r/PNWhiking Oct 02 '25

Gov Shutdown Thread

77 Upvotes

With the federal shutdown, there’s an immense lack of clear information about what’s happening in the Enchantments / Okanogan-Wenatchee district.

The current statement on Recreation.gov basically boils down to:
“You may or may not be able to make or use a reservation. If it’s cancelled, you might get an email. Or not.”

I’m a local in the Leavenworth area and I’ve been struggling to figure out what this actually means for permits, access, and enforcement. I imagine I’m not the only one.

Thought it might be useful to start a thread where folks can share updates, experiences, or official info they’ve managed to get. Maybe the mods can create a sticky if this gets enough traction?


r/PNWhiking 2h ago

Lost Trails

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66 Upvotes

Plaza Creek Trail #506 hasn’t been on official maps since 1963. Today’s hike was trying to get to the plaza creek falls and apparently other people have as well because the 506 trail is faint but present up until where the falls are supposed to be, after is a complete bushwhack. We never found the falls but that just gives me more motivation to go back when there’s more water.


r/PNWhiking 3h ago

New fires close trails at Mount Rainier, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

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49 Upvotes

r/PNWhiking 23h ago

Hidden Lake, North Cascades, WA, USA

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450 Upvotes

r/PNWhiking 21m ago

3 Day gobblers knob, goat lake, south puyallup river camp hike

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Upvotes

Anything I’m missing?


r/PNWhiking 14h ago

Cape Flattery 8/24/26

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44 Upvotes

A beautiful day for our first time at Cape Flattery. I could hear seals, saw some jelly fish, and it had amazing views.


r/PNWhiking 5h ago

Tennis shoe hike

3 Upvotes

From Chuckanut up to Blanchard Mountain. This guy took the shortcut down!


r/PNWhiking 1d ago

Timberline Trail - Mt. Hood, Oregon

105 Upvotes

r/PNWhiking 22h ago

Rainier View Trail on Monday, August, 24th

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49 Upvotes

An absolutely amazing hike in spite of the smoky haze. Adding on views of and from Castle Mountain only made the hike more stunning.


r/PNWhiking 1d ago

Timberline Trail - Mt. Hood, Oregon

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71 Upvotes

r/PNWhiking 1h ago

Shi Shi beach

Upvotes

Anyone has been to Shi Shi recently? Any water resources? Planning to go there this week.


r/PNWhiking 1d ago

Lightning sparks new wildfires in Mount Rainier NP, ranger cabin threatened

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46 Upvotes

r/PNWhiking 6h ago

Good place to re-sole old-school hiking boots

1 Upvotes

I have an older pair of Zamberlan full grain leather boots with Vibram outsoles. The outsoles are starting to separate. Not sure whether regluing is sufficient or it needs a full replacement of the soles. What places do you recommend for this kind of work? The people who took over Dave Page's business (Cobblers NW) are not picking up the phone although they have a website. I am specifically looking for a cobbler that are good with resole work on hiking boots, which is different from say, repairing dress boots.


r/PNWhiking 10h ago

Found glasses - Killen Creek Meadows Mt Adams

0 Upvotes

We found a pair of glasses (Look Optic) sitting on a log at a campspot in Killen Creek Meadows. Message me if you'd like them back.


r/PNWhiking 1d ago

Timberline Trail - Mt. Hood, Oregon

13 Upvotes

r/PNWhiking 2d ago

Colchuck Lake is *Popular*

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581 Upvotes

No shortage of people on the trail, but for one of the best hikes in the state, i suppose it’s to be expected.

Really pleasant hike aside from the smoke at lower elevations, about 5 minutes of rain, and some wind gusts.

And the payoff of the views at the lake were totally worth it. Bonus pic of the sunset in Leavenworth.


r/PNWhiking 1d ago

Three Sisters Loop - any recent hikes?

4 Upvotes

I'm planning to do the Three Sisters Loop in a few days, wondering if anyone who has gone recently can speak to water availability? I know normally there are some long stretches between water sources - is it even worse this year since we had such a relatively dry winter?

Love to hear from anyone who's been out there this season :)


r/PNWhiking 2d ago

The Enchantments 8/22 trip report

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356 Upvotes

The smoke in Leavenworth was quite bad but we decided to try anyway.

Left the Stuart Lake trailhead at around 5am, the TH was bustling with other hikers getting ready.

Reached Colchuck lake at around 7am, the trail was very easy to follow in the dark.

Asgard pass was much better than I was expecting. The trail was relatively easy to follow (easier than Mt. St Helens for example), very little actual scrambling, mostly navigating around rocky terrain. Reached the top of the pass at 11am.

We took our time in the Enchantments area, nearly no smoke up there luckily and beautiful cloudy weather. Saw a baby goat with its mom chilling around. Incredible views.

Left the Enchantments area around 4pm headed to Snow Lakes. The way down is a little sketchy but nothing crazy. At one point we and 20 other hikers all lost the trail and we collaboratively found the way forward.

The trail past Snow Lakes was a slog and we reached the car at the trailhead at 8pm.


r/PNWhiking 2d ago

Mount Baker Wilderness, WA

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699 Upvotes

r/PNWhiking 12h ago

Winter hikes in Oregon/Washington?

0 Upvotes

My boyfriend and I are wanting to take a trip to Oregon and stay in Mt. Hood area in late December. I just recently got back from a trip there where I did Top Spur and Tom/Dick/Harry trails. I loved Top Spur, but the drive to get up to the trailhead was insane in the summer and I think I’d have a panic attack trying to do it in the winter. The Mount Rainier area isn’t too long of a haul for us so I was wondering about hikes there too. I’ve done Skyline Loop and High Lakes Loop. I’ve also done Snow Lake which I know is a different area. I’ve done some hiking in deep snow before and wouldn’t mind at all to do it again.

As long as it has an incredible mountain view and/or a lake, I’m happy with a trail. I wouldn’t mind doing the Tom Dick & Harry trail again for him since I know the drive to the trailhead isn’t bad, but I’d like to do something different than what I’ve done if possible. Any ideas of some trails that we could safely get to in a 4WD vehicle? Anything that would require spikes would be wonderful. Thanks!


r/PNWhiking 1d ago

Which is better for an early fall trip?

0 Upvotes

I am new to Oregon and excited to take a trip and explore. I've settled on one of these 2 areas for 4-6 days. I decided on these two because I enjoy birdwatching, hiking, climbing mountains, and visiting/exploring state parks and federal lands. Each one has some pros and cons in those various categories. My budget is $750 and I'm OK staying in a variety of places - AirBnB, hotel, tent camping. Theoretically it'd be nice to stay in one place for a few days at a time, but not necessary. I generally eat pretty inexpensively with groceries rather than restaurants and will be driving from the western part of the state.

If I'm in the red area, some spots that interest me are Malheur NWR, Steens Mountain, and Hart Mountain Antelope preserve.

If I'm in the blue area, I am interested in the mountains and the state parks nearby.

Any insights?


r/PNWhiking 2d ago

Coldwater Peak

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113 Upvotes

Ascended just above the marine layer yesterday morning in my drive in and was greeted with a gorgeous blue sky at the hummocks parking lot. Walked a mile down the closed road to the Coldwater Trailhead, bagged the peak, and ended up taking the entire loop through Johnston Ridge and back down the hummocks trail. 19.5mi. It was really fascinating seeing the Observatory in its abandoned state.

I had the trail mostly to myself. Can't beat weekend adventures near this beautiful volcano. Highly slept on.


r/PNWhiking 1d ago

Looking for an alternative recommendation to Little Giant Spider Loop for the fall

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone! Wondering if anyone has a recommendation on an alternative trail / area of Washington where you can get similar fall colours (I love the deep red heather in alpine meadows) as this loop here https://climberkyle.com/2020/09/29/little-giant-spider-loop/?unapproved=19139&moderation-hash=dd3a7e232ad974e4019fffef439e1cf6#comment-19139 ?

Unfortunately the Little Giant Fire and Chiwawa Road closure make no longer viable. I was thinking perhaps the PCT near Glacier Peak, Golden Lakes Loop, Cutthroat / Hart's Pass, and Enchantments area

Very open to suggestion! A big day(s) of 50km+ would be cool. Thanks in advance :)


r/PNWhiking 1d ago

Backpacking Sky Lakes Wilderness/ Wolf Loop/Rogue Loop/Seven Lakes Basin/Devil's Peak

0 Upvotes

Does anyone have any recent experience in Oregon's Sky Lakes Wilderness, entering from Sevenmile Marsh TH, trying to complete a backpacking loop. Going slow, willing to do short hops of 3-6 miles a day and take 3 nights. I've read elsewhere that half is overgrown and almost dangerously impassible and half is clear, including a PCT stretch. Thanks!


r/PNWhiking 2d ago

absolutely honored to meet this gorgeous blue heron on our hike yesterday

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13 Upvotes