Washington peaks
Washington summits
First Ascent Awards
1256 of 3,302 peaks 38%
Top climbing months
July 18%
August 14%
June 13%
Washington mountains highlights
- Washington is the epicenter of mountaineering in the lower 48 US states with more technical and glacier ascents than anywhere else outside of Alaska.
- The rugged, volcanic Cascade Range runs north-south across the state with hundreds of major peaks including Mt. Rainier (Washington's highest peak and the only US 14er outside of Colorado, California, and Alaska), Mt. Adams, Mt. Baker, Mt. Shuksan, Glacier Peak, and Mt. St. Helens of 1980 eruption fame. The Pacific Crest Trail passes 500 miles along the length of the range across Washington on its way to the Canadian border
- The Olympic Mountains in the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington only rise up shy of 8,000 ft but look much higher because they lie only 12 to 22 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The western slope of the range is the wettest place in the US.
- Washington has 3 mountain-centric National Parks: Mount Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, and North Cascades National Park. All 3 lie within a couple hours drive of the Seattle metro area.
- Get away from the crowds and head to the North Cascades, a particularly rugged and vertical part of the Cascades with a multitude of incredible peaks to climb.
- Over 4 million acres of mountainous wilderness areas protect vast trail networks leading to a lifetime of peaks to climb. An incredible place to explore.
Latest summits
"I hiked up the Cable Line trail, TMT, K3 to West Tiger #2, then over on the road to West Tiger #1, back to #2, on to #3 and then down via the old Section Line and Nook Trails." — markgarrett • Nov 21, 2019
"Absolutely incredible views of well , everything. Perfect day, very windy at the top. No snow on trail, no ice on trail, trail muddy in spots. No problems with the road, a lower vehicle can do it with no issues ." — puddlepirate • Nov 20, 2019
"I am trying to regain my hiking strength after being away from it for 6 weeks or so. I went up the McClellan Butte trail to the first corner at 4720 ft. Going straight down and south I found FDR 5020 and turned west. This road came back up to the ridge and I climbed up the ridge and down the other end of Point 4787. Not much view. Continuing west to the end of the road, I ascended Chester Peak. There was some view, but also a large tree blocking the view to the NW where Mid Mother Mountain and Change Peak are located. Not a lot to write home about, but it's nice being up on that isolated ridge, with the view down to the reservoir. On the way back, I hit the top of the little bump on the ridge connecting down to Truck Summit. I can see why I've heard that it is difficult to get from Truck Summit back to the Watershed Boundary Road." — markgarrett • Nov 13, 2019
"I am trying to regain my hiking strength after being away from it for 6 weeks or so. I went up the McClellan Butte trail to the first corner at 4720 ft. Going straight down and south I found FDR 5020 and turned west. This road came back up to the ridge and I climbed up the ridge and down the other end of Point 4787. Not much view. Continuing west to the end of the road, I ascended Chester Peak. There was some view, but also a large tree blocking the view to the NW where Mid Mother Mountain and Change Peak are located. Not a lot to write home about, but it's nice being up on that isolated ridge, with the view down to the reservoir. On the way back, I hit the top of the little bump on the ridge connecting down to Truck Summit. I can see why I've heard that it is difficult to get from Truck Summit back to the Watershed Boundary Road." — markgarrett • Nov 13, 2019
"From Terrence's WTA Report:
We are the Mountain Goats, Terrence (13) and Nathan (16), and today one of us (Terrence) climbed Baring Mountain.
The climber's trail behind the bathrooms was easy enough to find and follow. The cutoff to the right came much sooner expected, and we ended up going by it about 1,000 feet before we realized our mistake and turned around. Look for the pink where the creek is coming down the slope. The first mile is everything that you have read - very, very, steep. In fact, according to SummitPost, Baring Mountain is the third steepest mountain/hike in Washington State. It is straight up, and the dirt, mud and vegetation (with a few large rocks to go up) make it slippery and a challenging. Heading straight up the the ridge (first mile) you gain nearly 2,000 feet. The trail is relatively easy to follow, with the pink tape helping out.
Once at the ridge, the next mile is the easiest part of the route. Relatively flat, with some elevation loss and regain. After another 3/4s of a mile, it's back up, up and up, through the woods towards the boulder field. We took a wrong right turn and ended on the south side of the boulder filed, so we had to..." — BryHong8 • Nov 2, 2019