What to See in Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest - Top Sights and Attractions

Waterfall in Washington State. Weeks Falls is a waterfall on the South fork of the Snoqualmie River, located just south of Interstate 90 at exit 38. The falls are at the end of the road that goes past the Olallie State Park ranger headquarters. From the gravel parking lot, there is a paved accessible overlook to see the falls and a small area around the hydro-electric plant. Also, there is a 1/4 mile accessible interpretive trail nearby.

Weeks Falls has a small hydroelectric plant operated by CHI West which generates about 4.3 Megawatts peak. It's unusual because it operates without a dam. Instead, water is being drawn from the river above the falls and run down an underground channel to the generation unit at the bottom of Weeks falls.^[2]

Tourist attraction in Snohomish County, Washington. Big Four Mountain is a mountain in the Cascade Range of Washington, located 21 miles east of Granite Falls. The mountain is about 6,180 ft high. At the bottom of its steep, 4,200 ft high north face, debris piles form from avalanches and are able to remain there year round because of the continuous shade provided by the mountain. At an elevation between 2,450 ft and 1,950 ft, this ice forms the lowest-elevation glacier in the lower 49 states. During the summer, snow-melt streams flow beneath the debris piles and cause caves to be formed in the ice.

The Big Four Ice Caves Trail, a designated National Recreation Trail, (#723) is one of the most popular hikes in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest attracting over 50,000 visitors per year. Frequently exceeding several hundred hikers per day, the trailhead's two separate parking areas are often filled beyond capacity occasionally forcing hikers to park along neighboring Mountain Loop Road.

A severe autumn storm in November 2006 caused flooding of the South Fork Stillaguamish River destroying a major footbridge to the Big Four Ice Caves. Estimated repair costs to replace the damaged span were approximately $425,000, and repairs were completed in June 2009. While the trail is open to the public, the snowfield itself was closed temporarily due to cave-ins and slides which have killed four hikers in incidents in 1998, 2010, and in 2015. Because of the danger, hikers are advised to stay out of the caves.^[3]

Peak in Washington State. Mount Index is a peak in the central part of the Cascade Range of Washington state. It lies just south of the Skykomish River and U.S. Route 2, at the western edge of the Cascades. Despite its low elevation relative to peaks higher in the Cascades, it is a famous and dramatic landmark due to its topographic prominence. It comprises three pointed spires which rise steeply from a very low base. The main peak is the southernmost of the three, while the North Peak rises even more steeply above the valley. For example, it rises more than 4,250 ft above the lower slopes on the northeast side in less than 1 horizontal mile.

The first recorded ascent of Mount Index (the main peak) was on October 29, 1911 by H. B. Hinman, Ernest Martin, Lee Pickett, George E. Wright. However, they found a flagpole already on the summit, so theirs was certainly not the first ascent. Since the easiest route is non-technical, a much earlier ascent by Native Americans is likely. The first ascent of the steeper, more difficult North Peak was in 1929, by Lionel Chute and Victor Kaartinen, by the North Face Route.

The standard route on the main peak climbs the east side of the peak from Lake Serene. The standard route on the North Peak is the North Face Route, which is a long, moderately technical climb (Grade III, Class 5.6).

Mount Index was once known as West Index Mountain, and Baring Mountain was known as Mount Index instead. They were both renamed in 1917.^[8]

Mountain in Washington State. Big Four is a 6,160+ feet mountain summit in the Cascade Range, located about 20 miles east of Granite Falls, Washington. It is situated 4 miles west of Barlow Pass along the Mountain Loop Highway, near the Monte Cristo area, on land administered by the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Debris piles on the mountain's northern flank form as a result of avalanche activity. These fields of disturbed snow are able to remain year round in the shadow of the mountain. During the summer months snow-melt streams flow beneath the debris piles and cause caves to form in the ice. The caves vary in size from season to season and are unpredictably dangerous. The mountain is open to the public and a large snowfield can be reached by a short trail, but the snowfield itself is off-limits due to cave-ins and slides which have killed hikers in incidents in 1998, 2010, and 2015.^[9]