Again, down the dirt road. On a Saturday it was crowded! Like holy cow! Arrived just before 9:00 am…read moreand was able to secure a spot in the lot. Thankfully I have a small car and can fit it into tight spaces. Discovery pass will not work here! Scan the QR code and pay $5.00 for a day pass. Or a northwest forest pass will work. The beginning is steep. With lots of stairs. You will begin to hate the stairs. Then just before you want to give up you've made it! A lovely well maintained trail. Parts of the trail go through clearings with views that give a view to just how high you are. And views of past gigantic rock slides. The weather at the lake today was cold. No snow on the trail but a bit on the mountains above. But it was cold! My hands started to hurt because it was so cold. After a brief picnic sitting on some logs with trout swimming below our feet we head back down. A back and forth hike just over 7.4 miles. Lovely!! Enjoy life. SYOY.

Annette lake is beautiful and so serene. I arrived May 17, Saturday at 9:30am and there was still…read moreplenty of spots in the lot. 8.8 miles, 2,150 ft of elevation gain and 4hrs out & back. There's a bathroom available but it smells very bad so I recommend going before the trailhead. 0.2 miles in theres the first viewpoint, a beautiful waterfall. There is still some snow at the top but you can make it without spikes or trekking poles. The lake is still partly frozen and the snow makes it even more serene. 10/10 would recommend this hike!!

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.

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.

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.

The Glacier Basin Trail is utterly magical in every sense of the word. I must have taken hundreds…read moreof pictures and several videos while hiking this trail. This hike has everything that your little heart could ever desire! A forest full of giant trees. Vibrantly green shrubs. Waterfalls at practically each turn. Majestic views of not only the snow covered mountains, but the gorgeous aqua hues of the White River down below. The rushing river running parallel. Rampant wildlife. Colorful wildflowers. Inclines and elevation galore. I mean, shall I go on?! Just stunning. Glacier Basin is located near the White River entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. The trail begins just behind the White River Campgrounds. It's starts off mildly inclining through a lush forest, but the incline picks up speed and continues to incline until you reach the camp. It's about roughly 9 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation in total if you add in the the detour to the Emmons Lorraine Trail. Do it! It will add another 1.5/2miles to the hike, BUT... this is where you'll find that incredible view of the Inter Fork White River. It's funny that it's called the "white river" because it's stunningly aqua from the top of Emmons Lorraine. The Emmons Lorraine trail is a turn off that's about a mile into the Glacier Basin Trail and includes a river crossing and a steep incline up a narrow hill. It looks a bit intimidating, but it's really not. Just sit on your bum for the really gnarly parts coming down (at least that's what I did). Continuing on the Glacier Basin Trail, it's basically a straight shot up the hill for another 3 miles until you reach the top. There are a few spots with some switchbacks, but it's mostly a ridge-like trail. AllTrails has rated this hike as moderate, but it's definitely on the harder side of moderate if not difficult. What makes this hike so enjoyable though is the fact that there's so much scenery. Every time I took a break, I was either greeted by a beautiful mini waterfall or vibrant wildflowers. The views are very motivating and it keeps you going. Once you reach Glacier Basin Camp, you'll be met with the most stunning views of snow covered Mount Rainier and the rushing waters of the White River right next to it. This hike took me about 5 hours in total to complete (including breaks, lunch, and detours). It's definitely a day hike, so bring enough food and water to keep yourself nourished. Also, make sure you have some really comfortable hiking shoes/boots and hiking poles for the way down if you have bad knees. Coming down can be just as tough as hiking up because of the steepish downhill for 3 miles straight. This one is definitely going in the books as one of my favorite National Park hikes and my favorite Washington state hike thus far. If you're looking for a challenge and a great way to see the beauty of Mount Rainier National Park, Glacier Basin Trail is a great option.

As a Seattle native, I can say that this is my favorite hike I've ever been on. The hike has a fork…read moreabout a mile in. If you fork left, there is a relatively short (~30 min) but steep trail that leads to the glacier basin. The water is a bright teal with mountains in the background, one of the best views I've ever seen. My friends and I went swimming in the basin, which was very cold but also very fun. If you stay on the main trail, it is an additional 6 miles that is moderate-difficult and took about 3 hours to get up. At the top, there is a really pretty meadow and campground. You will need a Mt. Ranier National Park pass ($50 annual or $30/week) to enter. I went on a weekday in the morning and had no trouble finding parking. The main trail was quite empty, but the left fork had a couple other groups. However, we more or less had the place to ourselves. Overall, 10/10 would reccomend!

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.

This time the trash wasn't everywhere but some people decided to toss their trash in the one vault…read moretoilet which was utterly disgusting. The boards on the path along with the wood are a bit worse for wear and need to be replaced. The lake today along with the glorious fall weather was breathtaking though! Just be sure you pack it in and pack it out gross humans!!!

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.

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.

If you're planing to go camping, this is a beautiful lake to go to and there's a campground close…read moreby. First word that came to mind when I initially saw it was "pristine". It's a picture perfect lake. If you go early in the morning, the water is calm and it's so quiet. It's perfect fishing weather and trout is super easy to catch here. It's a two pole limit per person. There's quite a bit of activity in the afternoon during the summer of kayaking, tubing, rowing, etc. but the lake is large where it does not get crowded. No motorized boats allowed. The water is clear and a beautiful blue color. Be careful since it can get deep quick. The view is like no other with other mountains and trees surrounding it. Cooper Lake is small on the map, so not that many people go to it from what I have read. Cle Elm river and Kachess lake are nearby which is visited more.

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.