5 Winter Hikes Near Seattle
These are 5 of my favorite hikes near Seattle!
Franklin Falls
This is an awesome hike located in the Snoqualmie Region of Washington. It’s about an hour away from Seattle. This is one of the more popular hikes near Seattle due to the breathtaking view of the waterfall and the fact that it’s only a 2 mile round trip hike to your final destination.
In the late winter the road to the parking lot often is closed so your hike will start about 3 miles back from that adding some extra time and distance to this hike.
Length: 2.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 400ft
Difficulty: Easy
Cost/Pass/Entry Fee: Northwest Forest Pass
2. Snoqualmie Falls
This is an awesome hike located in the Snoqualmie Region/North Bend region of Washington. It’s about 45 minutes away from Seattle. This is more of a viewpoint than a hike. You will arrive and park in the upper or lower parking lot (both have limited free parking). You will then walk over a short bridge that will give you an incredible view of the Snoqualmie Falls looking down. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, you can walk down the trailhead ( about .7 miles) down to a lower viewpoint of the waterfall. Make sure you bring a rain jacket, there is usually a lot of spray from the waterfall.
Length: 1.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 250ft
Difficulty: Easy
Cost/Pass/Entry Fee: Limited Parking
3. Lake serene & Bridal Falls
This hike is definitely more challenging than the previous two. I would recommend packing some crampons or some micro-spikes for this one. The beginning of the trail isn’t too bad and will bring you past a really cool waterfall called Bridal Falls. After that you’ll follow a series of switchbacks that will eventually lead you to the final part of the trail that leads to lake Serene. This is usually the hardest and most dangerous part. There is often quite a bit a snow on this final part of the trail so use caution and bring hiking poles/walking stick to help keep your balance. Once you’re at the lake you’ll be rewarded with awesome views of the lake as well as the towering mountains!
Length: 8.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 2000ft
Difficulty: Moderate/Hard
Cost/Pass/Entry Fee: Northwest Forest Pass
4. Gold Creek Pond
This hike is fun and easy! I would recommend going up on a nice blue bird day. It’s a short hour drive from Seattle, but can sometimes take long depending on the road conditions of the pass. Make sure to check to see if there are road closures beforehand. I would recommend micro-spikes, crampons or even snowshoes for this hike.
Length: 1 mile
Elevation Gain: 10 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Cost/Pass/Entry Fee: Passes depend on time of year and road closures
5. Boulder River
This hike is a little bit further north in the North Cascade region of Washington. The trail itself is quite mild and you only gain around 700ft of elevation for the whole duration of the trail. However you walk near the river the entire time and get an awesome view of a waterfall fairly quickly after starting the trail. This is a great hike on a rainy day since most of the trail is covered by trees. I would definitely recommend taking sometime to check out the waterfall while on your hike!
Length: 8.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 700 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Cost/Pass/Entry Fee: None (but parking is limited)