Hikes in Washington: The Mt. Kit Carson Trail

Basic Information

• Name: Mt. Kit Carson Trail
• Where: Mt. Spokane State Park
• Distance: 4 miles
• Maximum Elevation: 5,282 feet
• Elevation Gain: 623 feet
• Time: 1.5-2.5 hours
• Difficulty: Easy
• More Information: Best Easy Day Hikes Spokane

View of Mt. Kit Carson as seen from the slopes of Mt. Spokane. 

Google Earth Map of the Trail

Directions

To get to Mt. Spokane State Park from downtown Spokane, take Division Street (Highway 2) North until it reaches the outskirts of town.  Eventually Highway 2 will reach an Intersection with Highway 206.  Make a right on to Highway 206 and follow it until it reaches Mt. Spokane State Park.  Once in the park follow Mt. Spokane Park Drive until it reaches an intersection with Summit Road.  Turn on to Summit Road and follow it passed the campground.  After the campground look for a small dirt parking lot on the right of the road.  This is the Cook Cabin Trailhead .

Parking

The Cook Cabin Trailhead has a small dirt parking lot that can get filled on summer weekends.  If you pass the Kit Carson Upper Loop Road sign this means you drove too far.  Turn around and go back to the dirt parking lot before this sign.

A Washington State Discover Pass is required to park anywhere in Mt. Spokane State Park.  When we hiked Mt. Kit Carson we arrived at the lot at 10:00 and were fortunate enough to park in the last available space.  The fact that the trail is popular with horseback riders means that their trailers take up a lot of the available parking space at the trailhead.  If there is no space available the next available parking is back at the campground and you would be required to hike up the paved road to the trailhead.

Narrative

During my hike up to the summit of the 5,883 foot Mt. Spokane, I noticed there was also a trail to the summit of the 5,282 foot Mt. Kit Carson.  I decided to save that trail for another day when I could bring my kids since it was an easier hike.  On a nice summer weekend I drove up to the Cook Cabin Trailhead with my two young kids ages 6 and 9, to complete the 4-mile roundtrip hike:

At the Cook Cabin Trailhead there is a signboard up that explains the history of Paradise Camp which is where Cook Cabin is located.  The signboards explained how Francis Cook a local newspaper publisher, developed and eventually donated the property that would become Mt. Spokane State Park:

Another signboard explained how skiing began on Mt. Spokane back in the 1930’s.  Interestingly according to the signboard, Mt. Spokane was home to the world’s first ever double chair lift in 1946:

Just above the trailhead what remains of Camp Paradise and Cook Cabin can be seen:

From the trailhead we started our hike by proceeding up the Kit Carson Upper Loop Road:

A short distance up the road we came to a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Heritage Area sign.  A side trail from the sign leads to a CCC camp that was built in 1934 to develop Mt. Spokane State Park:

At the CCC camp there is a restored log cabin that hikers can go inside and check out:

The cabin has picnic tables and for colder months a fireplace to warm the building with:

According to a signboard, the cabin was originally built in 1934 and became the camp’s headquarters:

Another signboard showed what life was like for the CCC workers on Mt. Spokane.  At the camp the majority of the workers lived in tents that were spread out in front of the cabin:

Here is a view of the CCC cabin when viewed from the front:

The below picture shows the terraces in front the cabin which is where the tents were put up to house the CCC workers:

From the CCC camp we followed a short trail back down to the dirt road:

Once on the road we could see the round mound that is Mt. Kit Carson across the valley from us:

The dirt road crossed the valley and took us right to the trail that leads to the summit of Mt. Kit Carson:

The initial trail going up Mt. Kit Carson was covered in small logs.  My assumption was that this prevented mountain bikers from recklessly speeding down the hill:

As we hiked up the trail we spotted a lot of nice wildflowers in bloom:

As we hiked up the mountain we did come across a number of trail intersections.  We continued to follow the brown summit signs:

There are also little blue arrows on the trees that point hikers in the right direction towards the summit:

The trail towards the summit of Mt. Kit Carson eventually levels out and becomes a beautiful meadow filled with wildflowers:

The trail crosses the meadow and then comes to a small rock outcropping:

At the rock outcropping my kids had fun climbing on the rocks and quickly found this U.S. Geological Survey Marker:

The rock outcropping is the end of the Mt. Kit Carson Trail and offers spectacular views of the Spokane region:

We could see Mica Peak to the south that rises over Spokane Valley:

Even further out to the south we could see Steptoe Butte:

To the west we could see the farms of Green Bluff:

Here is a closer look at the Green Bluff area:

To the northwest we could see some of the Okanagan Highlands in northern Washington:

Here is a panorama picture of the view from Mt. Kit Carson:

After spending about an hour on the summit my kids and I then made the two-mile walk back to the trailhead.  With most of the walk back on the Kit Carson Upper Loop Road, it made for a quick hike back to the trailhead:

Conclusion

The Mt. Kit Carson Trail is a really good hike to take with young children.  It is a challenging 4-mile roundtrip hike that provides kids a chance to explore a cabin and take in great views from the summit of Mt. Kit Carson.  The views are arguably better than those available from the summit of Mt. Spokane.  For those looking for more challenging hikes there are plenty of other trails that link to Mt. Kit Carson to explore.  These trails can be linked together to create full day hikes.