Towertop by Stumptop is a short hill by Mineral Lake in Pleasant Valley. It’s a stone’s throw away from the other hills we’ve visited recently. Moreover, a combo of two or more places in one visit is doable when time allows.
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Towertop at a Glance
Access: Mineral Hill Road (access info)
Round Trip: 6.3 miles
Elevation Range: 1520′-2608
Gear: none
Route Info: Joanne Najdzin
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Towertop by Mineral Lake
It’s our third time visiting Pleasant Valley in one month, and the place has grown on me. Though, it continued to baffle me that we have yet to see anyone on these roads. But, no complaints!
Like Spiraltop and Stumptop, Towertop is another lowland hill here. It’s also inside the logging area with a gated entrance like the other two. So the odds of seeing heavy foot traffic seems low.
See more trip photos here.
Road Walk
A gated entrance off Mineral Hill Road came in from the west. But I hesitated to go in there if the property company locked it. So I parked 350 feet south of the gate before one big down tree and lots of trash.
It’s a straight-up road walk to the top of Towertop with a few spur paths off the main roadway. But they were too brushy for anyone to wander off and lose their way.
See more trip photos here.
Roadside Attractions
Right off the bat, we saw Mineral Lake next to the road. Even with the woodcutting, we couldn’t fully view the water because of the tall trees lining the lakeshore. Many piles of logging litter scattered the open spaces.
Just under half a mile from the car was the majestic view of Mount Rainier. It looked so close that it seemed like a painting. It was only last summer when I revisited the mountain, but it feels so long ago.
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Towertop Summit
A vast open space below the east gave a broad view, but otherwise, we were in the trees. We reached the hilltop tower in under three miles. Then we continued through to the high point in another .25 mile.
Just as I thought, there wasn’t much to see on top except a glimpse of Alder Lake through trees. Too bad we couldn’t see Mineral Lake from here! But I saw parts of Stahl Mountain and Mount Goodie across the valley.
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Outro
We scoped out several spur roads for more views but without much luck on the way down. The roadway was the only place to see the volcano. Or much of anything else, for that matter.
I didn’t see any activities on Mineral Lake. But from time to time, we’d hear noises from the boat launch. Other than that, it was another enjoyable after-work stroll through Pleasant Valley.
See more trip photos here.
Thanks for your recent trip reports on Spiraltop, Stumptop and now Towertop. I did all three last Friday, 4/23/21, mostly pushing my mountain bike up them, but have fun riding down all three., despite having to dismount a few times while descending Spiraltop, but it’s all part of the adventure.