Rattlesnake Mountain West and Snoqualmie Highpoint

The view from Rattlesnake West at sunset

Dec 9, 2020

I was running errands near North Bend and finished by early afternoon, so decided to squeeze in a hike. I parked just outside the gate at the Rattlesnake Mountain trailhead since it was likely I would be hiking after dark, and the gates supposedly get locked at sunset.

I started up in the rain and did a short bushwhack behind a water tower to tag the highpoint of the city of Snoqualmie. It’s just at a bearing tree in the woods with no prominence, but it is the highest point of land that is part of the city.

At the highpoint of the city of Snoqualmie

I then returned to the trail and followed trails to Rattlesnake Mountain Northwest Peak. I regretted not bringing my mountain bike because there have been a lot of new mountain bike-specific trails completed since the last time I hiked here. It’s great that there are some trails only for hikers and some only for bikers.

I then continued up the main trail and did a short bushwhack and road walk to the radio complex at the top of Rattlesnake Mountain West Peak. I topped out just at sunset, then bushwhacked and hiked back to my car by 6pm. Surprisingly the gate to the main lot was still open, but I was happy to have played it safe and parked outside.