Ape Canyon Trail is a 11 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Cougar, Washington that features a river and is only recommended for very experienced adventurers. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from May until November. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
This is an incredible trail. Safe to say there is nothing quite like this anywhere in the states. You climb through a forest that somehow survived the blast of St. Helens with views getting better and better the farther you climb. Then, you pop out of the woods and begin traversing the Plains of Abraham.
From Seattle -I-5 south to Exit 21 at Woodland. -Hwy 503 / Lewis River Rd East towards Cougar. (continue 23 miles) -Straight onto Lewis River Rd (don't turn south onto 503). (continue 8.6 miles) -Lewis River Rd becomes NFD Rd 90. (continue 3.2 miles) -Left on NFD Rd 83 and follow it to the end (11.2 miles). The Ape Creek trailhead and Lava Canyon trailhead are separate paved spurs at the end of FR-83. You want to bear onto the spur that goes left to find the (signed) trail entrance. This takes 1.5 to 2 hours driving time from I-5.
November 28, 2020The road getting there wasn’t too bad, we did just fine in a Subaru Forester (would not recommend for cars or vehicles that don’t have high clearance/AWD/4WD). The trail was snowy from the start, but was manageable in micro spikes earlier in the day while it was still firm. Probably should have put on our snowshoes from mile 3 to the Loowit trail Junction, but did okay without them (just would have been easier). We did use them on the way down and were quite pleased since the snow had softened a bit in the sun. Only snowmobiles were up there today, otherwise we had the whole place to ourselves! 10/10 day.
November 27, 2020Nice in the snow last weekend. Hiked about halfway to 3.5 miles back. Best views were within a mile of the trailhead with spectacular sunset and snowy view of the mountain.
November 21, 2020Amazing snow. Beautiful views. Great company. No restroom at TH, but there is one at the snopark.
November 14, 2020November 8, 202011/8: Light snow dusting on the trail as you gain elevation. Saw quite a few mountain goats on Pumice Butte. Roads clear in mid-am but may have had light frost earlier in the morning. Unfortunately the views across the canyon were obscured by low clouds, but Mt St Helens was beautiful as always.
November 8, 2020November 7, 2020Excellent hike with great views and wildlife.
November 1, 2020Perfect weather for a morning hike. Saw some wildlife (owl, squirrels, chipmunk, mountain goats at the top) and enjoyed the fall colors contrasted with the stark beauty of MSH.
November 1, 2020November 1, 2020Beautiful day for a hike. Views of St. Helens, Ranier, and Adams. Went early. Not too busy.
November 1, 2020November 1, 2020This area is magnificent! The view of the slide is almost indescribable. It’s well worth a short hike into for a quick photo op with St. Helens in the background.
October 31, 2020Second time on this trail...I had forgotten how perfect the trail is—climbing 1800’ but with enough little dips and plateaus to feel like pressing on is no issue. I had also forgotten how incredible the views are 4 miles in (my gps read 4.5 to the Plains of Abraham, trailhead sign posted 5 mi to the Loowit Trail). I had, however, never before counted 40 mountain goats on a hike. Took us 2hrs and 45min for the 9-mile round trip. Brisk, but no snow yet!
October 31, 2020October 29, 2020Fun
October 25, 2020October 25, 2020October 25, 2020Fun
October 25, 2020October 25, 2020October 25, 2020Amazing!
October 18, 2020Went all the way to the 6.75 mile mark. A lot of the trail is on the edge of the mountain slope, so the views are amazing for most of the trail. At the end of 5 miles there is another 1.75 miles on the Plains of Abraham which is also totally worth going for the views. The trail continues further than that, I think it goes all the way around the mountain. But didn't have time to explore further.
October 17, 2020October 12, 2020This is a great trail- my dogs (border collies) have explored rocky areas up top almost every year for past 10 years & haven’t had any issues but there are definitely some sharp rocks. This particular trail has gotten more popular each year with the mountain biking crowd, it’s almost not worth it for hikers anymore.
October 10, 2020September 29, 2020This was a good workout for me and had some good views. We didn’t go all the way to the end of the AllTrails route because we didn’t have booties for our dog and the trail was starting to have a lot of pumice. We were worried about his little pads. So unfortunately I can’t comment on the views at the end.
September 27, 2020Really enjoyed this hike. Consistent uphill but nothing too strenuous. Below the tree line the majority of the trail but you’ll still have some quick views of St. Helens, Hood and Adams before you get to the open part of the trail, which is where the views become incredible! Would highly recommend this for a nice little 4-5 hr weekend workout. Beware of all the mountain bikes. Everyone was nice, but definitely had a few close calls with bikes coming around blind corners. Bring water as this is a dry trail all the way up.
September 27, 2020Bring field glasses so you can see the Mountain Goats
September 5, 2020
