Ape Canyon Trail is a 9.6 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Cougar, Washington that features beautiful wild flowers and is only recommended for very experienced adventurers. The trail is primarily used for hiking, camping, birding, and mountain biking and is best used from May until November. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
birding
camping
hiking
mountain biking
forest
views
wild flowers
wildlife
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.
Honestly one of the best hikes I’ve done in the PNW. Stunning views not too crowded and the trail is in great condition. Would rate this as Moderate and not hard
5 miles up, 5 down. It’s a nice smooth trail but lots of incline so be ready to work hard. Bring bug spray and a bug zapper as the mosquitoes are bad. Gorgeous views the higher you go, and at the top you will be blown away by the views. You can even continue onto more trails if you want and feel like you’re actually climbing on to the mountain.
The most incredible hike I’ve done this far.. Good prep for a hard hike I’m tackling next month. A must do, like everyone else said!
Must do hike!!!
Hiked on 10/31/17. Saw a mountain goat.
A great challenge
So pretty! But the difficulty rate should be moderate, not "hard".
Fun hike, really not difficult except if you aren't used to the distance. Not steep, trail good..more of a moderate imo. The views are awesome!
Lizzy H.
LOTS of mosquitos and flies. It's uphill most of the way but overall a good hike! The views are awesome. Go early if you want parking nearby.
A new favorite for me! Bring bug spray!
I made the mistake of going after a snow storm and the the trail was completely covered in downed trees at the top of the first mountain. Pretty cool but save this one for a sunny day. Wonderful views of Mt Adams, Mt St. Helens and the Columbia Gorge range.
Incredible. Your knees will ache from the long slow incline, but absolutely worth it.
I have hiked this trail many times and it is one of my favorites. Challenging but worth it for the scenery. Last time up there were 5 mountain goats climbing in the Plains of Abraham. Deer flies can be an issue later in the summer though.
yep bad ass hike you can go all day hiking around on St. Helens you get to see the Old Mud Flows and how much that explosion scarred the land and you get to see the start of the Plains of Abraham so much to do on this hike it's what you make out of it
By far one of the best hikes I've done. We didn't know what to expect, as our original hike through Lava Canyon was closed off. We had perfect weather for the day. Clear skies. Quite a few fallen trees, but that's part of the fun of hiking. Hit a little snow at the viewpoint, but easily crossed. Can't wait to do this hike again.
This is a nice trail with really easy (paved) road access which makes this a somewhat popular trail, but nothing like Ape Caves which is passed on the way in. There are a few dispersed camping sites right by the parking lot which is really small, but there may be parking down the road a bit. Lots of bikers on the trail, but they were all really friendly and we typically yielded to them since it is just easier for everyone and the breaks on the almost continuous uphill were welcome. The trail is well graded with few obstacles and the cleanest trail that I have ever been on - not a hint of litter anywhere! We camped in the meadow/trees on a hill above the trail before the final uphill to the Plains of Abraham. We had perfect weather, complete solitude, and enormous views of Helens, Adams, and Hood. There are a few decent sites up on the hill towards the south side that have been cleared of pumice making them really nice. The only negatives were having to pack in all of our water (dry even this early in the season) and no place to hang food (to be expected), we buried it and had no problems with critters. Otherwise, a great area for a one night backpack close to the city.
Wonderful trail for hiking, walking.. probably for bikes too, but since I'm not a rider - I can't really comment. It is shaded most of the way up to the top and the trail is wide and soft. Steep but not technical. Excellent starting spot for doing the Loowit or just getting up to the Plains of Abraham. Great day hike and good conditioning as it is constantly going up but not too strenuous that it isn't enjoyable. No pain - no gain, huh?
There is NO water on this trail. You might be able to access glacier streams, if they are running, if you continue on the Loowit Trail (east towards Plains of Abraham) about a half mile or so. Lots of bugs - biting flies. They hurt and they leave ugly, itchy welts too!
Bikers were friendly when we passed them. My husband and I were backpacking with our dog and it seemed that sharing the trail was never an issue. We hiked up around 5pm, camped and came back down at 9am the next morning. It took us a little over 2.5 hours to get up and about 2 to get down. Great workout!
Wow! Couldn't be better. A little bit of everything. Deep forest path up through the canyon punctuated by alternating views of mud flow river bed off St Helens and gorgious Mt Adams. At the top look down over rock left bare by the blast. Cross over to the Plains of Abraham for a view of St Helens you can almost touch. Turn around and there's Adams, Rainier, and off to the south, Hood. In early July we had snow patches side by side with blooming lupine. This is my favorite hike in the area.