Goat Creek Trail

Tried to do this hike today but a truck got stuck coming down the road trying to pass a tree that had gone down. So we had to turn around and go with plan B.

Excellent trail. Steady climb through some amazing scenery. Good amount of snow towards the end. Highly recommend. Note to other hikers: I unfortunately lost a pair of small black north face gloves (clipped together) and the little foot that screws to the bottom of my hiking pole, turquoise blue color. If anyone is going out there soon, please keep an eye out for them. It would bring me great peace of mind to know these items have been removed from this beautiful place!

This was my first time. I arrived early, 830, and was the only one there... saw no one else until 215 pm as I trekked back. It was easy enough to get to the trailhead. As others mentioned, the 4.5 miles of dirt road had potholes but manageable. Very narrow in some places! The trail was fun and diverse. All was well until I hit the more intense snow. Sinking 1 to 3 feet in snow was exhausting. I fell many times and did not complete the hike, no Vanson Peak :( So no view reward for trekking all the way to the near end of the ALLTRAILS map... ugh! Will bring snowshoes if I try again before Spring/Summer! Nonetheless, did enjoy this hike and will complete... in the summer!!! :) Oh, yes, there were multiple water crossings. Glad to have waterproof trekkers today. For anyone wanting to hike the entire trail, there is a challenging crossing after the surveyer marker... I just went a little ways up on the right and found an "all dry" way to cross!

Fascinating Hike with my Friend Today. As we go farther the snow is getting thicker. The trail has no signs to the summit and three big trees was down on the trail we crawled underneath to continue our hike. We hiked for 3 1/2 hours and decided to head back. It was good hike. Josie Ryan

Beautiful, as always.

Pretty forest, amazing waterfall, lots of stream crossings, some of them difficult, great view at the topic. Snow/ice about halfway up. Definitely head to the peak, the view is worth it.

All inclusive trail : waterfalls, rainforest boulders and caves. We even seen a bat! We only did 2 miles out and turned around. Hiked with 3yo in carrier. Last 3 miles of road to get to trail head narrow and plenty of potholes.

Nice trail with big trees, a lovely stream, and lots of little waterfalls. We went to Vanson Point as a previously reviewer recommended, and were rewarded with great views of Rainier and Adams. If you follow the Alltrails map, you'll go right at the split, and do NOT cross the creek. We were so impressed with the maintenance on the trail, as we had been unable to complete the hike in May due to severe blowdown. There are still a few trees down just to keep things interesting. There are also multiple runoff streams to cross. The trail has a pretty steady incline -- we were worn out by the time we got back!

Hiked 10/3/20. Great trail! This map/data are a bit misleading, though. First, don't stop where the red line ends. It's just a random intersection in the woods with no views. Go 0.5 miles farther to Vanson Peak for amazing views of Rainier and Adams! Second, the distance from the parking lot to Vanson Peak is about 12.7 miles round trip with 3100' elevation gain. That said, this has become one of my new favorite trails in the PNW because it has a bit of everything--waterfalls, large boulders and rocky cliffs, mature cedar and Doug fir forests, and an amazing mountain view at the end. Plus there were relatively few people, even on a weekend with perfect weather

This hike is beautiful. I appreciate that the private forestry company allows for access to this trail on their land. There are no views of Mt. St. Helens on this trail. The road up to the trail is pretty narrow and I would imagine in the spring it would be washboarded. The trail itself is beautiful and I was so glad it was a trail that was dog friendly. The hike up to Cathedral Falls is pretty short and easy with just a few inclines. Cathedral Falls was just a trickle but still impressive. I would imagine in the Spring that the waterfall would be amazing. I continued to hike up the Tumwater Trail and was amazed at the many, many, many waterfalls along Goat Creek. As you hike you start to become parallel to Goat Creek. There is a junction where the trail ends at the creek and you have to cross the creek if you want to continue on. I stopped here, ate a snack and let my dog play in the water before turning around and hiking back. The trail is narrow and you will be sharing it with other hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers. For the safety of everyone, please leash your dogs on this trail. Your dog will come into contact with other dogs which can be unpredictable depending on the dog's temperament. I will definitely do this hike again in the spring so I can see Cathedral Falls in all of its glory.

If this trail isn’t on your list of to do trails. You should add it to the top. Bugs, Bugs, and Bugs, but I brought bug spray!

Awesome trail run! Mostly flat and the path is fairy easy to run on. There’s 3 great post up spots en route. Biking it is also a nice excursion. Walking would take a while but worth it.

As of 7/23 The trail was awesome! Someone could spend a lot of time in those woods if they wanted, there are a bunch more trails than just the Goat Creek. About a month ago, someone reviewed about a blockage at mile 3. It was clearly a MASSIVE storm, because there were a few dozen trees down, but they’re cleaned up now! Past mile 3 there are several spots smaller trees and branches that are easily hiked around if you are determined.

Goat Creek trail had a severe amount of blowdown, heavy enough to obscure the trail. We chose to turn back. 5-16-2020

Went on this trail today to go up to goat mountain. There are alot of creek and river crossings throughout the trail i reccomend having all the winter and wet weather hiking gear for this trail. Along with good balance and poles. Could become very dangerous in some spots. We decided to turn around when alot of the water fall crossings were starting to get deeper and wider and it was starting to be a safety concern for me and my group plus one dog. But over all we traveled about 8miles round trip . It's a great hike if u love waterfalls and there were no people which made it even better . !

Road to trail head is no longer closed. All trails can be deceiving, so do your research. Pictures of this trail have a view of mount rainier and Adams, you will not visualize them on goat creek. Goat creek trail ends at a cross roads, to get the views, continue straight up goat mountain. Follow the sign that says “goat mountain 1.5 miles.” Round trip for me was 13.9 miles. Very cold and windy at the top, my feet were cold in the waterproof shoes because the ground was frozen solid. Consider bringing wool socks, gloves, hand warmers, warm hat, and several layers. Not an overpopulated trail at all, I do my hiking on weekdays to avoid crowds anyways, but I was out there for 9 hours and didn’t see a single other hiker.

First time back since the road closer. The road going up is much nicer now, which is great for the vehicles, but sucks because it has increased the number of people hiking the trail now. I kind of preferred it when most people did not want to try making it up the old road. Oh well. The trail was excellent and the forest was beautiful. Will be back again soon.

Great trail! Well maintained, and easy to follow. However, this trail isn't for the faint at heart. The trail is close to the edge, and it's a steep long slope to the bottom. If you're afraid of heights, this will be hard at times. But it will be hard to find a better hike! just look up the mountain, and you should be fine

Gate is open today and the road is in great shape! Went about 5 miles in toward Vanson peak. Great hike. Not sure why it is rated hard. Trail has a nice mix of short ups and downs with mostly a gentle upward contour hugging profile. 6 cars at the trailhead and we had 6 encounters with other hikers/bikers. Not solitude but not annoyingly busy either. A great hike on a beautiful day!

Loved this hike! Did it on a Wednesday and only encountered 1 other group who only went to cathedral falls. The falls were stunning. Some challenging but doable creek crossings. We heard owls communicating to each other, which was beautiful. Note: please obey the law and keep your dogs on leash! As someone who has a dog that reacts to dogs off leash, I have to leave him home which is very sad. He loves coming on hikes so much. I didn’t see any dogs on this trail, which made me kick myself because I could’ve brought my dog.

Drove up to try this one out only to be met by a road closed sign. It was about 4 miles to the trailhead, I wasn’t up for it. ☹️ I didn’t investigate why. I’ll try again later.

I hiked this at the end of summer last year. It was beautiful but I’m definitely planning a return trip when there will be more water going over the falls.

this is a beautiful trail but I wouldn't call it lightly traveled. Of all the trails I've hiked around here so far this one had the most people on it. The Falls are beautiful the scenery is beautiful it's a good hike