I-90 Summits

Seattle has a huge variety of hiking areas, but sometimes you need to crank one out and get back for the kids’ bath time. So hooray for I-90.

2026 update: I am now trying to hike all the peaks between Bellevue and Snoqualmie Pass. Follow the project on my I-90 Summits map and photo index.

The hikes

Mount Si

Ah, the classic. Lunch on the rocks. Make sure you do the Haystack.

Mount Teneriffe

Actually a better view than Si and pretty much the same drive. The hike is a bit longer, and the last stretch through the woods is a bit chewed up.

Rattlesnake Ledge

Take your grandparents; it’s fast. I still need to go up to East Peak or do the ten miles to Snoqualmie Point.

Mailbox Peak

The new trail isn’t the crazy mud cliff the old one was. More like Si, but 30 percent harder with 40 percent better views.

Mount Washington

An almost-secret entrance east of Twin Falls. Steep, gravelly trail and cool tree hallways. I really wanted the Chester Morse Lake view, but got fog.

McClellan Butte

Quite the slog, but the rock scramble is phenomenal. Also a rare summit south of I-90.

Bandera Mountain

Meadow scramble, but more of a ridge than a summit. Still: great flowers and Mount Rainier views.

Mount Defiance

Secretly great. Turn left toward Bandera, pass Mason Lake, and keep going. The view feels nicely removed from the highway.

Granite Mountain

It had been eight years; I needed to go back. I love the alpine meadows, and I’m a sucker for a lookout.

Kendall Katwalk

Love this hike. It starts on the PCT. Pretty long, but once it gets pretty, it just stays that way for miles.

Mount Catherine

Took a six-month-old up, including the nine-foot rock scramble with a chain at the top. Great view of Mount Rainier, but also bugs at the summit.