Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park

About Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park

While staying in Issaquah, Washington, my wife and I had some business in Seattle and we planned to let Markus rest at the hotel where we were staying while we went out. We planned to do a hike in the morning as a way for all of us to stretch our legs and for Markus to get a bit of exercise before we were out for the afternoon. Luckily for us, our hotel was located within 5 minutes of the Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park where we had a soggy, but very fulfilling hike!

I should mentioned that we did this trail on an early Sunday morning and while it wasn't raining when we started, it was threatening to, so our experience at the Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park might not be par for the course. In fact, we never saw another dog on the hike, which probably isn't the norm. That being said, this post might not be as useful for owners with reactive dogs, but I do have some tidbits for you towards the end.

A wet Markus posing with a picture in the trees and mud at Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park

Since we were already staying at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Seattle-Issaquah, we were less than 5 minutes away from one of the entrances to Cougar Mountain. This trailhead is located on Newport Way and isn't their main entrance, but it comes with a smallish parking lot. The parking lot wasn't busy at all, but again, it was early and the weather was gloomy, so it's hard to say what it's like during regular conditions (although you could argue that rain is regular here).

The Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park is a park with multiple trails that you can combine for a shorter or longer distance, depending on your need at the time. Each of these trails have names that you can look up on other sites and follow. On this morning, we did the Big Tree Ridge Trail (Short Version), which was enough for us and Markus to start the morning - especially since we were soaked head to toe by the time we reached the top of the hike. The trail does loop, but the loop itself is a small part, so you'll be retracing your steps for the majority of the hike.

Big Tree Ridge Trail (Short Version)

Type: Trail
Length: 4 km
Traffic: Low
Route Type: Mix of Loop and Out & Back

Markus and I hiking through the trails at Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park

The trail is dog-friendly as long as dogs are on a leash. We didn't come across another dog, but we came during sub-optimal weather. The trail isn't the most well-maintained, but it's definitely good enough for you to explore through the trees. We did find that there were some paths that weren't so clear to us, but we didn't have much trouble for the most part. There were also some areas where the rain had made the path extremely muddy, so if you're going on a wet day, just be aware of that.

If you're expecting a casual flat walk, this trail isn't one of those. While most websites indicate that this is an easy trail with minimal incline, I will humbly admit that this trail had a steeper incline in the beginning that had me breathing a little faster. Although these steeper parts were short, they do exist, so just be prepared.

Even with the incline, I'd still categorize this hike as slightly above casual. During the hike, we came across a few people who were in exercise gear and powered right by us. Based on what I've seen on other website, people definitely use the trails in this park for exercise.

I personally found the map to be a little hard to follow. There's a map at the beginning of the hike that we took a picture of, but it was hard to know where we were at times. Because of all the zigzags going uphill, it's hard to tell if we were zigging or zagging at a given time, but there are clues along the way to help you pinpoint where you are on the trail.

At the very worst, we could've just turned around since the majority of the hike is one-way, but our saving grace was Google Maps on one of our phones. I've mentioned this before, but even though both my wife and I have Google Maps on our devices, only her's displays trails within a park (mine just shows the park as a whole with no detail). Even though the accuracy wasn't always accurate, it was enough for us to figure out where we were and complete this hike.

Markus with muddy paws posing on top of a tree stump at Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park

What we like

It's a good hike for exercising and getting your heart rate going.
The park has multiple trails so you can choose to do more or less depending on what you're felling for that day.

What we didn’t like

The map and the paths can be a little hard to follow.
Since it was raining, the area was really muddy.

Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs

As a whole, the Big Tree Ridge Trail (Short Version) hike was fine. It's not the most well-maintained park that we've been to, but if you're looking to experience the Pacific Northwest, the Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park will definitely satisfy that need for you. It was short, but enough for what we were hoping to do with Markus. You may opt for the longer version or even tack on other trails in the park while you're there!

For reactive dogs, I really can't say for certain what the park is like during regular hours. The park is extremely big and it requires leashed dogs, but I will say that there were some narrow paths where it would've been hard to avoid other dogs if you needed to pass them. Just keep this in mind!

Note: The trailhead parking lot is just a little bit before the Sammamish Pointe located on the map above on Newport Way NW. This was the easiest way for us to pinpoint the parking lot!

Disclaimer

Markus is a reactive, but not aggressive dog. His instinct is to avoid other dogs and he may growl, bark or lunge if provoked, but will not attack. We normally do not have issues with leashed dogs when both sides are controlled, but we will be on guard when an oncoming dog is not leashed. There are varying levels to a dog’s reactivity and only you can decide if this park, trail or hotel is appropriate for your dog. Our visits generally will not include off-leash areas; most experiences shared on The Markus Project are within leashed or undefined areas.

Please remember that our past experience visiting a park, trail or hotel may not be the same as your experience at the same park, trail or hotel. We have no control of who visits the park and whether they adhere to park rules - like leashing their dogs on leash-required paths - or not. Please use your discretion with the information provided and with your personal knowledge of your dog’s reactivity when visiting these parks, trails or hotels.