Trail Report: Rattlesnake Mountain

Rattlesnake Mountain is and has been a very popular trail for years.  I had never heard of it before moving back to Washington a few months ago.  Even learning of a new trail that was close by I wasn't too excited about hiking on it.  My in-laws used to hike to the ledge quite a bit, they are actually how I first heard of the trail.  Then my father wanted to hike the last of the Issaquah Alps and this was it.  He had gone a couple of weeks earlier, with my brother, and hiked to the first ledge.  They started at Rattlesnake Lake on the South end of the trail.  This is where most people hike, including my in-laws.   It is no surprise why, the three ledges that protrude out of the side of the mountain offer great views of the upper Snoqualmie Valley.  On a clear day you can see all the way to Mt. Baker to the North.
So, I got excited about this trail and headed out on a Saturday morning with my dad.  We decided it would be more worth while to through hike the trail.  Starting at one end, leaving a car, then driving to the other end to start the hike.  We would have to drive back to the second car at the end of the trip, however keeps the trail fresh all the way through.  It can be pretty rare to hike a through trail on a day hike.  There are many routes on Tiger Mountain and Cougar that allow for through hikes, those mountains have a spider web of trails on them though.  Rattlesnake has one trail, so you can hike to a point and then hike back or you can through hike.  We decided to start at the North end of the trail.  There is a very nice trail head parking lot and rest room right off of the freeway.  My car was left at Rattlesnake Lake for the return.
We started on the trail and were making pretty good progress.  It was at about a mile in that I realized I had left my car keys in my dads vehicle.  If I hadn't checked my pocket for my keys before getting to my car we would have had to hike back, call for more keys, or hitch hike to the car at the other end of the trail.  So, we turned around and went back to the starting point.  It added 2 extra miles to our 10 mile trail.  Surprisingly though didn't add much time to the planned duration of the hike.
The trail itself is pretty.  Starting at the northern trail head you walk in and out of some logged out sections of forest.  Then under some power lines, and back into the dense forest.  Being a winter hike (February) we hit some snow at around 2,100 ft.  It was this time we came to a look out that sees over the towns of North Bend and Snoqualmie.  The snow was crusted over on the top layers, making for a slick route.  We practically post holed our way to the 2,100 ft. mark on the decent.  Also, at about this elevation the clouds rolled in and things started to get very cold.  We moved fast to stay warm, but had to put on hats, gloves, and rain jackets to stay warm and dry.  While under the conifer umbrella above us we kept good pace in the snow. At the summit we didn't get the view we wanted.  Because the snow was so deep (and so few people had been on the trail in the snow) we didn't find our way to the true summit.  However the radio towers at the top were close enough for us.
The trek down is continues through the trees, I thought thicker on the south eastern face.  This is the side of the mountain that gets the most foot traffic.  The views are better and quicker.  We did come across a few people as we descended, in contrast to being alone on out ascent.
I would recommend this trail for families that want to spend a day on the trail, but expect a lot of traffic in the spring to summer months.

View Rattlesnake Mountain in a larger map

View Rattlesnake Mountain in a larger map

Difficulty: Moderate

Fees:  None if you park at the Southeast trail head at Rattlesnake Lake.  Discovery Pass at the Northern trail head.