Family Hike Review

High Point at Tiger Mountain

Exit 20 off I-90

Today we went on a very nice family hike that would be a great hike for young children just starting to hike with the family. This was Nora's (3 year old) first hiking experience sans backpack or other transportation device. She did very well with only a few piggyback rides requested. So I would believe it if very doable for most of the 3-6 year old crowd. We hiked around 1.5 - 2 miles.

The main trail is very well maintained and even a jogging type stroller could manage on it quite nicely. There is no noticeable elevation gain. The vegetation varies from coniferous to decidious forests and there was a variety of wildflowers along the way to enjoy. There are nice interpretive signs along the way talking about vegetation, animals, and other sites. And along the footpath there are a few markers identifying different animal tracks (this did give my girls a false sense of hope of actually finding these prints and they were a bit disappointed with the outcome). There are ample amounts of benches along the way to stop of a break or a snack.

Our only real disappointment with this hike is that we took the extended lake loop path (this trail is a bit more rugged with some hills). It was a very hot day and we were looking forward to wading our feet and throwing some rocks in the water. But we discovered that there was no lake access and instead we were just teased by looking at the beautiful lake from a distance.

One other discovery we had dealt with parking. When we arrived people were parking along the road so we assumed the parking lot was full and parked on the road. The walk up to the trailhead was a bit long and noisy (following I-90) and when we arrived at the trailhead there were parking spots available. So now we know to always to drive to the trailhead first in hopes of parking and if there is nothing available Tom can drop us off and go park the car. This would make for an easier start to the hike.

Looking forward to many more hikes as spring has finally arrived!