Denny Creek Water Slides

Difficulty: Easy

2 Miles round trip

Northwest Forest Pass

This is one of my all-time favorite hikes to take kids on. It's short, it's easy, the drive isn't too long to get there and you get to play in the water. Who could ask for a better little people hike? 

Norse Peak

Difficulty: Moderate

10.5 Miles round trip

Chinook Pass is an area Aaron and I don't get up to that often. Why, I'm not sure, I guess we are just creature of habit and navigate towards Snoqualmie and Mt. Rainer National Park. A friend of mine recommended this hike, so we thought we'd give it a try. It was amazing! It is one of the most beautiful hikes we have done, and will top the list as one of our favorites. Once you get past the initial mile or so everything opens up and the views are spectacular and the beauty of Mt. Rainer reveals itself more and more with every switchback you tackle.

10 Car Camping Tips

When the kids were growing up we did a lot of camping. It was cheap, fun and got their energy out. We kept it simple, but always had a great time. When my father died in a car accident, the weekend after the funeral we were up in the mountains camping. It gave our family some time to ourselves, to be together, to reflect and be away from the distractions of the rest of the world. I think that's the thing I love the most about camping and hiking - the peace. Here are 10 tips to help make your next camping trip a success.

Coal Creek Falls

Difficulty: Easy

Distance: 6 Mile Loop

Hiking on Cougar Mountain, which is where you will find Coal Creek Falls, is like hiking on a complicated spider web: there is a labyrinth of over 36 miles of trail to explore. It's best to either map out your route before you go, or if they are available grab a map at the trailhead, so you will not be putting in a lot of hiking time trying to get yourself back to your car. If you have the time there are also some old mine shafts you can see, and an old mine cave. It's closed to going inside, but still cool to look at. The trails up here are very well maintained and super easy to hike on, all you have to do is decide how adventurous you want to be and how many miles you want to log.

Spruce Railroad Trail: Devil Point and Punchbowl

Difficulty: Easy

2 miles round trip

 

 

This last weekend we hopped in the car and headed up to Joyce, Washington to visit some cousins. One of the things we did while there was visit the Punchbowl on the Spruce Railroad Trail, along Lake Crescent. There are several things that make this hike a-maz-ing! First - the lake is the most clear, beautiful turquoise lake you will ever see: Second - an old railroad tunnel: Third: cliff jumping. Need I say more? And, this hike is so easy that we had the littlest of little with us and everyone just did it in their swimsuits and flip flops.

Spray Falls

Difficulty: Moderate
4 miles round trip
National Park Day Use Fee Area

I have a few friends that are wanting to get into hiking this year and want me to take them out to show them the ropes. This means that I am taking people to a lot of my favorite spots, and have also been revisiting some old hikes I haven't done in a long time....... I don't want to take a new hiker out on a hike that I am not familiar with. What that means for anyone who may be following this blog is you are getting a lot of updates on old hikes as of late. Don't worry, I will continue to throw in new ones, Aaron and I have several planned this year, but it's nice to be on some of these hikes with different eyes and a new perspective. While at Spray Falls this go around, we missed the turnoff to get down to the base of the falls. I don't know if it's because I was too busy visiting and playing with kids or what, but we never made it down there. We didn't have a lack of waterfalls though, and still had a great time!!

To get directions and more information on this hike (along with this years amazing picture updates) please visit the original posting at : Spray Falls

Summit Lake

Difficulty: Moderate

5 miles round trip
Northwest Service Pass Required

 

 

This is one of our favorite hikes. It is so beautiful, and on a hot day it is super refreshing to hop in the lake to cool off - super cold, but refreshing. We did get a bit of a surprise however this year. We don't usually head up to Summit Lake this early in the year because we like it to be nice and hot when we go, and living in the PNW, that usually isn't until well into August. This year has gotten an early start and we have been having weather in the 80's and 90's for weeks now, so we decided to head on up for a swim. Well, duh! Seasons in the mountains are very different than down below, and we just weren't thinking. Yup, we ended up playing in the snow to cool down instead. It's all good though - we still had a blast!

To get directions and more information on this hike (along with this years amazing picture updates) please visit the original posting at : Summit Lake