Green Mountain Day Hike

Hikers check the view of The Brothers of the Olympic Mountain range from the summit of Green Mountain.

If you’re new to the area, this is one of the first things you’re going to want to do on a clear day. Linda and I have done this hike several times, and always enjoy it. Here’s the complete text of an article in the Kitsap Sun that describes the hike in detail. Enjoy!

Green Mountain is
Still a Local Favorite
By SEABURY BLAIR JR.
FOR THE KITSAP SUN

Nearly two years have passed since mention of the county’s best outdoor playland Green Mountain State Forest has appeared on these pages.

That’s too long. So here’s an intimate portrait of a wild place that is very close to home for most readers.

Arguably the best thing about Green Mountain is that its trails and roads are available to many user groups. Equestrians, hikers, mountain bikers, dirt bikers and all-terrain vehicles visit the county’s second-highest summit, west of Bremerton.

Some seasons invite mushroom gathering, hunting, bird and wildlife watching. Ski, snowshoe and even snowmobile tracks marked the cold white stuff when it covered the ground; visitors can drive within minutes of spectacular summit vistas on summer weekends.

Trails and roads spiral around the 1,640-foot-high summit and provide a variety of outings for hikers and riders. Choice of a route depends upon the time you have and the amount of energy you want to expend.

You can reach the summit in as little as an hour or less via the Gold Creek Trailhead, or climb farther and longer from the Wildcat Trailhead. These provide the two best access points to Green Mountain.

The trails around the mountain and the horse camp located on the north side of the peak are maintained largely by volunteers from the Olympic Chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen of Washington. They ride the trails and roads almost every week.

In recent years, crews of women from the Mission Creek Corrections Center have been working on some trails and roads at Green Mountain. Area four-wheel and all-terrain vehicle clubs also help out at Green Mountain and at Tahuya State Forest, to the south.

Here’s a closer look at Green Mountain’s two trailheads:

WILDCAT TRAILHEAD

This big parking area off the Holly Road provides one multiple-use trail that leads to a variety of hiking and riding opportunities. There’s an outhouse at the parking area and a map kiosk explaining rules of the road and trail etiquette.

To get there, follow the Seabeck Highway to Holly Road, turn west and drive 1.8 miles to the trailhead on the left.

It’s about 4.4 miles, one-way, on the main Wildcat and Vista trails to the summit of the mountain. The way is well marked with signs along the trail as it crosses several gravel and dirt roads used by bicyclists and dirt-bike riders.

The trail winds through forest and clearcut for about 0.8 miles before crossing the first road, GM 41, which it re-crosses about a half-mile beyond. The trail continued to climb more steeply about another half-mile, crosses GM 41 a third time and gets seriously steep with switchbacks before crossing another road, GM 3.

Just beyond, the trail passes above the Green Mountain Horse Camp. If the summit vista is your goal, stay on the Wildcat Trail at a junction with the Beaver Pond Trail, climbing through clearcut and forest and crossing two roads, GM 17 and GM 1, before reaching a junction with the Vista Trail. Hang a left and follow it past the vista parking area, where you’ll find an outhouse, to the summit.

The views to the east and north include Seattle and the Cascades and Mount Rainier to the south. Benches and picnic tables to the west of the summit provide expansive views of Hood Canal and the Olympics.

GOLD CREEK TRAILHEAD

The Gold Creek Trailhead provides the shortest – and steepest – trails to the summit, but also a greater number of route choices. To get there, continue on the Holly Road to the Lake Tahuyeh Road, turn right and follow it to a Y intersection with the Gold Creek Road. Turn left on the Gold Creek Road, circle Lake Tahuyeh, and drive to the Gold Creek Trailhead on the left. There’s a map kiosk, outhouse, and horse and old-guy bike mounting ramp at the parking area.

Two trails leave the parking area. The route at the north end of the lot, Gold Creek Trail, heads to the summit of the mountain. The other trail switches back through a clearcut and joins with an older Tim Mine Trail before dropping back to the Gold Creek Trail.

To get to the summit, follow Gold Creek Trail to its junction with the old GM 6 road, turn right -and follow it to a bridge across Gold Creek. Just past the bridge, turn left and follow the Gold Creek Trail as it climbs through forest.

Stay right at the Plummer Trail and continue climbing on the Gold Creek Trail. After about a half-mile, the trail forks, with the left fork climbing steeply and the right fork more gently through the forest.

Both trails rejoin about a half-mile beyond and continue climbing past a junction with the Beaver Pond Trail and the Wildcat Trail before climbing to the vista parking lot and Vista Trail.

Distance to the summit is about 2.4 miles, one-way.

For an interesting family outing, follow the Gold Creek Trail to the old GM 6 road, then follow the road past the trail junction for about a mile to a big beaver pond on the right.