Beautiful area and especially loved the lookout where you can see Mt. Rainier. That area was really busy since it was a nice, sunny day. Doesn't feel very peaceful when people are talking loudly and there are dogs off leash roaming around (love dogs but feel that they should be leashed). We must have come across a trail running race because there were trail runners passing us every minute or two. We had to stop continuously to make room for them to go by since the trail is narrow. The fireplace is a really cool spot. read more

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Squak Mountain is a beautiful place to hike. So many trails to choose from. Today the goal was a loop. Not quite sure which one but we did but we hiked approximately 6.5 miles. The first part of the trail was uphill and not necessarily super hard but man, I got sweaty. All around was green it felt like hiking in Jurassic park. The trail was a bit overgrown on a few places but not too much so. We never really got to see a view but enjoyed a snack at the fireplace. Parking lot was nice and had a bathroom. Enjoy nature, enjoy your life. SYOY. read more

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Overall nice spot to visit for a morning hike, very accessible and convenient, with parking - however, no trash cans that we could see and people leaving their dog poo bags on the side of the trail was VERY disappointing. Who are they expecting to pick up after them? Sad in this state where we talk so much about the environment and packing out everything you pack in. The "pretzel tree trail" with signage for kids to learn about Nature was cool but also a bit dated and....there is no pretzel tree??? Maybe change that up a bit. You can walk on trails or on a gravel road that leads to someone's ridiculously gigantic house in the middle of a state park, so.... read more

Squak Mountain State Park - Nice trail for kids! - Hiking Near Me - Issaquah, Washington

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A great afternoon hike, mostly in shaded woods. Very moderate overall, you are ascending slowly for most of the way up to the central peak, it only gets steep the last 3/4 miles. Only recommend going to the peak if you're looking for steps, not any views there. However, someone has cleverly placed an old microwave oven at the gate of the microwave tower. Cute! Many people have "marked" it with stickers over time. I've done some parts of this hike on previous occasions, as Squak has multiple trails, and multiple starting points around the mountain, it's even easy if you want to combine trails, if you want to add mileage with trails to Tiger and Cougar Mountains, as Squak sits in between them. Part of my hike was to honor a family member, who recently passed, as part of the trail and view has her same name. I was blessed to have the viewpoint to myself for a good half hour, which is rare, as this is a popular destination on the trail. Enjoyed watching two bald eagles soaring overhead, Steller's Jays and chipmunks inquiring about food, and swallowtail butterflies fluttering about. Blessed indeed. Even with an obscured view of Mt. Rainier, due to clouds moving in, it was beautiful. All the trails are well maintained and with good signage. I was glad to see brochures and posters promoting and educating people about practicing leaving No trace, I hope to see more on the other local trails. A fun and peaceful hike in the woods. Looking forward to more hiking adventures. The parking lot at this spot was small, but ample parking along the road. Not a busy road, mainly for the housing in the area. Plenty of wildflowers still, but streams are dwindling, hopefully some rain soon will help. Happy Hiking and Yelping! Cheers! read more

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This state park is in Issaquah off of a residential road, surrounded by horse stables. The entrance just appears out of nowhere after passing trees, so I suggest using GPS so you don't miss it. There are small signs to the right of the road before the entrance which can easily be missed. A state park license, the Discover Pass, or $10/day fee is required. There are the standard park restrooms in the circular parking lot area. They have some picnic tables there and a sign for public announcements. Some whacky named trails are here like Pretzel Tree. There are convenient horse trails for all the surrounding stable owners, too. If you hike all the way to the top, you'll be able to see Seattle. My friend and I stayed on the easy trails that have you instantly in the forest, right by the parking lot. My cell's wifi couldn't connect out there, not even in the parking lot. read more

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Steep hike but lots of fun! Be careful when parking because there is a lot of shattered glass from previously broken car windows littered in the gravel in each parking spot so I'd recommend parking in the grass and making sure no belongings are visible from the windows (you know the drill) read more

Squak Mountain State Park - Trail sign - Hiking Near Me - Issaquah, Washington

My partner wanted to take a birthday hike and I did some research on Squak Mountain, one of Seattle's nearby Washington State Parks. It is often talked down in comparison to its fellow Tiger and Cougar Mountain. According to WSP's website, the park is 1,545 acres featuring the 2,024-foot mountain. We arrived to Squak Mountain's South Access entrance. I looked at the state map and thought we could drive up to the peak and do hikes around the summit. I was wrong. This is merely a service road! We parked at the South Access parking lot where there are two fairly clean bathrooms available. Remember to show your Discover Pass from your car's rearview mirror. From the parking lot, several trails spur off: Central Peak 3.2 miles, May Valley Loop 5.3 miles and Mountainside Drive 4.3 miles. You can choose to walk up the gravel service road with less scenery, but the hike is extremely steep the entire way up, yet only 2.7 miles. We ventured up the Central Peak trail and stopped our accend where the Bullitt Trail begins (restricting bicycles and horses), then came back down on the service road. I'm sad to say, we never made it to the top. Yet, we enjoyed Mother Nature and saw plenty of creatures along the way. I have heard that the views from the top are not that impressive, however, if you're looking to be outdoors and earn some steps on your fitness watch, this hike will check both of those off the list. read more

MEH. There are sooooo many places to hike in this area. Throw a stone, find a hiking trail. Squak really has nothing spherical or impressive about it, it's just your generic Seattle hike. The only "special" thing is the remaining fireplace from cabin that has long been torn down. You're not allowed to burn anything in said fire place and it's just kinda there -- not worth the trip from anywhere. Fairly extensive trail system with a gorgeous view of radio towers at the top. If you're looking for a great hike go elsewhere -- soooo many close options to choose from! read more

Squak Mountain State Park is part of the Squak Mountain trail system. Hiking is steep which is great for hiking exercise from here to Bullitt Fireplace. Easy to access from Renton Landing area and 405 by just heading east. read more

Squak Mountain State Park - Bullitt Fireplace - Hiking Near Me - Issaquah, Washington

Gorgeous for hiking there are several ways to get onto Squak mountain state park You can either go to the main entrance in Issaquah and use a discovery pass. But there are a few other back roads where are you don't have to use the discovery pass look on the AllTrails app and it will help you find these other trails like the bullet fireplace for example! read more

I would say the lower hike is great for children, but the grid amp for the trail system was horrible. The park ranger said a new map is in the process. The group I was with got lost and we circled the mountain for hours and then only to end up on the opposite side where we called the local police to pick us up ,and they graciously did so we could get back to our cars 5 miles away. Thank you local Law enforcement for saving us! My suggestion go out the way you came in! read more

Squak Mountain State Park - Hiking Near Me - Issaquah, Washington

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As far as day hikes go, my trek at Squak Mountain today was the most enjoyable yet. Here's how you get there: http://www.eskimo.com/~captain/page250a.htm There's a small lot and street parking at the trail head on Mountainside Drive. While I can't speak for the other trail heads, there were not public bathrooms or garbage cans at the start. If you're looking for an easy hike, follow Bullitt Trail. The majority of this trail is even, patted down dirt wide enough for three people to walk shoulder to shoulder. About midpoint on this trail you'll come across an old chimney from the Bullitt homestead, which serves as a good lunch stop (1 picnic table, no garbage cans). Squak Mtn. as a whole is FAR less crowded than Cougar Mtn or Tiger Mtn, but if you encounter any other people on your hike it is likely they're following Bullitt Trail, too. Bullitt Trail will lead you to the central summit, which is frankly not that impressive. You won't have any breathtaking views from the top of the mountain, but there are several large radio towers to mark the spot.At this point, you can return the way you came OR choose to follow one of the many parameter trails to increase the difficulty. Today we chose to follow Piper's Creek Trail and the East Ridge Trail to return to the trail head. These trails are more narrow, at times uneven and definitely more rocky, which combined make a moderately difficult hike. While the views out over Issaquah and to the neighboring mountains are mostly obscured by trees, the scenery on either side of the trail is really pretty. Tipped over trees, moss covered boulders and rippling creeks make for a very picturesque walk. The parameter trails are marked with signs, but it can get a bit confusing, so I highly recommend bringing a trail map (which I did not have today, doh). We easily hiked for over three hours by following these various trails. Overall, there are some switchbacks that will make your thighs scream, but for a quiet hike it is well worth it. read more

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Squak Mountain is the middle child between Tiger and Cougar - not as mature and developed as the big sib, not as fun-for-everyone as the little sib, just kind of... there. I think it's great though. Check out the Double Peak Loop on the Washington Trail Association website. Steep but fun, and you get to see an old decaying homestead at the top! For geology nerds: Cougar, Tiger and Squak mountains are not REALLY foothills of the Cascades; they are a distinct and much much older range of their own. The rounded tops give them away as coming from a different time than their craggy Cascade neighbors. read more

This is a great park to visit. The restrooms were clean and easy to find. The hiking paths were well maintained. Could use some better signage at the intersections of paths but all in all I had a lovely time. read more

You can find ice sticks in winter time!!!!! Awesome ( water falling and frozen) cool experience!!!! My nephew had great pics of this!!!!!when snow looks like something different place!!!! Magic!!! read more

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Oh my god, such a waste of my time....... I guess I'll start with the benefits, because the park did have some. The parking lot was pretty big, and I didn't have any trouble finding a spot. Even for free hiking weekend, this trail was relatively empty - which is what I was hoping for. The trails and the park itself is in very good condition. No trash, no felled trees that are too hard to get over. There is some horse crap along the way that obviously doesn't smell the best, but, you get over it. That covers the positives. The Central Peak "viewpoint" is a JOKE. I'm so mad I wasted my day here!! You go through all of this incline and time to get to a small obscure spot, with blocked views and.... RADIO TOWERS. Like... What?! This place was weird. About 20 mins from the "viewpoint" is this weird clearing where there's a picnic bench and HUGE fireplace. But the fireplace has a sign in front of it indicating you're not supposed to have fires at this spot. What's the point of the fireplace then?! I came across another couple along the way that said the incline was "totally worth it," so I'm thinking they probably picked one of the two other trails instead of Central Peak. My advice is to spend your day somewhere else, or make sure you don't choose Central Peak. read more

Probably a lot prettier if you hike the trails but I wanted the most direct route to the summit and just hiked up the service road. Another summit for my daughter in the baby backpack was cool but it is a disappointing summit with no views. Three stars just because I love mountains in general and it is a nice place to get some fresh air and exercise. read more

Really nice place for hiking away from the crowds. We passed a huge group of cars and people over by Tiger Mountain and decided to come in here instead. We didn't go up to the top so we didn't get to see the disappointing tower. The tree cover was lush and the trail was mildly challenging. Some people mentioned it was confusing and easy to get lost, but we just followed the same trail and had no issues. Also, don't ever leave belongings in your car anywhere. read more

My Wife, Dogs and I love this place!! Love the views from each mountain but really like this one and the trails are maintained well!

A weak (easy) and pointless hike with all the loops built into the trail that doesn't lead to anything cool to look at. There's a service road we walked down from the "microwave" at the top that bypasses the entire trail system and back onto the main road. The only cool thing might be this old paved picnic area with a stone fireplace. read more

I love riding my horses on Squak Mountain! The trails can get a little crowded on the weekends so if you are riding, it's good to find a time Monday through Friday when you can go, or try going early in the morning before the hikers come out in full force. The trails are well maintained and safe for horses with low to moderate rockiness on most parts of the trails. Squak Mountain is a good workout for your horse as it's a fairly steep climb up using the switchback trails. A ride up the mountain and then back down again takes me and my horse 1.5 to 2 hours. If I am bareback, sometimes I walk my horse down. Multiple wooden bridge crossings over small creeks so make sure your horse is okay with that. Lots of dogs too, but people are pretty good about keep them on the leash and also giving horses the right of way. The parking lot at the trailhead is not very big, so if you can go when it's not too busy, it will be easier to park your horse trailer. You need a DISCOVER pass ($30 for an annual pass--just buy one, it supports our parks system) or pay $10 for the day--there is a little box to put payment in at the trailhead. read more

**Theft alert** Great hike, but were so sad to find our car had been broken into and our things stolen--phone, clothes, and bags. There were no signs posted about previous thefts, but according to the police, there have been others in the past. When parking there, make sure to NOT leave any personal belongings in your car, even if they're covered!! Such a sad way to end your forest adventures. read more