This article is courtesy of Rachel Dillon – Snoqualmie Valley resident, mom of four and physical therapist at Peak Sport and Spine in Snoqualmie. She has some great, local family friendly hiking suggestions – hikes that her own family has given the seal of approval! Read on…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spring is here and it’s time to get back on the trail! Hiking is a great activity to do as a family and there are so many family friendly hikes in our area. As a mother of four children, ages 19 months to 8 ½ years old, my husband and I are always looking for another hike that we can take the kids on.
They love to explore and be in nature. Kids help you see the trail and hiking in a whole new way. Sometimes this involves figuring out the best snack to take to get them to the final destination without melting down, but many times kids help you slow down enough to really appreciate every tree ring, animal hole, or fuzzy caterpillar.
The following are some of our favorite family hikes:
1. Twin Falls
Exit 38 – 1.5 miles to the falls from the trailhead after walking on the Iron Horse Trail for 0.7 mile. Descend down to a beautiful view of the falls. Our 3 ½ year old was able to do this one.
2. Rattlesnake Ledge
Exit 34 – 1.9 miles from the trailhead to the ledge. Climbs steadily to a beautiful view of Chester Morse Lake. More appropriate for 5 years old and up.
3. Franklin Falls
Exit 47 – 2 miles roundtrip. This is the perfect kid hike, in that you walk near a river for most of the hike where the kids can easily throw rocks in at their leisure. A pretty waterfall is at the end, though the highway is right next to it.
4. Denny Creek
Exit 47 – 1 mile in to the “rock slides” and waterfalls. Kids love throwing rocks in the water, wading in the water, and building little dams at the small waterfalls.
5. Tiger Mountain (Highpoint exit)
Exit 20 – Instead of going straight up the mountain, try the many trails that meander around the base of the mountain. Maps are available at the trailhead or the WTA website.
So get out and enjoy the trails with your family! An abundance of information can be found on the Washington Trails Association website at www.wta.org.
