Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park - Unofficial Trails

Unofficial Trails

There are a few trails between the "official" ones in the park and the developed properties below. Some of these trails are on private property, but the propensity of the land to slide when it gets wet probably precludes it being developed.

• Gorgeous Gorges - Trail begins at the Summerhill trailhead off Newport Way NW and signed "Ralph's Hi Line" it proceeds along the Precipice between AA Gorge and Kline Road. The route is incised by an unnamed gulch just before a high rocky outcrop (with an enormous view) negotiated by a rope. Following in succession are Jackstraw Gulch, Nurselog Gulch, Schneider Creek Gorge, Stormwater Creek Gorge, and Hairpin Gulch.
• Lower West Tibbetts Creek Trail - Trail begins at the three-car parking area for the Bear Ridge Trail (striking right instead of left) and follows the intricate bed of the beautiful creek up to an intersection with the West Tibbetts Creek Connector. The well-maintained route is marred by the intrusion of the Talus development at one point.
• Precipice Bottom Trail - Trail begins at the Summerhill trailhead and follows Anti-Aircraft Creek back to a crossing. This entire area contains a maze of small game trails and trails made by neighborhood kids. The PB trail ascends Harvey's Mud Slide (assisted by a rope) and contours to Big Tree Ridge and Little Big Tree Ridge. It is easy to lose the trail in this area due to blowdowns and a 1998 clearcut that is only now coming back in, but distinctive IATC trail signs are found here and there to assure the hiker they are not lost. After Military Creek and Extra Creek there is a rather treacherous crossing of Stagecoach Creek before the intersection with the Telephone Trail is reached.

With the aim of leaving some of the park totally wild for the cougars, bears, deer, and other wildlife, much of the eastern portion of the park has been designated a Habitat Conservation Area. This is the area between Tibbetts Creek & Bear Ridge trails to the north, East Fork Trail to the west, and Shy Bear/Wilderness Peak/Wilderness Cliffs, and Squak Mtn Connector trails to the south, and the abutting Talus Open Space to the east. Letting this large portion of the park go fallow enhances its value as an urban wildland. The park map includes the admonition "Park development and trails have been excluded to protect threatened wildlife. Please help nature's recovery by staying out of this section of the park." King County Parks and the Issaquah Alps Trails Club no longer perform maintenance on the old trails in this region, and they are no longer described in new editions of guidebooks.