Rattlesnake Ledge Hike Family Hike

Early this morning we took the boys to hike up Rattlesnake Ledge. We were still kind of on East Coast time so we left pretty early and got to the trailhead around 7:30am from my brother's house in Kenmore. This is probably the earliest we've taken the kiddos on a hike but they were ok. The trail is located in North Bend and it took us about 50 minutes to get there. The trail is off I-90 East off of exit 32 (436th Ave. SE) and fairly easy to find.  

Being a weekday and so early, we had no trouble finding parking. If you ever go, it is best to go on a weekday and early because this hike is very popular and known for being crowded. We found a parking spot in one of the earlier parking spaces closer to the lake. Below is a pic of the ledge, our hiking destination.

The trail is nicely marked and easy to follow.

It was so nice to see so much green again. Being in Jersey for so long, I didn't realize how much I missed the lush green forests till we came back.

The trail is a moderate hike and climbs up most of the way to the ledge. On the way up were a few markers to tell you how far you had gone. See below, the white triangle.

My 5 year old had a harder time than usual since he wasn't used to climbing up the whole time. We took a lot more rest and water breaks but he did it. :) This is the sign you come to when you are getting pretty close to the ledge. You follow the trail to the right for the views.

There are some nice views at the top and like the "caution" sign says steep cliffs. Be especially careful with the kiddos as there are very steep cliffs. The weather didn't cooperate with us today as it wasn't a clear sunny day, but we still enjoyed the views that we saw. We could see Mt. Si, but it was partly clouded over.

We made a little friend on the ledge. The boys loved watching the little chipmunk scamper around. We were surprised it was so friendly but I'm sure it was because it was so used to so many people around with the hike being so popular.

We had actually done the hike back in 2009 when Payton was about 3 months old. See below pic.

And here's a pic of me and Payton from today's hike.

Pretty amazing how much the kids grow and so fast! :)

In all, I thought this was a great hike for the kids. Probably best for 5 year olds and up, but if you have a kid carrier it's great for the younger kids too. Our 3 year old was blabbing away in our Deuter backpack that my husband carries him in. For the most part it can be challenging going up (1160 ft elevation gain), but they can do it. The hike is 2 miles up and 2 miles down. It took us two hours to get up the ledge with all the breaks we took. My five year old wanted to run down the mountain with me so it actually took us just 30 minutes to get down. Sometimes I can't believe how fast the little guy can be. We made it fun by singing silly songs on the way down. :)

At the bottom, while waiting for my husband to come down with our 3 year old, we hung out at the lake.

We really enjoyed the hike and would definitely recommend it to others. I'd definitely do it again if it were a nice day just to see the views!