Sports
Explore the Northwest Timber Trail at Tiger Mountain
With clear skies and temperatures forecasted for the 70s and even 80s this weekend, there's no reason to not put on those hiking shoes and try this snow-free trail.
The Tiger Summit trailhead (State Route 18) at Tiger Mountain provides a diverse menu of hiking trails that appeal to hikers, mountain bikers, runners and horseback riders year-round. The trailhead is especially handy for hikers who live in Enumclaw as well as Issaquah and North Bend. The trailhead/parking area is at the summit (elevation 1,355 feet).
The parking lot is riddled with pot-holes - if you have a passenger car, take it easy. A trailhead pass is not required until July 1 when land-management agencies will begin requiring the new Discovery Pass at trailheads (this pass is not to be confused with the Northwest Forest Pass).
From the parking lot we headed northwest (right) on the Tiger Mountain Road, almost immediately you’ll pass a pond (right) and then a trail (right) but it’s a dead-end -- it doesn’t go anywhere. Continue a little further up the road to a more obvious trail (right). The weathered trailhead sign is just a couple steps further up the road.
Though close to State Route 18, civilization feels far away. You’ll soon cross a creek on a sturdy bridge (there are four bridges along the trail) before entering a luxurious grove of vine maple. In late May, the foliage of the vine maple is lime-green; in fall, it will be a blaze of color.
Lowland wildflowers are blooming along the trail – trilliums, violets, miner’s lettuce, false lily-of-the valley, clover, and fringe-cup. The area was logged some time ago – gigantic stumps punctuate the silent forest. One hides a geo-cache (we found it by accident because we stopped to admire the stump).
The trail remains mostly level as it skirts a power line. Then the trail begins an earnest climb through second-growth forest and crosses a stream on three more bridges. The bridges are beefy enough for equestrians and mountain bikers.
Soon after the fourth bridge the forest opens out as the trail skirts a clear-cut. Your first reaction might be “Wow, this is ugly” but look again. The trail is bordered with fireweed, miner’s lettuce, elderberry, other shrubs and ferns. There are also pleasant views of Taylor Mountain.
Keep in mind that Tiger Mountain is a working forest so put aside any prejudice you might have about clear-cuts and multiple-use trails. There’s much to enjoy here, especially as many higher-elevation trails remain mostly snow-covered.
After skirting the clear-cut the trail re-enters the forest and remains mostly level until it meets a gravel road (East Side Road). With map at hand you can concoct a longer loop back to State Route 18 but you’ll need to walk the highway to get back to the trailhead (see map for details). However there is nothing stopping you from hiking further on the road system, establishing a turnaround time and hiking back the way you came.
Since it was starting to rain we headed back the way we came, remaining on the alert for mountain bikers and runners (we met several).
To get there: From Seattle or Enumclaw take State Route 18 to the Tiger Summit trailhead, elevation 1,355 feet.
Trail data: From the trailhead the hike is about 4.9 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 715 feet. The map is Green Trails (Tiger Mountain Map 204S), Issaquah Alps Series.
