Tiger Mountain | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 3,004 ft (916 m) NAVD 88 [1] |
Prominence | 1,644 ft (501 m) [2] |
Coordinates | 47°29′17″N121°56′49″W / 47.488096836°N 121.946962119°W [1] |
Geography | |
Location | Issaquah, Washington, US |
Parent range | Issaquah Alps |
Topo map | USGS Hobart |
Tiger Mountain is a mountain in the U.S. state of Washington. It is at the center of the Issaquah Alps, a small range in the Eastside region of King County, Washington southeast of Seattle. The mountain is part of a designated protected area, the Tiger Mountain State Forest, and has several recreational areas used for hiking, mountain biking, and paragliding.
The mountain has six peaks in the center of the Issaquah Alps, forming a 13,500-acre (55 km2) triangle between Interstate 90 (I-90) on the north, Issaquah-Hobart Road on the southwest, and State Route 18 (SR 18) on the southeast. Immediately to the west is Squak Mountain followed by Cougar Mountain, while to the southeast are McDonald and Taylor Mountains, and Rattlesnake Ridge.
Tiger Mountain State Forest was established in 1981. In 1989, the entire Issaquah Plateau in the northwest corner was designated as a conservation area, the West Tiger Mountain Natural Resources Conservation Area, accessed by a large trailhead at Exit 20 on I-90. It is 13,745-acres.
The most crowded trail[ citation needed ] leads to the bald summit of West Tiger #3, with a panoramic view of Seattle and points to the south and east. It is a 6.2-mile (10.0 km) hike, round-trip, with an elevation change of about 2,000 feet (610 m). The nearby peaks of West Tiger #2 and West Tiger #1 provide essentially the same view, but with fewer obstructions.
State Route 18 runs between Tiger and Taylor mountains, reaching an elevation of 1,375 feet (419 m). This stretch of the highway is commonly referred to as the "Tiger Mountain Summit" in local traffic reports. Another major trailhead is located at this summit. The trail provides access to South Tiger Mountain with limited views, Middle Tiger Mountain with a 45-degree window looking down on the Cedar Hills Landfill, and East Tiger Mountain with a panoramic view south toward Mount Rainier.
Many trails on Tiger Mountain have wide beds and slope very gently because they are built on the remnants of 1920s logging railroads, long after the rails and crossties were salvaged in the Great Depression. Near Middle Tiger Mountain is the site of a fatal 1924 train wreck where artifacts can still be seen.
In the most remote part of the forest, 15 Mile Creek (a tributary of Issaquah Creek) arises in the pass between East and West Tiger. The creek carves a miniature "Grand Canyon" through sandstone. Much of Tiger Mountain is owned or managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. [3]
The popular Tradition Lake loop trail is located on the northwest edge of the mountain. It is accessible via the High Point trailhead off of Interstate 90 in Washington.
Poo Poo Point is a bare ridge on the west side of Tiger Mountain. The point is a popular launching point for paragliding and hang gliding. [4] The point is reached by the Chirico Trail, which starts at the landing zone for the hang gliders and paragliders in a field adjacent to the Issaquah-Hobart Road, or by taking the High School Trail which begins on 2nd Avenue just south of Issaquah High School. Many people fly year-round (weather permitting) and have flown cross-country flights exceeding 75 miles (121 km). [5]
In the 1970s, the area was owned by Weyerhaeuser and used for logging. The name "Poo Poo" Point came from the sound of the logging steam whistles. In 1976, the clear-cut area started to be used by hang gliders as a launching spot. Gliders would be taken up the hill on the logging road. [6]
Poo Poo Point got its start as a paragliding destination in the 1990s. [7] [8] [9]
While there have been a significant number of paragliding incidents, there have not been any paragliding fatalities on Tiger Mountain. However, in 2008 Eric Jansen died of natural causes while paragliding from Tiger Mountain. [10] In 2011, Ken Blanchard died in a neighboring valley while on a cross-country flight. [11] Poo Poo Point is currently the most popular spot for paragliding in Washington.[ citation needed ]
Some Seattle-area radio station transmitters are on Tiger Mountain's west face. These include:
Issaquah is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the "Issaquah Alps" to the south. It is home to the headquarters of the multinational retail company Costco Wholesale Corporation. Issaquah is included in the Seattle metropolitan area.
Snoqualmie Pass is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It includes the unincorporated community of Hyak. The population was 311 at the 2010 census.
The Issaquah Alps is the unofficial name for the highlands near Issaquah, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, including Cougar Mountain, Squak Mountain, Tiger Mountain, Taylor Mountain, Rattlesnake Ridge, Rattlesnake Mountain, and Grand Ridge. The term was invented in 1977 by noted nature author Harvey Manning within the pages of his trail guidebook Footsore 1, elevating their status from foothills to "Alps" to advocate preservation. Manning himself lived on a developed section of Cougar Mountain in his "200 meter hut".
The Eastside of the King County, Washington area in the United States is a collective term for the suburbs of Seattle located on the east side of Lake Washington.
Camelback Mountain is a mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The English name is derived from its shape, which resembles the hump and head of a kneeling camel. The mountain, a prominent landmark of the Phoenix metropolitan area, is located in the Camelback Mountain Echo Canyon Recreation Area between the Arcadia neighborhood of Phoenix and the town of Paradise Valley. It is a popular recreation destination for hiking and rock climbing.
Hunter Mountain is in the towns of Hunter and Lexington, just south of the village of Hunter, in Greene County, New York, United States. At approximately 4,040 feet (1,231 m) in elevation, it is the highest peak in the county and the second-highest peak in the Catskill Mountains.
State Route 18 (SR 18) is a 28.41-mile-long (45.72 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, serving southeastern King County. The highway travels northeast, primarily as a controlled-access freeway, from an intersection with SR 99 and an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) in Federal Way through the cities of Auburn, Kent, Covington, and Maple Valley. SR 18 becomes a two-lane rural highway near Tiger Mountain as it approaches its eastern terminus, an interchange with I-90 near the cities of Snoqualmie and North Bend.
Eagle Mountain is the highest natural point in Minnesota, United States, at 2,301 feet (701 m). It is in northern Cook County in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Superior National Forest in the Misquah Hills, northwest of Grand Marais. It is a Minnesota State Historic Site.
Camel's Hump is a mountain in the Green Mountains in the U.S. state of Vermont. The north slope of the mountain borders the Winooski River, which has carved through the Green Mountains over eons. At 4,083 ft (1,244 m), it is tied with Mount Ellen for the third-highest mountain in Vermont. Surmounted by 10 acres (4 ha) of alpine tundra, the mountain is the most significant feature in Camel's Hump State Park. Because of its distinctive profile, it is perhaps the state's most recognized mountain, featured on the state quarter.
Harvey Manning was a noted author of hiking guides and climbing textbooks, and a tireless hiking advocate. Manning lived on Cougar Mountain, within the city limits of Bellevue, Washington, calling his home the "200-meter hut". His book Walking the Beach to Bellingham is an autobiography and manifesto fleshing out his journal of a hike along the shore of Puget Sound over a two-year span.
Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park is a regional park in King County, Washington, near the towns of Bellevue and Issaquah. The park was established in June 1983 to protect the central core of Cougar Mountain, the park covers 3,115 acres (12.61 km2) with 38 miles (61 km) of hiking trails and 12 miles (19 km) of equestrian trails.
Rattlesnake Ridge, known as daʔšədabš to the Snoqualmie people, is the ridge of Rattlesnake Mountain located south of North Bend, Washington, United States. The western end is near the intersection of State Route 18 and I-90 in Snoqualmie, Washington, and runs southeast about 7 miles (11 km) or 11 miles (18 km) by trail. It is the highest and easternmost of the Issaquah Alps. A maze of abandoned logging roads and constructed trails have been strung together to provide a 10.5-mile (16.9 km) footpath from the Snoqualmie Point trailhead at Exit 27 on I-90 all the way to the Rattlesnake Lake trailhead near Exit 32.
Squak Mountain is the second most westerly mountain of the Issaquah Alps mountain chain in Washington state. It is situated between Cougar Mountain to the west and Tiger Mountain to the east. Interstate 90 parallels the base of the north side of the mountain. Much of the Squak Mountain watershed drains into Lake Sammamish. Most of the mountain is protected by Squak Mountain State Park and the Cougar/Squak and Squak/Tiger Corridors of King County.
The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and the Iron Horse Trail, is a rail trail that spans most of the U.S. state of Washington. It follows the former railway roadbed of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad for 300 miles (480 km) across two-thirds of the state, from the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains to the Idaho border.
Brace Mountain is the peak of a ridge in the southern Taconic Mountains, near the tripoint of the U.S. states of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Its 2,311-foot (704 m) main summit is located in New York; it is the highest point in that state's Dutchess County.
Cougar Mountain is a peak in the Issaquah Alps in King County, Washington. It is part of the highlands in the Eastside suburbs of Seattle, and at 1,614 feet (492 m) it is the lowest and westernmost of the Alps. About two-thirds of Cougar Mountain has experienced residential development, and is home to many neighborhood communities such as Lakemont. The forested heart of the hill was officially preserved by King County in June 1983 as Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. Cougar Mountain is home to the Cougar Mountain Zoo.
Green Mountain is a 1,700-foot (520 m) summit in the Blue Hills on the Kitsap Peninsula of Washington state, in the United States' Pacific Northwest. It is the second highest point on the Kitsap Peninsula and in Kitsap County, Washington, after 1,761-foot (537 m) Gold Mountain.
Badger Mountain is a small mountain in Richland, Washington. Badger rises above the Tri-Cities connected to the smaller Candy Mountain via Goose Gap, is visible throughout much of the area and is a popular hiking destination for a wide variety of climbers. There are a number of trails climbing the mountain with varying levels of difficulty. There are two summits on Badger Mountain, named the East Summit and the West Summit. The West Summit is the highest.
High Point is an unincorporated community in King County, in the U.S. state of Washington.
Tradition Lake is located at the base of Tiger Mountain in Issaquah, Washington. There is a popular interpretive trail around the lake.