Washington Wilderness Areas

Washington State has roughly 4,300 acres of designated wilderness, comprising about ten percent of the state's total acreage. This is a comparatively high percentage, behind only Alaska and California, due largely to the high, rugged mountains of the Cascade Range cutting north to south the entire length of the state. 31 wilderness units and I have hiked in nineteen of them.

Tatoosh Wilderness

Tatoosh Wilderness forms part of the southern border of Mount Rainier National Park. At 15,720 acres, it is one of the smaller Washington wilderness areas. Still, part of a big country. 6400-foot Tatoosh Peak is part of the Tatoosh Range, though most of the range's peaks are located within the national park. Unlike some of those peaks, Tatoosh Peak is a walkup. The primary trail into the wilderness entails significant elevation gain. A flowery place in season. 

Mount Rainier and Little Tahoma peeking out over the Tatoosh Range

   

William O. Douglas Wilderness

This 170,000-acre wilderness extends eastward from its border with Mount Rainier National Park, and features 250 miles of mostly lonely trails. The Naches Peak Loop (3.2/600/5850') is not one of those. Easily accessible along WA-410, adjacent to the park, contiguous with the easy and vastly popular Tipsoo Lake. I've hiked it in fair weather and foul.

 

Wild Sky Wilderness

Established in 2008, Wild Sky is Washington's newest wilderness. Most of the trail to the popular Blanca Lake goes through Wild Sky but my several trips there were all before 2008 so I was not actually in this wilderness. Furthering the confusion, Blanca Lake itself is in the Henry Jackson Wilderness. I liked to get to the lake, ford the outflow creek, and scramble up to Columbia Glacier, visible in the photo below. Last time I went the hike had become social media popular, meaning crowds playing amplified music, burning camp garbage. I was no longer able to ford the creek so I probably won't return. As of 2026 the access road was washed out.

Henry Jackson Wilderness

The 103,297-acre Henry Jackson Wilderness is set between Glacier Peak to the north and Alpine Lakes to the south, combining to form an enormous wilderness area along the Cascade Crest. The Goat Lake trail into Henry Jackson passes through old growth forest along Elliott Creek, a non-stop plunge featuring waterfall after waterfall. Goat Lake itself is as dramatic a mountain lake as I know, sitting at the base of Monte Cristo peaks. Best in late spring and early summer, with the creek swollen and the mountains still draped in snow.

Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Sometimes referred to as Seattle's wilderness, in fact it has more access points than any other Washington wilderness. Easily accessed and thus heavily traveled trails on the west slopes off of I-90; forest service roads along the Cle Elum River to trails beneath Mount Daniel and the NF Teanaway River to trails approaching Mount Stuart; a major trail out of Leavenworth into the legendary Enchantments; and back west on US 2 for Foss Basin, Deception Creek, and so on. Most of my hiking here was pre-digital

Early season melt out along Deception Creek

Copper Lake

Hyas Creek

Tooth Saddle

Mount Stuart 9,415 feet - highest point in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Sprite Lake - the Cradle

Rampart Lakes

Mount Baker Wilderness

Unlike Alpine Lakes, Mount Baker Wilderness is largely accessed from one road, WA 542, Mount Baker Highway. Leads to some of the best hikes in the state.

Ptarmingan Ridge

Mount Baker from Ptarmigan Ridge

Ptarmigan Ridge - Cascade Crest

Skyline Divide

Skyline Divide

from Skyline Divide

Yellow Aster Butte

Glacier Peak Wilderness

My three hikes into the spectacular Spider Gap-Lyman Lakes area were all pre-digital, and subsequent efforts to return were thwarted by incessant fires out of Lake Chelan. My only other entry was an easy backdoor access to see White River falls.

Noisy Diobsud Wilderness

The only access to this Wilderness area is via the Anderson and Watson Lakes trail above Baker Lake. Listed in the Short Hikes book, some modest bushwacking and steep off-trail scrambling approaches Anderson Peak, with magnificent views out to Baker and Shuksan as well as the less-often spotted Bacon Peak. Yet another trailhead inaccessible in 2026 due to severe road washouts.

Mount Shuksan

Mount Watson snowfields

Bacon Peak on left

Boulder River Wilderness

Another wilderness area with limited access, the only real hike is the Boulder River Trail (unless you're up for a scorching climb of Three Fingers). Boulder River is another early-season delight. Goat Flats to Three Fingers was a great one, now foreclosed permanently due to bridge damage eight miles from the trailhead.

Buckhorn Wilderness

My only entry on the Olympic Peninsula, Off the northeast corner of ONP. Mount Townsend provides views over greater Puget Sound to Mount Baker.

Mount Constance?

Mount Baker in distance

Goat Rocks Wilderness

I've taken three hikes into the Goat Rocks, Packwood Lake the PCT trail both straightforward enough, and one overnight into Snowgrass Flats, which was spectacular.

Mount Adams Wilderness

Enter from the north and Takhlakh Lake, or the south through serious burn. 

Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness

Access via Twisp on the dry east slopes. Also a hard way into North Cascades National Park.

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Trapper Creek Wilderness

Small, lower elevation.

Stephen Mather Wilderness (North Cascades National Park)

Daniel J Evans Wilderness (Olympic National Park)

Mount Rainier Wilderness (Mount Rainier National Park)

These three are designated wildernesses within the three national parks in Washington State. I have hiked loads of times in each, but choose to feature these in a national park album.

I have hiked in the following three but have no digital pictures

Pasaytan Wilderness

Crater Mountain - very hard hike toward the lookout Gary Snyder staffed. Great views over North Cascades NP. I did not summit. I got to a scramble I would likely have taken on if my legs weren't wobbly from the 5000' ascent.

Glacier View Wilderness

Second smallest NFS wilderness area in Washington (behind Wonder Mountain which has no trails). Crazy overview of Rainier's west face from above Noble Knob lookout, and can serve as a side door entrance into MRNP. As of 2026, Forest Road 59 is closed, requiring an eight-mile eight mile walk up the road to the trailhead. I suppose one could get there perversely through MRNP.

Brothers Wilderness

Maybe I wasn't in Brothers Wilderness. I almost made it. I stopped at Lena Lake.

Wildernesses I have not been to

 Wonder Mountain has no trails.

Washington Islands and San Juan are accessible only by boat. 

Salmon Priest and Wenaha-Tucannon are way the hell out there. Juniper Dunes is too.

 That leaves Clearwater, Colonel Bob, Indian Heaven, Mount Skokomish, Norse Peak. and The Brothers.

 Clearwater and Mount Skokomish are not currently accessible. 

Norse Peak seems pretty doable via the Greenwater Trail. Norse Peak itself is probably beyond me now. I have hiked the Fife's Ridge trail; I'm not sure if I entered the wilderness.

Indian Racetrack seems very doable, after mosquito season.