MOUNT DICKERMAN
A must do! This has it all: amazing summit views, a great workout, a reasonable drive from Seattle, and miraculously not too crowded.
Quick Facts:
Distance: 8.1 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4200 ft
Location: Perry Creak Trailhead, Mountain Loop Highway, Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
Season: Mid Summer-Early 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
Getting there:
Click here for the TH location on GoogleMaps
The trailhead is directly off the Mountain Loop Highway, so any car can get there. In the winter this portion of the Mountain Loop Highway is closed due to snow, but I don’t advise doing this hike in that much snow unless you have avalanche training and extensive experience with off-trail snow travel.
Fall colors along the trail, August 2018
The trail below the summit, August 2018
Views from the summit, August 2018
Hike Description:
This is truly one of my favorite hikes, but even I will admit it starts out a bit rough with nearly 2 miles of switchbacks through the woods. If you can convince your mind and your legs to overcome this obstacle, you’ll start to reap the many benefits of this hike.
As you begin the traverse to the northwest, you continue to steadily gain altitude but you start to have some nice views to the peaks across the highway to distract you from the effort. The creek crossings between miles 2 & 3 can be difficult to cross early in the season when they’re running high from snowmelt, or in the fall when they may be icy.
View along the summit ridge after a dry Fall, October 2017
View along the summit ridge during a snowy Fall, October 2019
Once you get above treeline, you take a beautiful trail through a meadow. If you time it right, you find nearly endless blueberries to snack on along here. The views continue to grow as you gain the ridge, and at around 3.5 miles you can take a short detour to the southwest (the path is very obvious) for some great views and a nice spot to grab a snack before the final push to the summit.
You can nearly see the summit now, and the rewards for getting there are amazing. The summit is more of a ridgeline, so pick your favorite spot and drink it all in. Glacier Peak is in your face, along with numerous other peaks along the Mountain Loop Highway. On an especially clear day, you can see all the way to Mount Baker. Enjoy the views for as long as you can, and rest your legs for the hike down.