The West Tiger 3 Mountain trail is a great and challenging day hike in what are lovingly called the Issaquah Alps. This is one of the 60 hikes within 60 miles of the city of Seattle, written by Andrew Weber and Bryce Stevens. I have taken it upon myself to hike all of them and see which would land out on top of my lists for best hikes within 60 miles of Seattle (it’s still too early to tell, but this one ranks pretty high on my list so far).
The trailhead is about 12 miles east of the city of Issaquah within Tiger Mountain state forest. There is a large parking area located at the trail complete with washrooms and picnic benches. To park within this area you will need a Discover pass, if you forget it (like I did) you can park for free just outside the gate in a small parking area or along the side of the road and walk the approximately 1/2 mile of flat easy walking on the high point trail to the trailhead.
Basic information
The Washington Trails Association, as always, has excellent information about this trail and surrounding area.
- Length – 5 mile loop
- Difficulty – moderate/hard
- Elevation gain – 2100 feet
- Estimated time – approximately 3 hours
- Total elevation – at the top of West Tiger 3 the elevation is 2525 feet
I would recommend a good map for this hike because there are a lot of alternative trails branching from different sections of this trail and it can be somewhat confusing at times.
There are some good signs along the way but if you want to do the loop you will end up coming down an unmaintained trail that is not marked at the top but it’s easy to mistake that as the way to go when you are leaving the summit. Alternatively, you do get good cell signal hear and Strava made it really easy for me to navigate the area.
The hike
You can do this in different directions, clockwise or counterclockwise. I recommend doing this loop in a clockwise direction because the way up is a more gentle path of ascent with lots of switchbacks, whereas the route from the summit back down is steep and easy to slide. Though the trip back down from the mountain is unmaintained it is an excellent descent trail and kind of fun. I slowly trail ran it because it was so steep and fast that trying to go slowly was more dangerous (or at least it seemed that way to me).
The trail surface is mostly packed dirt and well maintained with a few rocks here and there. This is the most popular west tiger hike in the area, so expect crowds if you go on the weekend or a holiday. Though this is the lowest of the three the summit of West Tiger 3 has some of the best views of the surrounding mountains including Mount Rainier, the Cascade Mountains, and the Olympic Mountains as well as the city of Seattle.
It is also a great training location for some bigger climbs, such as Mount Rainier or even Mont Blanc (I saw a hiker who was training for this particular mountain). The hike up was surprisingly challenging, for being the lowest of the three West Tiger mountains, so come prepared. Bring lots of water and some snacks because this one will challenge you.
Alternative side trails and side trips
There are a lot of alternative trails in close proximity to the West Tiger Mountain 3 trail, including following along the Cable Line trail to West Tiger 2. Though the cable trail is not as scenic, there has been some logging and there’s a cable tower, it has some stunning views of Mount Rainier along the way.
The other popular route, though a much longer hike, is the Tiger mountain trail. This one is 15.2 miles one way and is considered hard, but a good challenge if you are training for bigger hiking terrain. Check out the Washington Trail association for more on the Tiger Mountain Trail.
One of the numerous alternative trails close to the parking lot takes you to Tradition Lake. This is an easy 2.9 mile loop with various viewpoints of the lake and minimal elevation gain. It’s great for families or those that are unable to make the steeper ascents to the mountain summits. It’s also pretty beautiful and worth the trip.
Activities
There are lots of ways to experience the trails in Tiger Mountain State Forest including mountain biking, trail running and of course hiking. On the West Tiger 3 trail you will often see trail runners shooting by but there are no mountain bikes allowed on this particular trail. However, Tiger Mountain State forest is known as a popular place to bring your mountain bike that is close to Seattle.
Concluding Thoughts
The summit of tiger-3 was definitely the high-point of the route with its panoramic views of the surrounding mountain ranges and newly built live wood bench with carved owl.
Tiger mountain state forest has a ton of hiking to offer close to the city. For more hikes that are dog-friendly check out my top hikes for you and your dog.
