Easy hikes with kids on and near the Eastside
Short trails you can do with kids, from a stroller walk at Snoqualmie Falls to the climb at Rattlesnake Ledge.
Snoqualmie Falls is the easy one. The upper viewpoint works with a stroller. Twin Falls and Rattlesnake Ledge are real hikes, still short, and both need a Discover Pass. Coal Creek, Cougar Mountain, and Tradition Lake are closer to home.
Snoqualmie Falls at 6501 Railroad Ave SE is open from sunrise to sunset, and admission is free. The falls drop 270 feet. The upper platform is about 200 feet from the upper lot and is wheelchair accessible, so a stroller works there. The lower trail drops 250 feet. The site says the walk down is about 15 minutes and the climb back is steep, and it is not accessible. There is no Discover Pass. The upper lot is paid. A lot across the street, reached by the pedestrian bridge, is free. Picnic tables are on site. Barbecues are not.
Tradition Lake sits on Tradition Plateau, reached from the High Point trailhead. DNR describes an accessible interpretive loop there, which is the stroller option. The trails out to the lake are not a stroller walk. A Discover Pass is required. DNR does not publish one loop length for the lake. The City of Issaquah co-manages the plateau.
Coal Creek Natural Area has 4.5 miles of trails. The Cinder Mine trailhead is on Newcastle Golf Club Road. The city does not publish an elevation gain, and it does not describe the trails as stroller-friendly. No Discover Pass is required. Red Cedar Trailhead is closed through 2031 for King County sewer work. Use a trailhead the city still lists as open.
Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park is more than 3,000 acres, with the land between about 1,000 and 1,600 feet and more than 35 miles of trails. Red Town, on Lakemont Boulevard Southeast, is a trailhead for a short out-and-back. The park page does not publish one easy loop’s distance or elevation gain. Pick a short signed trail and turn around. Stay on the trails. Old mines are the reason. King County does not list a Discover Pass for this park.
Twin Falls is in Olallie State Park. The Twin Falls Trail is 2.5 miles round trip to the waterfall, and it is hiking only, so it is not a stroller trail. The trailhead is at 47600 SE 159th Street. A Discover Pass is required. The park brochure does not publish an elevation gain. The falls’ final drop is 135 feet. The Lower Falls Viewpoint is closed because of storm damage, and the Twin Falls Trail is closed between the Upper Falls Viewpoint and the Palouse to Cascades Trail. Check the park page before you go.
Rattlesnake Ledge is the steep one in this set. DNR says the trail from the Rattlesnake Lake parking area is 2 miles to a viewpoint near 2,100 feet, climbing nearly 1,000 feet. That is not a stroller hike. The ledge is an exposed cliff. Keep children back from the edge. DNR says a Discover Pass is required for parking. Seattle Public Utilities manages the lake lot and says the trail is foot traffic only, with no fires and no camping. The Cedar Falls trailhead next to the lake is a state park lot, and that lot requires a Discover Pass. Weekends fill the parking.
Snoqualmie Falls
About 200 feet from the upper lot to a wheelchair-accessible viewpoint, so a stroller works there. The lower trail drops 250 feet and is not a stroller hike. No Discover Pass.
.jpg){kind=link}
Tradition Lake
The accessible loop at the High Point trailhead is the stroller option. The other lake trails are not. A Discover Pass is required. DNR does not publish a loop length.
Coal Creek Natural Area
4.5 miles of forest trails. The city does not publish an elevation gain, and it does not call the trails a stroller walk. No Discover Pass. Red Cedar Trailhead is closed through 2031.
Cougar Mountain
More than 35 miles of trails in a King County park. The park page does not give one short loop's distance or elevation gain. No Discover Pass is listed. Stay on the trails.
Twin Falls
2.5 miles round trip, hiking only, so not a stroller trail. A Discover Pass is required. The park does not publish elevation gain. Part of the trail is closed.
Rattlesnake Ledge
2 miles to the ledge, climbing nearly 1,000 feet. Not a stroller hike. DNR says a Discover Pass is required. Keep children back from the cliff.