Clay Pit Road and Cave Hole Trail (Cougar Mountain)
This is a nice, wooded trail in the Cougar Mountain area, also known as the Issaquah Alps. Finding the accessible trailhead was a little tough especially since there are multiple trails that leave out of the parking lot.
The driving instructions from the WTA website for East Fork will get you to the gate:
From I-90: Take exit 13 for Lakemont Boulevard. Turn right (south) onto Lakemont Boulevard which eventually becomes Newcastle-Coal Creek Road. Turn left onto Cougar Mountain Way and proceed for about 0.5 mile before turning right onto 166th Way. Follow 166th Way for about 0.75 mile to a yellow gate and a large parking area to the right.
The trail actually begins at the yellow gate (circled above the parking area on the map below). That’s Clay Pit Road and one good excursion would be just going along the road itself since it’s wide and hard packed gravel.
We turned off on Cave Hole Trail (the oval below) which then continues on and eventually wraps back around towards the parking area, passing a couple of small ponds along the way. You can also switch to the Bypass Trail which then connects to Fred’s Railroad Trail — both are also supposedly wheelchair accessible but we didn’t get a chance to check them out since our daughter was being grumpy.
Key stats:
Distance: 1 mile, or more depending how far you go.
Wheelchair accessible parking? Yes
Wheelchair accessible bathrooms? Maybe
Trail condition? The road is hard packed gravel and plenty wide to avoid the few bumps and potholes. Once you get on the Cave Hole Trail its narrow and mostly dirt with some roots and rocks that aren’t too tough to maneuver over or around. Some small hills as well.
Highlights? It’s a beautiful, forested area, nicely shaded so keeps cool on a warm summer day. There’s some mining history that’s interesting to check out, and though you can’t see the old mine shafts from a wheelchair some of them are viewable to hikers. Still more to explore the next time we return!
More information from the Washington Trails Association website.
