Squak Mountain, Central Peak

"Passed over this one on a weekend trip from Lake Washington to Rattlesnake Lake. Camped at South Tiger. The trip was about 48 miles in total and my ankle held up pretty well. Stoked to be nearly back to 100%!" — Al-Rashid • Apr 2, 2016

"I spent some time exploring some forgotten trails on the east side of Squak. I visited Point Solitude, Central Peak, Southeast Peak, Southeast Peak #2, and checked out every side trail along the way that I hadn't hiked before. To my surprise, the view from Point Solitude, a little bump to the south of Central Peak, actually offered a decent view of Mount Rainier. There's a mess of old trails and trails in progress as you head down the ridge to the south from the Southeast Peak, many of which dead end into thick brush with no further track or flagging to follow. There is one route that'll get you all the way down the ridge which alternates between good trail and non existent trail where you're only following black and orange striped ribbons. I also came across an abandoned shack of some sort along the way, not too far from a trail, but very easy to miss. This was the furthest I've hiked in a day since I injured my ankle about a year ago. Just 11 miles, but it's come a long way." — Al-Rashid • Feb 21, 2016

"Squak Mountain State Park - a hidden gem Nestled between the Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park and the Tiger Mountain State Forest, Squak Mountain State Park gets a fraction of the area's visitors as it's illustrious neighbors. Enjoy secluded, sub-alpine views as your adventure takes you through the Billit's former vacation escape. Only their grand stone fireplace remains, but you'll certainly enjoy your wanderings over three of the Issaquah Alps' area peaks: Squak Mtn West, Squak Mtn Central Peak, and Squak Mtn SE Peak. Author's note: having been to Cougar, Squak and Tiger; it's easy to compare them to each other. I have to say, I think Squak may be my favorite and I'll gladly go back again and again. I would not say the same about Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. It's nice, though obnoxiously crowded and it does not have the same Alpine feel that Squak has. Squak sets up the physical challenge while delivering beautiful sub-alpine views. It's pretty hard to do better unless you're headed above the tree line. Bring your cardio and happy adventuring! Trail length: 7.3 miles Total Elevation Gain / Loss: 2,157 feet Link to GPS tracks: http://my.v..." — herdingcats • Apr 2, 2014

"Explored a new route to the summit... just east of the Bullitt Fireplace, took the spur up and over a small hill before climbing up and out of the woods to the breathtaking barbed-wire sheds and microwave towers of the summit." — scott • Feb 26, 2014

"For a long time my friends and I have wanted to do some sort of Issaquah Alps traverse hike. I was inspired by a Rattlesnake Lake to Lake Washington route through the Issaquah Alps taken by Team Verve. As fate would have it this was the weekend everything fell in place and we finally made it happen. Our route was similar to theirs except we took a less direct route across Tiger Mountain putting the grand total at 48 miles with roughly 9000 feet of elevation gain. Needless to say it was painful, but most of all it was a blast! The first highlight of the trip was climbing through the crevice on rattlesnake ledge down to the ledge below and relaxing on the ledge as the sun began to peak through the clouds. From there it was on to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain. Near the summit the trail was pretty icy and we were packing as light as possible which meant no traction devices whatsoever, so it got pretty interesting in a few places. We continued on improving trail conditions along the ridge until we were under the powerlines near the north end of the ridge. There was some bushwacking along a steep section of the powerline route, but when it really got interesting was after the ..." — Al-Rashid • Mar 30, 2013

"We parked at West Access, went up the Chybinski trail to West Peak then Bullitt FirePlace, Central Peak and down via Old Griz, East side Trail and back down West Access. Nice trails, no views." — WendyandTom • Apr 6, 2012

"I stuck to the gravel road that takes you up to Central Peak until the point where you can take a trail eastward to connect with the south end of the Phil's Creek Trail. From there I took Phil's Creek Trail and the East Ridge Trail to where you connect with the road again just below the summit. A couple who saw me leaving the gravel road near the bottom were very surprised to run into me again coming down the road from the summit. They couldn't believe I beat them to the top despite my detour along the Phil's Creek Trail. I do think I managed to make it the whole way without taking any breaks. " — Al-Rashid • Sep 24, 2011

"First trailrunning in over a year! Left from Sycamore access trail and went up East Ridge Trail. Spent 2 seconds on the crappy summit (see photo). Made a loop of it and ran down Phils Creek Trail to Old Grizzly Trail to East Side Trail. Amazing trail network here, will head back (pathetic hamstring injury depending). Left at 5:20pm and didn't see a single person the entire time!" — scott • Sep 9, 2011

"We came up the East Ridge Trail and looped around to the West Peak before making our way back past Bullitt Fireplace, over Central Peak, and back down the East Ridge Trail. My buddy Wuesly brought a couple of his cousins along who never get to do any hiking. The younger of the 2 must've been around 10 years old, but he had more energy to burn than any of us! He was proudly leaving his older brother in the dust." — Al-Rashid • Nov 6, 2010

"My buddy Dave and I headed from his house in High Valley straight through the woods in his backyard until we ran into a series of trails through neighborhoods that eventually brought us to the road that runs below Debbie's View. From the viewpoint we continued on to West Peak, Bullitt Fireplace, and Central Peak. He took me on some well beaten trails between the 2 peaks that weren't on the maps I had, so it was an informative trip. " — Al-Rashid • Jun 19, 2010