The coal creek nature area is like a secret forest. Hidden in between Coal Creek Parkway and…read moredifferent neighborhoods bordering Bellevue and Newcastle. The waterfall here is dependent on the weather. Tucked into a small creek/canyon area. The trail is beautiful and loads of ferns everywhere. The green state really shines down in this area too. Of course in the summer it becomes a bit browner. Springtime and the blackberry bushes line certain parts of the trails. Trail access varies depending on where you go. Various signage gives you a history of the area. So lucky to have access to this lovely trail. Get out there and enjoy life. SYOY!

It was a beautiful day for a hike and we decided to check out Coal Creek Falls Trail…read more It was so peaceful and very pretty. Just what we both needed after a hectic work week. What was really interesting to us, was a long the trail there were signs giving the coal mining history along the trail. There are multiple trails to explore and I look forward to coming back another time to explore some of the other trails. They also have horse trails, which is pretty cool. I just need to find a horse and learn how to ride one.

Its's not worth the effort *for a day trip*... cant speak for camping. Coming from Tacoma for a 2…read morehr drive with 45 minutes of it being an insanely precarious road and then a 5 mile "hike" which is a walk on a dirt road, not to mention the lottery system and the instructions on how to even visit... I was expecting A LOT more! The pools were small! Thankfully one group was leaving as we arrived so there was only 3 other people hanging out with us. Otherwise, it would have been SO cramped! My husband couldn't even stretch out and hes 6 foot. If you've never experienced nature/spa or are not from WA then I guess you might enjoy this, but I wouldn't do it again. Pros: caretakers are super nice, seems like guests are all going to be friendly and respectful, area is VERY well kept and clean, pools are cool despite being small, temps are great, "hike" is boring but easy! Cons: way too much boring effort to get here (especially for a day trip), pools are very small, last part of road to get to the parking lot is VERY rugged... you NEED a high clearance vehicle and someone who can navigate huge potholes/trees/ debris, etc. "Hike" is boring but easy!

We heard about this natural hotsprings in its super remote location in North Bend and just had to…read moretry it! It is a preserved miner's hotsprings that is on private land and is completely run by volunteers with the exception of a few individuals who are paid to make reservations and live on the grounds year-round. It is not easy to get reservations here especially with the pandemic. Once they were able to open this summer they started returning calls and we were lucky enough to be able to reserve the hotsprings for a small group of less than 5 people on a Monday. The fee was reasonable at 20 per person and they included detailed directions and instructions on getting to and using this facility. The drive in is no joke, seriously. We live in North Bend and are familiar with that area as we hike many of the trails over there frequently but we did not plan enough time for the 5 mile non paved road. Even thought it's only 5 miles it is VERY rough with lots and lots of potholes and difficult washed out patches that our Xterra made it up but might be difficult for other cars. Once we made it to the Dingford trailhead parking lot we left our car and started the 5 mile hike to the hotsprings. It's a really beautiful walk without much elevation gain through the forest and along the river but it is very rocky so your feet and toes will definitely get a beating. We kept up a good pace with around a 15 min/mile walk so we made it there in about 1.5 hours. We rang the bell and were greeted by the host who was very informative and pleasant. We signed our release forms and headed up to the springs for a beautiful and relaxing 4 hour time slot of enjoying the 3 different (but small) pools and the picnic table for lunch. It is also right at the top of a waterfall so you can sit out and enjoy the view and relax when you get tired of soaking. There is a cave where the hot water emerges that used to be open but is currently closed due to COVID concerns. The pool this hot water spills into is the hottest and really can only hold 2 people and then this pool spills into a larger one where 4 of us sat comfortably. There is also a cold one with river water which made for a great plunge. We really enjoyed our stay and had a great lunch at the picnic tables (no garbage sites so plan to pack in and pack out everything you bring). They also had non flushing porta potties you can use with one at the top by the hotsprings and a couple others at the bottom by the campground which is currently closed due to the pandemic. The campground is usually open year-round though and we are really looking forward to coming up during the fall or spring sometime. The five mile return hike is definitely tough especially with your feet being soft from soaking. I recommend you bring an extra pair of socks and maybe even consider sitting out for the last half hour or so and let your feet dry out before the return hike..my tootsies were pretty blistery when we returned!

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 waterfall dried up omg, so I just saw dry land and rocks for the end of my bike. I should have…read moredone some reconnaissance online bc yeah...this is a bit of a moderate / hard level of a hike. Got me going a bit steep at over 1500 feet in elevation then 6.56 miles when at the top. Connector trail broken, so yes, u got to take the harder route that had me high-key low-key lowkeyhighkey bouldering. Tooooo many bugs and insects. Eff them wasps and bees, bruh Bring your discovery pass or u can buy online here. Plenty of parking, yes. Bring bug insect repellent. Do not forget a portable charger bc I was here for a couple of hours. Do not come by late summertime like I did if you want to see a waterfall. Went here raw and blindly went in, so surprised myself by the end of this hike. Free will

This was neither my favorite waterfall nor hike. I wondered why I hadn't put this one on my list…read morepreviously. My mom found this one and decided she wanted to see the falls over the view from Little Si, so that is where we went on a very rainy weekend afternoon! There were breaks of sunshine, so the hike wasn't completely miserable. However, the many many wet rocks were not fun to maneuver around for a large part of the hike. If you are someone who has knee, foot, or ankle issues at all, I would avoid this hike. My ankle was in pain for several days after doing this hike. The rocks were just awful and really not worth it for this particular waterfall. The little flowers and mushrooms growing all along the path were nice little Easter eggs, and the view of I-90 and the surrounding mountains below from the midpoint were nice bonuses. Parking was plentiful and required a WA state parks pass - luckily now you can go online and pay for one/write the info on a slip of paper to display on your dash. Gone are the days of money in an envelope for the ranger!

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!

Amazing place nice small and easy hike…read more Definitely should stop by to see it and just stand and enjoy the view . Could even have a snack on the rocks by the water or even fish if any are there . But must stop place .

Just a 45 min trip from where we were at in Seattle area. Beautiful waterfall and not a commitment…read morewith any long hike to see it (kid friendly). The parking lot gets full and you may have a hard time finding a spot, but you might just get lucky. There is a small gift shop attached to a coffee shop near the entrance. I recommend adding this place to your Seattle itinerary.

Fun easy trail thru the woods. Plenty of parking during the week, but since the parking is at a…read morepark with playgrounds and sports fields, guaranteed, that it gets tight on weekends and evenings. Signage is excellent throughout, easy to subtract or add miles to your hike. AllTrails shows many trails, but as usual, their mileage is usually short of what you will put in. This is a very easy fun trail, maybe a bit more challenging when more bikers are out, but this time only a few bikes and almost had the trail to myself. Grateful always for the quiet and nature time. I know I take pictures of mushrooms, plants, and fruit, but please, please! Use your discretion, I would not recommend eating any mushrooms or fruit off the trail unless you're 120% it's edible, I've taken many horticultural and mycology classes and I'm still very very careful with fruit, let alone mushrooms, err on the side of your safety, it's your life and health you're putting at risk. Just sayin' be safe be wise, it is life or death stuff. There's a lot of poison stuff out there. Better to just enjoy nature, truthfully. Getting back to the trail, this is one for just getting outdoors and getting some good n easy miles in. Love all the woods, sadly a lot of the streams are drying out. It is summer. Lots of birds and squirrels about, even heard quite a few owls hooting about. Have fun out there! It's summer! Happy hiking! Yelping! God bless and Cheers!

Ok place to hike but beware there were a few mountain bikers on our hike and yield to them.read more

We were recently traveling with our dog in the area so we had to take her on the pet friendly Mt…read more Rainier Gondola. Even though the weather didn't agree with us, we still had an enjoyable time. We purchased our tickets online a few days ahead because you get a better price that way. Each ticket is good for two separate rides. We arrived just after 10 in the morning and it was grey and overcast. The sky was very cloudy and there was a foggy mist over the mountains. It was lovely but not the best weather for sight seeing. We went ahead and rode up the mountain and back and it was fun but as you can guess the views weren't great from the gondola. About half the ride it was just like being inside frosted glass and all we could see was grey. We stayed at the top for a while but the winds were to fierce for our pup so we headed back down and spent some time eating, shopping and enjoying the area. We were hoping the weather would clear up later in the afternoon. Unfortunately for us, Mother Nature had other plans and it was cool, foggy and totally overcast all day. I wasn't even really that disappointed though because it was just so beautiful being there. It was honestly my favorite kind of weather. On our second ride, we did try riding the famous "Green Gondola". We had seen other people waiting for it on our earlier ride and asked a staff member what it was all about. They said it was just a replacement gondola so it didn't match the others exactly and we kind of laughed at how silly it is but people love things that are unique. There was no line, so we gave it a go and I'm here to tell you that it didn't part the clouds and I haven't won the lottery since riding it :) Sorry to say it is just like the red ones. Even with the weather, we made a really nice day of it and if you haven't seen this area, I would definitely recommend giving the gondola a try. I think next time we will probably risk the higher prices at the gate to make sure the weather is cooperating for the ride.

Came for the day while friends skied. Beautiful, sunny and gorgeous! Snow already melting - this…read moreis the last day of the season. Gondola tickets $54 each and you get 2 round trips.

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.

Went tubing here with Chooksty and her mans, James. Just a really good time, despite the…read moresurprisingly overpriced tubing experience at $60(?) per person for tubing rental and shuttle ride to starting point. 2.5 to 3-hour ride bc the paddle for the tube is a literal blue frisbee that is linked to it lolol ...anyway, focusing on just location, the fallen tree hard is a perfect rest stop with guests trying to cross it without falling. Highly recommend water shoes for this. Quite a bit of shore rest stops that people been using as a bio break bc no actual bathroom nearby. Quite a bit of rapid waters sections, so beware because hella rocks in those areas that you may hit. Very nice and cool waters to contrast this sunny weather that only got warmer as the June 2026 day progressed.

Picked this hike from the Washington Trails book, about 9.5 miles roundtrip with a 2700 elevation…read moregain. This was a tough hike, even though I chose it since the book said "moderate" and even looking up some reviews people had said the hike as relatively simple to enjoy a fantastic lake view. We were both pretty dead at the end due to the length and steep inclines. Knees were pretty banged up because of all the rocks. The trail in the beginning wasn't so bad, definitely got my heart pumping because of the elevation, but as you go higher up there were a lot of switchbacks and seemingly no end in sight. We hustled up the mountain pretty quickly though, which was why we were so tired at the end. The view is definitely worth it in the end; recommend bringing a hammock! There's also plenty of sitting area through slabs of rocks. Coming down we encountered: 1) a girl who was crying we believe because of the toughness of the trail, 2) a couple who stopped us to ask how much longer it was to the top (they unfortunately weren't even halfway) which signifies how tough this hike was. Definitely recommend bringing more than enough water or you will definitely be dehydrated (like we were). Otherwise glad we did this and would recommend (you won't regret it but your body will hate you haha).