Winchester Mountain Lookout
Moderate Planned ⚠️ High-clearance roadMt. Baker
On the list. Not hiked yet.
Road access: Limited access
The final 2 mi beyond the Yellow Aster Butte trailhead are steep, narrow and one-lane, so high-clearance AWD only. Walking the road from the YAB trailhead makes it ~10 mi / ~3,100 ft round trip.
As of . Road status changes; check the land manager before you go.
- Distance
- 3.4 mi
- Gain
- 1,300 ft
- High point
- 6,521 ft
- Route
- out-and-back
- Season
- Jul–Oct
- Drive from Seattle
- ~3h 15m
- Pass
- Northwest Forest Pass or America the Beautiful
Best time of year
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Peak season now · Best Jul–Oct, peak Aug–Sep
Starts in late July, once the road and trail melt out.
Peak In season Out of season This month
Short, steep climb from Twin Lakes to a restored lookout with views into Canada. Pairs well with the quieter High Pass trail from the same lot.
Easy to moderate from Twin Lakes. Stats are from the Twin Lakes trailhead.
- fire lookout
- alpine lakes
- short
- high-clearance road
Trailhead weather
52°F
⛅ Overcast
💨 10 mph
🌧️ 6%
☀️ UV 4
Thu
🌧️
52°
35°
76%
Fri
🌧️
43°
34°
98%
Sat
🌧️
41°
30°
86%