A Hike for Each Month of the Year
12 far-flung trails for year-round exploration.
By Craig Romano 4/1/2014 at 8:00pm Published in the April 2014 issue of Seattle Met
Ebey’s Landing
IMAGE: CRAIG ROMANO
JANUARY
Ebey’s Landing
Climb the lofty coastal bluff, then stare down at Perego’s Lake, a lagoon full of shorebirds that was formed by a narrow spit. (Read more) Coupeville, Whidbey Island (5.6 miles)
FEBRUARY
High Hut
A challenging snowshoeing trip that requires 2,400 vertical feet of climbing, but a warm hut at the top works as extra incentive. (Read more) South of Ashford (8.6 miles)
High Hut
IMAGE: CRAIG ROMANO
MARCH
Hazel Wolf Wetlands
Scan the open water of Beaver Lake Preserve for birds and small mammals and admire Tiger Mountain in the distance. (Read more) Sammamish (2.7 miles)
APRIL
Guillemot Cove
A former private estate is now a nature preserve that protects pigeon-size, penguin-like seabirds in Hood Canal. (Read more) West of Bremerton (2.5 miles)
MAY
Ingalls Creek
Boot up for a deep road-free valley in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, a bubbly creek, and maybe even remnants of an old mine. (Read more) South of Leavenworth (11 miles)
ngalls Creek
IMAGE: CRAIG ROMANO
JUNE
Soda Peaks Lake
Pass Trapper Creek and its spawning salmon at the start and a little subalpine lake and a fine viewpoint at the end. (Read more) East of Vancouver (10 miles)
JULY
Skyline Divide
While your gaze will be to the ground admiring asters, lupine, bistorts, and valerian wildflowers, the views from the 6,000-foot-plus ridge are spectacular too. (Read more) East of Bellingham (9 miles)
Skyline Divide
IMAGE: CRAIG ROMANO
AUGUST
Evergreen Lookout
Take a short and steep hike through groves of old-growth mountain hemlock and wildflower meadows to a restored fire lookout. (Read more) East of Monroe (3 miles)
SEPTEMBER
Tiffany Mountain
One of the highest summits in the state that can be hiked, on a trail that traverses pine groves and stands of golden larches on its way to alpine tundra. (Read more) North of Winthrop (6 miles)
OCTOBER
Twisp Pass
Come autumn the glacier-carved valley is spellbinding, thanks to larches that streak the high slopes in gold and the crimson blueberry bushes. (Read more) Northwest of Twisp (9 miles)
Twisp Pass
IMAGE: CRAIG ROMANO
NOVEMBER
Ellis Cove
Explore the 300-acre Priest Point Park, which still looks the way it did in the early 1800s—except for the mossy carved bear sculpture. (Read more) North of Olympia (2.5 miles)
DECEMBER
Grand Ridge
Cedars and firs line the way to the 600-foot-long boardwalk spanning the wetlands around salmon-bearing Canyon Creek. (Read more) (1 or 2 East of Issaquah (11 miles)
Grand Ridge