Park Butte Trail to Lookout Point – September 2018

Hi everyone!

Hope you had a wonderful long weekend! Guys how are we already in September?!

Hubby & I decided to squeeze in one last hike for the summer season. We were not sure whether we will be able to do one in the next few months as we have family visiting in right after my NAC exam is over (a little less than two weeks away). Also, I will be restarting my traineeships and clinical research!

The hike was 11+ km (7.2 miles total). 2, 020 elevation gain with highest lookout point at 5, 400 feet. I rated this as a moderate intensity hike.

We drove across the border to Washington State. It took us 2.5 hours to get to Park Butte (pronounced bute) Trail located in the Mt. Baker National Recreation Area.

The drive up to the parking lot was 8 miles and very bumpy and rough, I had my 10+ year old car and drove very slow. Watch out for the potholes!  Once you reach the parking lot, if you don’t have the National Park Pass (which we didn’t), at the start of the hike there is an envelope that you can drop US $5 into and leave the receipt on the dashboard of your car.

We started our hike at 1 pm and ended at 7 pm, in between stopped for views, pics and snacks. The initial part of the hike started out flat which gave our body a nice warm up before the climb began.

I considered this hike an intermediate one compared to some of the others I have done but there were still some steep areas that gave me quite a work out (higher up during the hike).

I am happy I had my hiking poles with me because the path was quite uneven with stones and rocks, the hiking poles kept me steady on my feet. We never were bored because there was so much beauty around us! Wild flowers to admire and wild berries to eat along the way 🙂

 

The lookout point was a “house” at top at 5, 400 feet elevation. The climb to this was steep  but the view made it very worth it! The top was slightly chilly and windy. Hikers can actually stay inside this house as it has some beds. Not sure if we have to book this or it’s a first come first get.

I really feel this is an underrated hike, but no complaints about it not being busy during a long weekend. We loved it!

We will definitely be doing this again with our camping equipment. Both Hubby and I agreed that so far this has one the best views for camping. Sleeping beside the mountains, under the stars and snacking on berries! 🙂

Peace, love and happiness!