"First, be aware that the road to the trail head is in very poor shape with giant pot holes that could swallow some small cars. The trail itself is in transition - the lower part of the trail is underwater in places with the snow melt and the snow in the upper part of the trail is slushy and melting fast. The good news is that the views are amazing and this hike is always a good workout with the steep grade, snow fields, boulders to maneuver around and over and the final scramble at the top." — joeerickson • Jun 2, 2019

"A rocky, somewhat steep hike up the second most climbed peak in the state with a cool lookout. Overall rating 7/10, a scenic hike and worth the trip if you live in the central Puget Sound, especially on a low-crowd day" — MountainQuest • Oct 21, 2018

"Written by companions and sons for the WTA We are the 'lil Mountain Goats, Terrence (11) and Nathan (13) and today we climbed Mount Pilchuck. First off, still not a good idea to try and drive to the parking lot. Everyone was parked on the side of the road. One car tried to continue on the road, and immediately got stuck. They eventually made it out, but it looked like it was going to take awhile. We took the summer trail route up. The trail was pretty easy to follow. The creek was running pretty high, and was a little dicey. There were only a few postholes heading up. Once you reach the open area, where the winter route intersects with the summer route, be sure to have your sunglasses - it was bright! We brought gaiters, snowshoes, ice axes and poles, but just used the gaiters and poles, although the snow was quite deep at times, and some people may want snowshoes. At the top, the views were great today! You could see, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Three Fingers, and many other mountains very clearly. We explored the lookout and ate lunch on some rocks, beyond summit. On the way down, we took the winter route, which we recommend right now, sinc..." — BryHong8 • May 21, 2017

"Hiked with Tom Rossner and Emily Harper. It was rainy and overcast. Pretty windy at the summit but we found shelter in the observation tower for some snacks and a couple beers." — Kim-Stilson • Sep 1, 2015

"Awesome clear day 360 view. Trail was easy to follow had snow and ice on trail. Should use chains. We headed up the trail at 730 on the way up we only seen two people. We spent an hour in the lookout with no visitors. On the way down tons of people were on their way up. Perfect day!" — rebecca1 • Nov 23, 2013

"My buddy and I decided to take an overnight trip to the lookout tower on Mount Pilchuck for New Years. I've gotta say I don't think I could've had a better time. There were actually a lot of firsts for me on this trip. It was my first trip up Mount Pilchuck, my first time overnighting in a lookout tower, my first time snowshoeing, and my first time overnighting in December/January. I can't think of a better place to be for New Years. Fireworks stretched across the lowlands below. Not to mention the weather was perfect. Upon our arrival we spent some time taking in the view. You can see everything up there. Seattle and the sound, the Olympics, Rainier, Adams, St. Helens, Baker, Glacier, Stuart, Bearing, Index, Persis, the ridge from Mt Si to Bessemer, the Issaquah Alps, and a perfect view of Three Fingers, not to mention SO many others. Later we got to enjoy an amazing sunset complete with vibrant purple, red, and orange shades. The dark silhouettes of the peaks of the Olympics popped against the orange backdrop. Three Fingers had a purple glow cast around the white snow. The sunset seemed to last forever. We enjoyed it as long as we could stand the cold before..." — Al-Rashid • Dec 31, 2012

"Ours was the only vehicle as we left the Heather Lake Trailhead at 8:30 am. Traction devices were donned early on to deal with the packed icy trench. We cut the first two short switchbacks then stayed to the road the rest of the way to the trailhead. Snowshoes were donned at the trailhead and we quickly made the shoulder under overcast skies. My tracks from the day before kept us floating well above all of the powder surrounding us, and Al-Rashid and I made short work of the rest of the ascent. Shortly after reaching the summit the sky began to clear as the clouds dropped to the earth. It was well below freezing, but the lack of wind that had continued from yesterday made our stay surprisingly pleasant. We enjoyed the longest sunset either of us can recall, then retreated to the warmth of our sleeping bags and a hot meal. Fireworks began to go off as before the sun was down but we opted to wait until midnight before emerging again to take them in. We agreed that one of us would need to get a better camera before we head to the another lookout for July 4th. The next morning the sky had cleared, providing stunning panoramic views. Three Fingers Mountain stood out among the ..." — Jeb • Dec 31, 2012

"I have been thinking about an overnight trip to a fire lookout over the New Year since last July 4th. As the end of 2012 approached, Mount Pilchuck stood out among the possible options. I rarely re-visit summits, preferring instead to seek out new territory, but Pilchuck stood out due to it's massive prominence and proximity to the big city fireworks displays. Due to a lack of available info on the road and trail conditions, and in order to insure access to the tower, I headed up on the 30th with Automahn to scout out the route to the summit. I found the Mountain Loop Highway and Mount Pilchuck Road to be free from snow up to the Heather Lake Trail Head where the gate was locked, a foot of solid snow beyond it. The road had a well packed snowshoe trench, allowing me to boot it to the trailhead 5.6 miles from the lower gate. Someone built a short snow cave/igloo about 2 miles past the first gate. We reached the Mount Pilchuck Trailhead in under 2 hours, where we found another snowcave wisely located under a picnic table. I was lucky to find a single pair of snowshoe tracks past the trailhead. They seemed to closely follow the buried trail to the top, which saved me the effo..." — Jeb • Dec 29, 2012

"Mount Pilchuck road (or forest road 42, or 4220) starts about 9 miles east of I 5 of if the Mountain Loop Highway, just after entering mount baker national forest. the gravel section of this road currently in great condition and it is easily traveled by a passenger car. there is 1 tree down which I easily maneuvered with a large sedan. just after the second gate the pavement mysteriously reappears. The road ends just under 5 miles in at the Mount Pilchuck trailhead, the parking for the Heather Lake trail is at about halfway point. As of today snow cover the road starting about a half mile from the trailhead, the parking lot had 3-4 feet of snow. Traction devices prove very useful today but I don't believe snowshoes would be necessary though I did see one couple using them. The first half of this hike follows what seems to be an old logging road turned trail, climbing at a fairly mellow pace and under almost constant canopy cover. Just after coming to a wide open vieW point to the north, the road hits a dead end and the trail turns south straight up a small leg of the mountains NW ridge. There are deep glissading trenches dug into this ridge from the countless others who have come ..." — Jeb • May 26, 2012

"After a long day at work, my friend, Skylar, and I headed up to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and to enjoy the amazing views from the top of this gorgeous mountain. There was still quite a bit of snow near the top, but that didn't keep the hikers away. We saw many groups heading down... some in garbage bags... sliding down the mountain. When we reached the summit and entered the old fire lookout, we talked for a while with a father and son who were staying the night. They couldn't have picked a nicer night. We enjoyed the sunset on our way down and made it back to the truck before nightfall. I Love this place!" — RetrieversRule • Aug 1, 2011