Above the Methow: A Hike to Goat Peak Lookout through the Wildflowers
The upper ridge approach to Goat Peak, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest visible in the distance.
Goat Peak Lookout sits above the Methow Valley, our favorite ski area. We’d skied laps around the valley floor, but had yet to visit in the summer to climb up for the top-down view. This time we traded our skis for hiking boots and found the landscape transformed. The snow-covered trails were gone, replaced by a vibrant carpet of subalpine wildflowers.
Almost immediately after stepping on the trail we were rewarded with a sea of wildflowers seemingly growing out of rocks. Indian Paintbrush, columbine, balsamroot, and larkspur all played host to a variety of flittering butterflies basking in the summer heat.
The higher we climbed, the more the trees thinned, eventually giving way to the exposed ridge leading to the lookout. Once you crest the final ridge of the mountain, the scale of the North Cascades hits you all at once. From the 7,001-foot summit, the view stretches across the Methow toward the jagged, snow-dusted peaks of Silver Star Mountain. Standing there, looking out over the same landscape we usually see from the ski trails below, the perspective shift was as rewarding as the climb itself.
Tucked away on the steep, rocky slopes below the ridge, we spotted a mountain goat resting quietly in a patch of shade cementing the namesake for the peak.
Goat Peak Lookout sits at 7000 feet, high above the Methow Valley, and offers panoramic 360-degree views of the North Cascades, the Pasayten Wilderness, and the valley below.
Searching for our favorite ski trails in the Methow Valley.
Silver Star Mountain - fun fact, its jagged "Burgundy Spire" and "Wine Spires" are a favorite among climbers.
Goat Peaks legendary namesake resting in the shade.
Checkerspot butterfly, resting in between drinks.
