOGS: Dogs are allowed on leash. Please leash your dogs. I saw at least three off leash. If you don't care about your dog's safety, that's your problem. But don't put other dogs at risk because you don't care. Also, I have a 25lb terrier (8yrs old) and a 17lb mutt (1 yr) that did really well on this long and strenuous hike! Both dogs made it all the way, except our 17lb baby gave up .5 from the finish and we carried her the rest of the way. Haha. Bring water and poop bags. However, there is no waste receptacles for poops. So you'll have to hike with poop bags up and back down the mountain.

ATTN: I didn't go all the way to Bandera's summit! I only did Mason Lake, which is on Bandera Mt…read more Mason Lake is .4 miles inferior in distance and takes you to an opposite part of the mountain at a junction. I'm reading some reviews here that say Mason Lake is "very popular" but we showed up at almost 10 a.m. and the parking lot wasn't even close to half full! When we came out at the end of our hike, I did notice that it was completely packed. So maybe go in the morning and beat the rush! We hardly encountered anybody on the way up, just the way down. The hike to Mason Lake on the Ira Spring Trail is GORGEOUS. So pretty, especially during fall when all the colors are changing. Even in the thicket of all the trees, you can't help but notice how pretty all the sunshine is beaming in on all the trees. Along the way, you get so many views of surrounding peaks and you even get a good amount of views of Mt. Rainier! The higher you go, the more visible it is (obviously) and pictures don't do it justice. It's amazing in person. The first half of the hike is fairly easy, with a wide trail and not too much incline. You come to a junction about 1.5 miles in, and it's unmarked, but you can tell that you need to go UP. This is where your workout starts. It's a hefty climb to the second junction, which you come to at about 2.9 miles. Here is where you can decide to go right to Bandera Summit, or Mason Lake. We took the path to Mason Lake, and expected it to be pretty close to the junction. Noooope. You scale up some rocks, up some more rocks, and then you're welcomed by the forest again. Here, you go DOWN a trail for about 10 minutes... Don't worry though, it's not too steep of a climb later. The lake itself is very pretty and very clear! There's a lot of places to sit and relax - the ideal spot is on all the lake logs piled up high enough that there are plenty of dry spots, but some girls already had claimed that location. We sat on some flat rocks adjacent to the logs, and got just as great of a view and a perfect resting place for my dog. Overall, I would say the hike on the way to the lake was a lot prettier than the lake itself. The mountain views just blew me away. I would definitely come back and do the hike to Bandera Summit, and I'm sure that'll be in the very near future for me! Note: you do have to have a day pass to hike here, you can get it online at the Washington Trail Association website for $5! And know that it takes about 1.5 hours to get up (with breaks) and about 45 minutes to get down.

Perfect hike with a rewarding river for little legs. The hike starts off from the parking lot with…read morepicnic benches. This picnic area does not open to the river front but leads you into the trail. The trail is nice & clear. Within 0.6 miles, it opens to several openings to the river. The water is crystal clear and cool. It must make a good fishing point as we did see some folks walking in with fishing rods. You can walk along the shore - the water is not deep around the edge till you get to the bridge that goes over the river that has a pretty good view of the jagged mountains. We couldn't see any elks or deer as many have cited having seen around this river. The parking lot however is bang opposite to a farm and my five year old was still able to see 8 majestic horses as we were leaving. The honey bucket was extremely dirty, so please plan to hold it in until you get to your next stop or empty your tank before you arrive. Overall, we spent an hour here but families can easily spend half a day at the picnic area. We did not see a lot of space on the river front to camp around but there may be other openings to the river that may have better possibilities for picnic. The picnic area is closed and very safe for young kids to play around. It does not have any dedicated playground, just picnic tables.

This is truly a gem. I've only come a couple of times to see the elk, but it's been a beautiful…read moreexperience. At sunset on a hot day you'll see the elk come out as it cools down. They're so beautiful and you can hear them talking occasionally. Do not go into the natural area and approach them. It's not safe. Watching from a distance is safer for everyone.

As a recreational lake, Lake Easton is great if you have water equipment or just want to go…read moreswimming. The water is a blue-ish green color and clear near the edges. The main parking lot was full, but it was actually better to park in the other lot because we were able to go to less crowded areas along the lake. I wish they made it easier to access the lake after the bridge. It's steep and rocky/sandy.

The noise from the highway and train are all you hear at night. I came to the woods to draw close…read moreto nature. The bathrooms have no toilet paper. Called the main office and was told the shipment didn't arrive and we were basically @hi@ out of luck and to figure it out. The charge is not worth the campsite they provide.