Iowa Heights by Alger Alp sits at Lake Whatcom’s south end. It shrouds itself with tall peaks, including Lookout Mountain and Anderson Mountain. Moreover, at 12 miles south sits Burlington Hill, a simple drive-up.
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Iowa Heights and Burlington Hill at a Glance
Access: Camp 2 Road
Round Trip: 2.8 miles
Elevation Range: 500′-1040′
Gear: none
Route Info: Wyatt Mullen
GPS track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Camp 2 Road to DNR Gate
We didn’t end the year on a high note with snow in the forecast at 10 AM. I looked for a new, short hike and settled on Iowa Heights. Then we drove to Camp 2 Road but turned around with a “Guests Only” sign at the gate.
We tried our luck on Alger CCC Road without a backup and went north to the fork. Since there were no warnings here, it looked fine going this way. Soon, we reached the yellow gate that looked ok to access on foot.
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Walking the Unnamed Road
It showered as I was parking, then we stayed inside to wait out the rain. Finally, after a 45-minute nap, the rain turned to drizzles. Then we hurried out of the car and quickly grabbed our things to start walking.
Half a mile into the hike, we took a bike trail briefly into the trees. I assumed the path was here before logging since the sign had noted against off-road biking. After returning to the road, we continued and soon reached the tower summit.
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Iowa Heights Summit Plus Exit
The road-turned-trail soon left the clearing into the forest past the radio tower. Then it took us to the unmarked high point adorned with tree stumps. The rain continued as we took a break without anything to see except the trees.
The trail dropped onto the north, but we didn’t continue per Wyatt’s note about the dead-end. Then back on the main path, we stumbled onto a bike trail by the road bend. We went straight south until it faded before we scrambled out by the gate.
See more trip photos here.