Mount Cavanaugh

Summit #56 of 70--December 23, 2023

It’s been a slow week for peakbaggage, but Keith and I managed an easy one yesterday—Mount Cavanaugh near its namesake lake in Skagit County. The entire hike is just a walk up a logging road, five miles round trip with an 1,100-foot elevation gain. But plenty scenic and worth the scamper (except when they’re logging).

Clouds swirled around us on the way up, but the blue was breaking through. By the time we reached the big view, wisps of clouds were rapidly clearing out, revealing the lake below and even Glacier Peak in the distance.

On the way down, with the clouds now out of the way, we also enjoyed a great view of Bald Mountain (below), a striking knob of ancient seafloor lava rising about two miles to the north.

Access to Mount Cavanaugh is easy to find on the south side of Lake Cavanaugh Road about nine miles east of SR 9. We found plenty of room to park near the gate. Simply cross the bridge over Pilchuck Creek and walk up the main road to the top, generally keeping right, but left at a rock quarry. The summit is state land, but the lower section may cross private timber land, so respect signs, if any, and don’t block the road.

When you reach the top, continue south-ish on a narrower path (old road grade) to see the lake below. The true summit is close by to the northwest, but nothing special and no real view. For a shorter walk and almost the same view, one could hike just the first 1.5 miles to a switchback vista and turn around there.