Park Butte Trail & Railroad Grade, Mt Baker

Well, I am posting this a little late, because I got behind on my blog! (big surprise!)

Hike Name: Parke Butte Trail / Railroad Grade Trail
Round-Trip Distance: 7.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2200 ft
Season: Mid July - Oct
Difficulty: easy - moderate
Forest: Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
Contact: Mt Baker Ranger District (360)856-5700
Map: Green Trails # 45
Directions: Head east on Hwy 20, for 23 miles. Left on Baker Lake Road. Drive 12 miles. Left on FS Road12. Drive 3.5 miles. Right onto FS Road 13 (called "Mt Baker National Recreation Area"). Drive 5.2 miles to end of road to find trailhead. A few first-come, first serve campsites available at trail head.

I did this as a day hike, but you could do this as an overnight backpack. I would then recommend going on a weekday for sure.

This was a beautiful trail with stunning close-up views of the south side of Mt Baker, culminating in a lookout tower with spectacular views. (You can stay in the lookout tower overnight if you get there first. I arrived at 3:30pm and still no one had gotten there, but 15 minutes later a few guys did claim it.) I am writing this after the fact (I did the hike on July 31), but I remember going on a Friday, and seeing maybe 10 folks. This is a somewhat busy trail, but it was still very pleasant (albeit on a weekday). Well maintained in most places. There was a significant series of stream crossings that would have been very tricky wearing boots, but I took my choco sandals along and just walked right through that whole area with no problems. I would recommend hiking poles or walking stick for this area, and sandals. I did see a group doing it in boots, but it stalled them quite awhile, so I was happy to have my sandals. Bugs were not bad. Wildflowers still in great showing. There are two directions you can take from the trailhead - both meet up to get you to the same destination. For this trip I tried the southern most route (So from the trail head, taking the left-most trail.)

On my way back, I did a side trip up the Railroad Grade Trail, and walked maybe 20 minutes out, just to take a more close-up look at the Easton Glacier. There were a number of great campsites along this route that would be great.

This was a good work out, but not too taxing and not too easy - perfect for a nice day out on the trail, with rewarding views right from the very start!! Good for taking out-of-town friends out maybe! Zillions of photo ops!