SCORPION MOUNTAIN
A fun hike along a ridge to amazing meadows full of wildflowers and wonderful mountain views! This is a really beautiful hike that doesn’t require a ton of effort!
Quick Facts:
Distance: 7.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 2500 feet
Location: Johnson Ridge Trailhead, Highway 2, Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
Season: Summer-Fall
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Parking Pass: Northwest Forest Pass or America the Beautiful Pass
Check the weather: mountain-forecast, weather.gov
Check for recent trip reports: WTA, AllTrails
Notes: This trail gets a lot of sun and is quite exposed, so be sure to bring a lot of water.
Getting there:
Click here for the TH location on Google Maps
The directions to this hike are spot on if you follow the link above. The last 7 miles are on unpaved forest road, and although there are a few potholes it really isn’t too bad and I think any car should be able to make it.
One thing to note is that traffic heading West on Highway 2 (which you’ll take home if you’re coming from Seattle or any of the other Puget Sound cities) can get insanely bad on the weekends. I would really recommend trying to do this hike very early in the day so you can beat the traffic home, or do it on a weekday.
View along the trail, July 2020
A steep section of trail, July 2020
View from the summit of the lake below, July 2020
Hike description:
The views at the end of this hike are really great, but it starts off a bit boring. The trail right away heads uphill and starts out, dry, dusty and sunny. You’ll definitely work up a sweat as you gain 1000 feet in the first mile, at which point the trail enters the woods, flattens out a bit, and becomes shaded.
You’ll get some peekaboo views of surrounding peaks as you continue up the trail, and these will open up a bit more when you reach Sunrise Mountain at 2 miles. You can see Glacier Peak from here, but don’t bother pausing too long as the views at the end of the hike are way better. After you leave Sunrise Peak you’ll quickly drop 300 feet before the trail flattens and then begin climbing again.
View from the ridge beneath the summit, July 2020
View across the summit, July 2020
As you cross through open meadows you’ll see that the views really start to open up here, and soon nearly everywhere you look you’ll see mountains. On top of this, the meadows you’re hiking though are absolutely bursting with wildflowers in the summer and ripe blueberries in the fall. Basically, this part of the trail is amazing! I loved this portion even more than the summit of Scorpion Mountain itself, so be sure to linger here and take in the views as much as you want. As you walk along the ridge in this section you will also gain some of the best views towards Glacier Peak of the whole hike.
When you eventually make your way through these amazing meadows you can take one of two routes to the summit. The main route, which I recommend, follows the trail you are on to traverse underneath the summit of Scorpion Mountain to the southeast side of the summit, where you’ll come to an unmarked intersection and take a left to climb the final small distance to Scorpion Mountain. From this trail you can see down to Joan Lake below, which you can reach by taking a right on this trail. An alternative is that you can look for a faint trail to your left on the west side of the summit (about 1/10th of a mile before the turnoff to the lake), which will take you directly to the top – I don’t recommend this as the trail isn’t very well defined.
From the summit you get nearly 360 degree views of mountains in every direction! There are only a few good rocks to sit on on the summit, so pick your favorite, take a seat, and enjoy the fruits of your labor and a snack before heading down.