These trails were built by miners, foresters, or forest fighters. They have been abandoned for many reasons, including the closure of the mines, Endangered Species Act (due to Grizzly Bears), aerial fire fighting, budget contraints, logging, lack of interest, or they have been forgotten.
Note: There are many other boot-beaten paths that fishers, hunters,
climbers, and hikers use. These have limited historical interest and
are documented in Beckey's "Cascade Alpine Guide" and other publications.
This web site does not focus on such non-built trails.
Please email me with information on trails you have discovered. I'll add them to this website.
Ratings code:
fair,
good,
great,
outstanding.
. Reference:
Fred Darvill's Hiking the North Cascades.
| Suiattle River Road | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Trail | Scenery | Historic Interest | Trail Condition |
| Huckleberry Mountain | ![]() |
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| Buck Creek (see Greentrails map) | ![]() |
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(until it disappears) |
| Sulphur Creek (see Greentrails map) | ![]() |
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(to old bridge crossing) |
| Bachelor Creek | ![]() |
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| Grassy Point | ![]() |
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(difficult to find start) |
| Milk Creek | ![]() |
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Some old puncheon and cut logs next to Suiattle River. Trail re-routed higher. |
| Gamma Way (see Greentrails map) | ![]() |
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(numerous blowdowns)S. Fox, 2001 |
| Middle Ridge | ![]() |
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| Canyon Lake | ? | ? | see Greentrails/USGS maps, Routes and Rocks (Miners Ridge area). |
| Upper Suiattle River trail system | ? | ![]() |
Probably . See Greentrails, USGS maps, Routes and Rocks.
Includes Dusty Ridge. |
| Circle Peak | ![]() |
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but road inaccessible due to bridge washout. |
| Harding Mt | ![]() |
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Probably a sheepherder trail. Sign says "stock route". |
There is an old trail towards Downey Mountain off of the Downey Creek trail. This lost trail leaves the Downey Creek trail going east at about 1mi. There is a description in Beckey guide. Beckey says it is a possible packers trail. There was a recent report in Pack and Paddle on a winter or spring trip when they encountered the trail. As I recall they gave a good description of how the find the beginning of the tread. The possible location of the trail is shown on several older FS maps I viewed at the UW last fall. The best map showing the location of the trail is in the recent book Mountaineers book Geology of the North Cascades by Tabor and others.
| Mountain Loop Hwy - Verlot | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Trail | Scenery | Historic Interest | Trail Condition |
| Mt Pilchuck (south side) | ![]() |
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See 100,000:1 USGS map. Trail cannot be found any more. |
| Mallardy Ridge/Blackjack Lookout | ![]() |
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Very overgrown. |
| Marten Creek/Granite Pass | ![]() |
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cat track to mine. Old trail continued to pass, then to Deer Cr Pass. Per Don Mollick and "Monte Cristo Area" |
| Devils Lake/Double Eagle Mine | ![]() |
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| Marble Pass | ![]() |
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some , much , some ![]() |
| Silver Gulch | Well worn rocky trail to where it
deadends at an abandoned mine just over the line into another drainage. When
you get there you have gone about 100' too far. Retrace your steps and
scrutinize to the left. Where you see an 18" diameter cut log is where you
need to turn in to continue on the Silver Gulch trail. It is perhaps 80'
vertical elevation above the creek. There is some deadfall across the trail
but it is in fairly good shape seeing it hasn't had maintenance for 100
years. | ||
| Helena Mines | ![]() |
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NORTH CENTRAL
(Abandoned) Helena Ridge Trail
(USGS Helena Ridge)
About 1.9 miles in on the Independence Lake Trail, past the lake and continuing up the switchbacks to North Lake, there is a level area on the ridge where a small meadowed area holds a pond. This is the location where the old trail continued north along the crest of Helena Ridge to Iron Mountain and on to reach Clear Creek and Darrington. Earlier this spring, I scrambled Iron Mtn. and the remains of the trail at that end were clearly evident with some good tread; at least until we got into snow cover and even then we could follow the tree blazes.Now was a good opportunity to explore the south part of this abandoned trail. At about 4300’ elevation, a path leads off the North Lake trail to the pond area and to the lip of the canyon where it promptly disappears. From here, I traversed across semi-steep forest until I hit the ridge line going northerly. Staying right on the crest and following it slightly downward, I passed several blazes on trees so now I knew that I had picked up the old route again. The ridge leveled out and I hiked for a mile through open forest with only slight knee high brush, finding the travel easy with blazes and sometimes a faint semblance of a path to follow. The route stays right on the ridge crest which is a gently rounded top at around 4240’ elevation. After crossing the first knoll at 4280+, the route descended onto a sharper ridge line and thicker brush. Now I was into territory that only a true bushwhacker enjoys; pushing through blueberry thickets and small closely growing firs. All semblance of tread was lost, but blazes still appeared occasionally. I eased over to the western downhill side to avoid the worst of the bushes. After topping the second knoll at 4240+, the route swung more to the NE and started a steep descent to a saddle at about 4000’. And here with increasingly thickening thickets and not having seen a blaze in a while, I decided that I had enough. The forested hump of Iron Mountain was still about a mile and a half north and this was getting too reminiscent of the abandoned Mallardy Ridge Trail brush bash. I retraced my route back south along the ridge line to where it connects with the subsidiary ridge of Independence Peak. Here is where I made a wrong route finding decision. Trying to discover where the old trail went, I continued up the ever steepening slope past the last tree blaze hoping to find more. As it got far too steep for any kind of trail, I planned to traverse over to my starting point, but small cliffs forced me back up to the left for a class 4 duff and root scramble. I ended going up and over this point to connect with the established trail at around 4700’ and an easy hike out. But down a ways where the trail starts to switchback to Independence Lake, I heard a rustle in the bushes up slope. Glancing up, I saw a huge black shape 20’ in front of me. The bear turned his head and we stared at each other a moment before he turned and ran directly up hill, crashing through the bushes. Then on cliffy slabs, he just padded up them like he was born to it. I started singing loudly just in case he had a friend about. 8 miles, 2000’ gain. - Dave Fish, 10/04 |
| Bald Mtn | ![]() |
Built by Lake City boy scouts in 1972. Williamson Cr road closure forces abandonment. In 80's vintage trail guidebooks. Troop disbanded. | |
| Manley Mine | ![]() |
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Heads into basin between Morningstar and Lewis peaks. |
| 76 Basin | ![]() |
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| Penn Mining Camp (segment) | ![]() |
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| Round Mountain #664, 1.6 mi. |
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This trail shows up on the 1991 Darrington Ranger District map but not on the USGS Fortson (revised 1982) topo. The trail is also referenced in an old edition of 100 Hikes and Becky’s green Cascade Alpine Guide book. All these sources have some serious errors, except the topo which simply shows the branch road #1850 from Deer Creek Pass as ending much shorter than it presently does. The descriptions of where the start of this trail is located is wildly different between Becky and the Hike book and Ranger District map. I suspect that with all the logging next to the road in this area that the true beginning is long lost under the slash and wrack of the tree felling operations. However, I can tell you where to presently find and follow it.Just to the NE of Coney Pass is a high point with a timbered spur running due east following the north section line of Section 25 and 26. The timber extends most of the way down to the road and this is where I picked up the lower sections of the trail. Just to the north of this spur is an old clear cut which makes the timbered ridge visibly prominent from the road. Also on the north edge of the clear cut is a small cliff/buttress just above the road. From Deer Creek Pass, at about 3/4 of a mile in on the road, I went up through the southern edge of the clear cut in open marshy swales aiming for the lower end of the timber. I was following an animal path and immediately upon gaining the shelter of the trees, I found myself on the trail! Even in the lower forest, the trail is in fair shape and easy to follow if you pay attention. It wiggles up the gentle slopes and then turns north to skirt the west edge of a large meadow (shown as the white area 3640’ on the topo). Be prepared to lose the trail here as it vanishes in the lush marshy growth. It continues north skirting above the meadow until near the northern end of the meadow and just past a huge tangle of a giant blowdown, the trail starts up slope (this section is much easier to follow coming down as you have a better idea of where and what you are looking for). From here on the trail is in amazingly good shape and easy to follow all the way to it’s end. It even appears as if the trail has been brushed out within the last 5 or so years. Now the trail starts working it’s way in a southerly direction up slope with some switchbacks. The trail does NOT go the 3800’ saddle as reported in the guide books! It stays well under the ridge line until a series of short switchbacks puts it on top the 4080 knoll just NE of Coney Pass. Now the trail follows the ridge dropping a bit to Coney Pass and up the ridge line to the west. After a short period and around 4100’, the trail starts a gentle rising traverse to contour around the mountain. It crosses a small talus field with the trail still well defined in the rocks. Finally, at about 4500’ the trail crosses a small spur just above the basin immediately below the summit. There is evidence of camping at this location. The basin is boulder filled with ponds and a stream. From here, the summit of Round Mountain is a fairly easy scramble up talus fields and steep heather slopes to the ridge line and top. David Fish |
| US 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Trail | Scenery | Historic Interest | Trail Condition |
| Silver Creek | ![]() |
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| Troublesome Creek | ![]() |
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| Bowser Lake. A short, built trail heads up the south end of Bowser lake for two switchbacks. | |||
| Evergreen Mt | ![]() |
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| Kelley Creek/Scorpion Pt | ![]() |
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| North Crest Cutoff Trail | ? | ![]() |
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| Curry Gap trail | ![]() |
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This trail shown on USGS map on opposite side of Quartz Creek. Hard to find start at either end, but the middle is pretty easy to follow. Another section is near the gap and fades completely. |
| Surprise Gap/Mt and CCT | ![]() |
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| Napeequa Valley | ![]() |
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| Alpine Baldy | ![]() |
? See "100 Hikes" | |
| Francis Lake | ? | ? | from W Fk Miller river. Per Lopper. |
| Carne Mt - Leroy Basin | ![]() |
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| Phelps Ridge | ![]() |
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| Clark Mtn | ![]() |
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| Interstate 90 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Trail | Scenery | Historic Interest | Trail Condition |
| Mount Si (old trail) | ![]() |
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| McClellan Butte | ![]() |
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| Cascade Crest (hiker only) | ![]() |
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to ![]() |
| Cascade Crest (horse route - Source Lake) | ![]() |
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| Snoqualmie Mountain | ![]() |
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| Koppen sheepherder trail | ![]() |
Per Joseph Elfret:
Park at the Johnson-Medra Creek (#1383) trailhead a short way north of
Beverly campground. Head up the trail and in less than a mile turn left at
the signed junction onto the Jungle Creek trail (#1383.1). At about 3,450'
the drainage you are in splits into two parts. The Jungle Creek trail
follows the drainage coming at you from the southwest. Few hikers will spot the ever so faint tread that begins a short way before the Jungle Creek trail crosses the small stream flowing out of this valley. UTM coordinates for the end of trail: 10 656441E 5248733N, and a junction: 10 656033E 5249184N. |
| Mt Rainier | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Trail | Scenery | Historic Interest | Trail Condition |
| Chenius Falls | ![]() |
old Wonderland route? | except for some blowdowns.
Bridge often out across Carbon River. Some old maps show a "Tirzah Peak trail" name.SFox, 2000 |
| NW of Sweet/Florence Peaks | Part of "Boundary Trail"? | Trail easy to lose in brush. . See 1971 Golden Lakes 7.5' USGS map. Stefan Feller, 2000 | |
| Dixon Mountain | ![]() |
? |
Directions to trailhead: Follow Highway 7, then Highway 706 toward Mt.
Rainier National Park. At 2.8 miles past Ashford store, turn right on
Skate Creek Road #52. After 14.3 miles more, turn left at bridge over
Skate Creek, onto the Johnson Creek Road #5260. There are no roadsigns
here. Follow about 5.6 miles to the ridgetop (Don't miss the turn to the
right like we did). Before the turn, the road was washed out a bit, but my
Accord got over it fine. On the USGS Tatoosh Lakes quad, park where it
says Borrow Pit. Hike back on the road to a road on the right and go just
a short distance (ignore the abandoned road continuing downhill to the
left) and find an obvious trail heading south up the ridge. The tread of
the trail is excellent the entire way (four stars) to the summit of Dixon
Mountain, 5134', and I had no trouble at all following it on 10-3-01.
However, parts of the trail, after passing a pond to the left, has bushes
overgrowing it, so perhaps earlier in the year, with the bushes having
leaves on them, it may not be so obvious to follow (perhaps two stars). At
the base of the mountain the trail goes to the right around the back and
then it double backs and takes you right to the top. There are great
viewpoints from the summit. From Edythe Hulet and Roger Barrett per
Fred Beavon, 2001
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References: USGS 7.5' maps Noble Nob (1989) and Norse Peak (1988). USGS 100,000:1 map. From Lopper Other potential Mt Rainier area abandoned trails:
2.4 miles along the North Fork Skokomish River Trail, the abandoned Mount Lincoln Way Trail was obvious and is not obliterated. In fact, it is quite pleasant and easy to follow. Per Fred Beavon
Tull Canyon -- heads up past airplane wreckage to... what?
Send comments to the author.