"I've done this before but never in the winter. I love these peaks along the I-90 corridor since they are so accessible for those of us that live in Seattle. This is one of the better winter hikes I've done if you're looking for something closer to a traditional hike (no snowshoes or thick snow w/postholing) granted we have had minimal snow this year. Snow on trail at 3800 ft+ but didn't even take my spikes out. Fresh dusting of snow on the trees surrounding Change Peak was beautiful." — E • Feb 10, 2026

"Snow and winter conditions on Mount Washington and Change Creek trail yesterday. 1-4 inches of new snow based on location on the mountain. Light snow began on trail around Owl SPot Lookout. Neat the pond, the junction with the Mount WA trail and the old road that connected the Great Wall trail (Ollalie Trail and FS 5010-370) snow was a few inches deep. A storm blew in and dumped 1-4 inches depending on where you were on the mountain. Trail was manageable with spikes and poles. Some folks only wore boot and shorts. I too the logging road back towards Change Peak and took the Change Creek trail down. Significant snow on the way down especially around the pond at Change Creek. The trail was great but snowy until that point. Deep snow mounds provided some fun for trail bashing with some minor postholing, however, the trail condition is a mess - downed logs, branches, twigs, etc made navigation - not difficult, but not fun. It only became worse until I reached a sign for MMM Ridge - Middle Mother Mountain's ridge - apparently a path up to the ridge climb which looks great! The trail improved in terms of debris, passing J's Landing turnoff and Hall's Point. Good views from Ha..." — markhadland • Apr 27, 2019

"Another winter climb of Mount Washington, this time with summiting Change Peak as well. Turned a 8 mile half day into a 13 mile full day. Really nice snowshoe route over to Change after descending Washington. The route/road was easy to follow with GPS and we were the only ones out there." — BryHong8 • Mar 19, 2017

"Nice hike up Mt Washington in glorious sunshine. Lots of fresh, soft snow on the last mile or so. Only one set of snowshoe tracks going up, none coming down, so naturally I met the hiker at the top. 3100 ft gain, 9.4 miles, 6 hrs." — markgarrett • Jan 14, 2016

"A pleasant and exciting first experience on a most sunny and windy day with high and thin clouds. A lot of fantastic views on the trail and at the summit, especially Mt Rainier." — dlam522 • Oct 15, 2015

"Mild day for a February hike - light clouds and sun breaks at the start of the hike but fog rolled in just before reaching the summit. Snow starts just before the Owl Spot and gets deeper the higher you go - probably 4-5 feet deep at the top. Managed to make it up and back with just microspikes but had snowshoes with me. No views at the summit because of fog so no summit photos." — mtnhiker • Feb 10, 2013

"Took 4 1/2 hours to get to the summit, by far my slowest to reach to any summit. But I consider it to a great accomplishment as I was still fighting with a cold and I tackled it all by myself. Scary with lots of unknowns, can't say I will come up here by myself in the winter time again!" — aimk13 • Mar 4, 2012

"I believe Scotty and I were the first on the trail this day, we saw 6 others. If you plan on hitting this summit by way of the direct route(not the Great Wall route), do yourself a favor and turn left (west) at the 3rd juction. You can't mistake this turnoff as it is along the bank of the only pond near any trail on Mt Washington. We made the mistake of heading East, and the further mistake of continuing past where the snowshoe tracks we were following turned back. This overgrown remnant of an abandoned forest road dissapears at the base of the steep North face. It was slow going in well over 3 feet of snow, and there was probably some risk of avalanche, but we weren't turning back. It took us nearly 4 1/2 hours to reach the summit, by far my slowest trip. The sky was slightly overcast, but we got a few sunbursts and the summit was relatively windless. Baker and Glacier Peak were clearly visible to the north. " — Jeb • Feb 5, 2012

"Enjoyed this scenic hike in the height of summer. Sick view of Rainier from the top summit meadows. Trail was 100% snow free and in great shape the whole way. Entrance off of Iron Horse surprisingly hard to find. Also, at the clogged up pond, take a sharp left. Mosquitos were out in force at the summit." — scott • Jul 23, 2011

"We chose Washington as the Peak least likely to have snow obstructions along the trail. while there were no serious blockages, the last mile and a half was through thigh-deep snow. Incredible views from up here. this is one of the few place from which the Chester Morse Lake can be viewed." — Jeb • Apr 30, 2011