I was in Kent, Washington for a softball tournament. Our schedule was such that all games were in the evening. Instead of sitting in the hotel, I searched for some local peaks to climb and settled on Tiger Mountain in the Tiger Mountain State Forest.

Tiger Mountain is a very popular hike. The hike follows roads, not trails the entire distance. Instead of running into hikers, I ran into mountain bikers... A LOT OF THEM!

Tiger Mountain is a highly prominent peak, so I was hoping for nice views. However, each morning we'd been in Seattle saw low clouds until around noon. Well, I needed to climb the peak early, so I couldn't wait until those cleared.

It was nice to hike the gentle road in temparatures in the 50's and clean air (Boise had been extremely hot all summer and smoky for a month). I had mis-read the trip report and was expecting a 4 mile round trip hike. It turned out to be a 8 mile round tripper. The forest was really interesting, with large cedars, ferns, and huge slugs; none of which you find often in Idaho!

The road is nice, as there is a sign pointing toward Tiger Mountain at each junction. I simply plodded on and eventually the road wrapped around to the summit towers. Unfortunately the views were limited, but it was a nice workout nonetheless.

I headed down and finished the hike in just over 3 hours. I was back in the hotel room by noon, just in time for lunch with my wife and daughter!

From Seattle – Head east on I-90 to exit 25. Turn south onto WA 18. Go 4.2 miles to the Tiger Summit Trailhead parking lot on the right.

From the parking lot, head north on Tiger Mountain Road. After approximately 2.7 miles, turn right at a signed junction. Hike another 1/2 mile and turn left at a signed junction. Follow the road to the summit.