Mount Pilchuck WA
9/27/26
Mount Pilchuck is Washington's most iconic fire lookout and one of the state's premier hikes. After Jack Mountain the week before, I needed something a bit chiller, so I settled on heading up Pilchuck with some buddies from WWU. Fearing an overflowing parking lot, we left Bellingham just after 5 am and rolled into the trailhead just before 7 am. Luckily, the hordes hadn't arrived yet, so we found a spot easily and got going. The first section gently ascends through the forested lower slopes of Pilchuck. The trail is in pristine condition, although recent weather made various spots quite muddy/wet. After just over a mile, the trail flattened as we traversed east, getting under the rocky slopes of Pilchuck. Rainier, Baker, Three Fingers, and much of the Central/North Cascades immediately became visible.
What a nice trail
Wow hello!
Dang
Everyone enjoying the first view
Looks a lot harder for this side
Terrain shift
After taking in the views, we turned back South and ascended towards Pilchuck’s upper ridgeline as the grade steepened and the trail got rockier. The recent rain made the rocks quite slick. At 5,000’ we reached the upper ridgeline; Glacier Peak, now visible, rose in the distance, beckoning. From here, we traversed east around Pilchuck's summit block before “scrambling” up to the famed fire lookout.
Almost there
Ascending the final section
Gorgeous
Mount Pilchuck’s prominence was clear up top, with Rainier, Saint Helens, Baker, Glacier, and the Olympics all visible. While the mountain views were great, the real showstopper was the highly unique clouds that lay almost hidden thousands of feet below in the valley floors. All in all, one of the best viewpoints in all of WA. Shoutout to those who keep the lookout in amazing condition; the labeled drawings of the key visible peaks was a nice touch. They pointed out Stuart, Eldorado, and Constance, which I would've otherwise missed.
Three Fingers Lookout - Closed for the season
Baker and the Twins
Fun lil shot
Sweet backdrop
Hey its me!
After a solid hour up top, we made our way down as the hordes began to come. I counted about 70 people heading up as we descended. I’ve seen worse (shoutout to Snow Lake on a weekend).
Overall, glad I did this one again; some hikes are popular for a reason, and this is one of those.
Stats: 5.5 Miles - 2,100’ Gain - 3:30 C2C
