When a three-day weekend coincided with unexpectedly nice weather, we corralled our friends Paul and Stacey (aka The Naturalist) and headed out on a hike at Squak Mountain State Park. Less than an hour from Seattle, this park epitomizes the close-to-home nature that state parks provide. One of the primary functions of state parks is to preserve natural areas within easy reach of urbanites, and Squak Mountain does precisely that. We encountered several cars at the trailhead, and many families, trail runners, and dog walkers during our hike.
An Issaquah Alp
Squak Mountain is part of the Issaquah Alps, the popular name for the foothills between the Cascade Mountains and the Puget Sound lowlands coined by legendary outdoor writer Harvey Manning. Alps these ain’t. The tallest barely clears 3,500’ (Squak is 2,024’). Washington has several mountain passes higher than the the tallest Issaquah Alp, but the catchy name served a larger purpose.
Manning, who lived on Cougar Mountain, the westernmost Issaquah Alp, advocated to keep the foothills wild, writing about the trails on the mountains and their importance to Seattle-area residents. It worked. Today the Issaquah Alps are protected as a patchwork of parklands managed by state, county, regional, and federal agencies. This largely uninterrupted green belt connects Puget Sound to the Cascade Range and offers excellent hiking close to the Seattle metro area.
The Issaquah Alps Trail Club (IATC), which Manning co-founded in 1979, works to maintain the trails for all to enjoy. Their efforts created the 100-mile-long Mountains to Sound Greenway, 1.5 million gorgeous acres along Interstate 90 that contains 1,600 miles of trails connecting Seattle to Ellensburg. In March 2019, Congress designated the Greenway as a National Heritage Area to encourage appreciation of the region’s history. Manning, by the way, is commemorated with a statue at the Trails Center in downtown Issaquah.
On the trail
Squak Mountain has plenty of clearly signed trails to choose from. We headed toward Central Peak, climbing through mature second-growth forest toward the highest of Squak’s three summits. Maple leaves covered the forest floor, where vibrant sword ferns poked through. This is a maritime Northwest forest, and pretty much everything had a green scrim of lichens or moss. It turns out late fall is also prime mushroom season, and The Naturalist kept pointing out pretty cascades and clusters of fungi.
(Lauren Danner photo) 
(Lauren Danner photo) 
(Lauren Danner photo)
After a couple of miles, we reached a sign marking the boundary of the Squak Mountain Natural Area. This designates the original 590-acre mountaintop land donation made to the state by Seattle’s prominent Bullitt family with the stipulation that it be retained in its natural condition. While horses are allowed on the lower-elevation trails, above this point it’s hikers only. We passed through a wooden gate and entered a moss-draped stand of trees, then climbed a steeper pitch.
Entering a flatter wetland section, The Naturalist observed that the area had been logged, probably in the early 20th century. Large cedar stumps hunkered next to much younger trees, hinting at what must have been a magnificent forest. We spotted a bear-clawed tree right next to the trail, another clue that this urban wilderness remains hospitable to big mammals like black bear and mountain lion. On this day, though, we mostly saw birds.
The Bullitts preserve Squak Mountain
After a short walk up a former driveway, we reached an oversized stone fireplace. Along with a few concrete footers and slabs, this is all that remains of the Bullitt cabin, an interesting part of the preservation story of the park.
One of Seattle’s most influential families, over several generations the Bullitts converted a lumber empire into a substantial fortune based in real estate and media. Matriarch Dorothy was born a Stimson, a name synonymous with big timber in Washington. She married lawyer Scott Bullitt, a friend of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was supposed to nominate Roosevelt at the 1932 Democratic Convention but died of liver cancer just before. With three young children to care for, Dorothy found herself in charge of her family’s real estate holdings with virtually no experience in business. She persevered through the Great Depression, earning respect for her business dealings.
In 1947, Dorothy bought a tiny radio station. Two years later, she purchased another radio station and Seattle’s only television station. Her timing was perfect, as the Golden Age of Television was just beginning. She bought the call letters KING (Seattle is in King County) and established King Broadcasting Corporation. After stepping down as president in 1961, Dorothy continued to work in her company office until just before she died in 1989.
Her three children absorbed Dorothy’s commitment to philanthropy and community service. The eldest, Charles Stimson “Stim” Bullitt, succeeded his mother as King Broadcasting Company president. Over the next 20 or so years, he added more media holdings to its portfolio, some less successful than others. Never comfortable in broadcasting, Stim eventually left the company and focused on his career as a successful civil rights and environmental attorney as well as real estate developer. He owned a chunk of downtown Seattle, including some of its most exclusive addresses.
Stim Bullitt was an avid mountaineer. He began buying land atop Squak Mountain in the 1940s, when the area, 15 miles as the crow flies from downtown Seattle, was considered remote. He built a cabin there in 1952, but didn’t use it much, and it deteriorated. Stim instructed his children to determine whether to keep, sell, or donate the property. Thankfully for us, they chose to donate, and the 1972 Bullitt donation is the foundation of today’s park. Washington State Parks eventually acquired another 900-plus acres, creating one of the 20 largest parks in the state park system.
To the summit
The Bullitt Fireplace feels like the top of Squak Mountain, but it’s not. From the cabin site, we counterintuitively headed downhill, then up again, this time to the true summit at Central Peak. There’s no view to speak of, and the trees give way to a forest of radio and microwave antennas. This fenced area, managed by King County and the Bonneville Power Administration, houses several tall antennas bristling skyward. It seems odd at first, but makes sense when I think about the proximity to Seattle.
Down the other side
From the summit, we headed down a service road for a few hundred yards, then turned off onto another trail on Squak’s east side. Following it down to Phil’s Creek, we entered another ecosystem, a riparian zone filled with salmonberry. After crossing a sturdy bridge, the last segment of the hike took us through a lovely upland forest dotted with large erratic boulders left by the retreat of glaciers 16,000 years ago. The sun was fully out, the sky blue overhead.
What does Squak mean?
What about the name Squak? An anglicization of the Lushootseed word /sqʷásxʷ/, it was interpreted phonetically by early settlers as “Asquowk” or “Isquowh.” It is therefore the same word used for the town, valley, and creek now called Issaquah. While the exact meaning is hard to pin down, sources I checked say it means “sound of water birds” or “the sound of the birds.” That made me think of the sound ducks make as they feed in the shallows, a soft musical gabbling that could also sound like water burbling in a creek. It’s interesting to ponder.
One last jaunt
Just before the parking lot, we turned into the short Pretzel Tree Interpretive Trail. Charmingly illustrated signs tell the story of Field Mouse as he explores the forest. Our friends spotted a tiny frog in the leaf litter, adding an amphibian to our list of wildlife. We found the Pretzel Tree (I’m not including a picture, because you should go find it yourself—it’s fun) and headed back to the car and a well-earned snack at a local brewpub.
Squak Mountain’s a bit far to be a backyard park from where we live in Olympia, but for Seattle’s 3.5 million people, this is a close-to-home wilderness gem.
Fast facts about Squak Mountain State Park
- 1,545-acre day-use park
- $10 daily parking pass (buy the annual Discover Pass, a bargain at $30)
- 13 miles of hiking trails, 6 miles of equestrian trails
- birdwatching, wildlife viewing, interpretive trail
- Park map