Lookout Mountain 2677 near Bellingham stands below 3000 feet. Yet, the prominence makes up over 80% of the mountain’s overall stature. It is also prevalent among the 2K prominence seekers.
See more trip photos here.
For Lookout Mountain by Cascade River Road, see this post.
Lookout Mountain 2677 at a Glance
Access: Lookout Mountain Preserve Trailhead
Round Trip: 10.7 miles
Elevation Range: 580′-2677′
Gear: none
GPS track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Lookout Mountain 2677 Preserve Trail
We spent most of the time on the road. So snowshoeing would perhaps make the trip less tedious. The weather had improved by the mid-morning. Then it’s sunny for the rest of the day.
The pup and I arrived at the gate with a dozen cars in the lot. Later I chatted with a gal with a Golden Retriever. It puzzled me to see two SUVs here. Perhaps they were nearby residents with access to a key.
See more trip photos here.
Hiking the Bike Trails
To relieve boredom and to avoid seeing more cars, we left the roadway at mile two. Then we scrambled up the north-northeast ridge toward the radio tower summit. We hopped over many down trees at first. Then we suddenly stumbled upon what looked like a bike trail and followed it instead.
Parts of the trail went up steep hills with ramps. Now, that’s some technical riding! At times, the path would move away from the ridge. But it generally headed in the direction we needed. Later the tracks went out onto the roadway at 2600′ below the summit tower.
See more trip photos here.
Lookout Mountain 2677 Summit
Views were minimal here. But we got a glimpse of the Puget Sound islands. Behind us to the west, Mount Baker’s top showed itself through a tiny opening in the dense forest. We soon left the summit and went to the nearby radio facility down the road.
The lower radio facility looked like the happening place with panoramic views! Many of the Puget Sound islands between Straight of Georgia and Skagit Bay were visible. But it was hazy. Chuckanut Mountain stretched across the other side of Lake Samish.
See more trip photos here.
Onward to the South Peak
There was still time. So I decided to visit the south peak. We later walked down the road to the saddle between the two summits. There we found another bike trail going up the north ridge. So that saved us from having to hike up from the south side.
Later we went up two steep sections to reach the top. Other than radio towers, we saw nothing interesting. So we paced back and forth, looking for openings through the trees. But we found none. So we went back to the road and hiked down to the parking lot.
See more trip photos here.