Seattle: Round Mountain to Alpine Lookout
Hike 9.6 miles over a panoramic ridgeline serving up big views of Glacier Peak, and across wildflower meadows to a lookout tower.
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Mapped by Alan Bauer
Trail Facts
- Distance: 7.7
Waypoints
RMT001
Location: 47.7922286987305, -120.794372558594
Head NW on Round Mountain Trail 1529 for first set of steep switchbacks
RMT002
Location: 47.7964630126953, -120.801582336426
Pass into old burn area where husks of burned-out trees stand amid gardens of ocean spray and Indian paintbrush
RMT003
Location: 47.7975082397461, -120.805404663086
Leave burn area; re-enter thick forest for push to ridge
RMT004
Location: 47.7984886169434, -120.811767578125
L @ T; first peekaboo views N into deeply carved canyons of Glacier Peak Wilderness. Start contouring SSW
RMT005
Location: 47.7958641052246, -120.820770263672
After skirting Round Mtn., enter a vast meadow and check out the crags of Big Jim Mountain and Chiwaukum Mtns. to the S
RMT006
Location: 47.8001594543457, -120.833969116211
Pass through a smaller, more-recent burn area
RMT007
Location: 47.8024787902832, -120.838020324707
Hit E end of Nason Ridge where a massive, grassy meadow of glacier lilies and lupines bloom in early summer
RMT008
Location: 47.8059310913086, -120.846343994141
First big glimpse @ Glacier Peak and the glacierfed White and Little Wenatchee Rivers emptying into Lake Wenatchee. Bear down; trail loses 350 ft. ahead.
RMT009
Location: 47.809986114502, -120.860931396484
R @ 3-way, winding up past rock gardens with almost constant views to S
RMT010
Location: 47.8121109008789, -120.86597442627
Emerge @ newly restored Alpine Lookout (staffed in summer). From this high point, get more mountain views: the Entiats, Mt. Stuart Range and Mt. Rainier; look for mountain goats too; retrace route to car
