Trail Review: Anti-Aircraft Ridge

Location: Issaquah Alps

Difficulty: Easy (~600 ft of elevation gain)
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Mileage: 6-7, but lots of opportunities for shorter hikes as well
Fees/Passes: None
Season: November - April

It’s always tricky in Western Washington to figure out good hikes in March that isn't going to be snowed in. You’re options are either to go out to the peninsula, the San Juans or some places in the Southern Cascades. The Peninsula is tricky if you have a dog, since so much of it is National Park, in addition both it and the San Juans have the added complication and cost of ferry rides. Going down to The Gorge or Southern Cascades isn't ideal either, it’s a long drive and areas may still be snowed in. If you don’t have time to do an overnight or multiday hike, this means you’re in for an extremely long day.

Which is why early in the season a lot of people, especially in the Seattle area end up settling for hiking/walking in some of the more expansive urban parks in Seattle (Discovery Park, Carkeek Park, etc.) and parts of the Issaquah Alps. A nice bonus for these hikes is that none of them require passes or have day use fees.

Chris, Jaxx and I have done a few of these, and this was probably one of the prettier ones. There are tons of trails in Cougar Mountain Park so you have a lot of options in terms of length. There isn't a lot of variation in difficulty since there isn't much elevation gain or loss for any of the hikes. Some have short bursts of slightly steeper terrain, but they are typically short. There are some nice views if you can find places without trees. You can see the lake in the valley below and we did get a nice peak at Mt. Baker in the distance. My favorite section that we hiked was Klondike Swamp. While it doesn't have majestic views it has definite swamp(ish) charm, lots of gnarled trees covered in moss etc.

WTA recommends this hike November through May, mostly to avoid mosquitoes I probably won’t hike here after April because of crowds. On an overcast (not rainy) day we saw probably 10 people or more, which doesn't sound like much when I write it down, but I like more solitary hikes. I imagine this place gets packed by mid-late spring.

Sorry about the lack of photos, cam-jam was dead.

WTA Hike Link (including directions)