Highwire Ridge

Washington Hiking & Climbing

If you are like me, driving in traffic through Sultan and Startup is torture. My eyes always start wandering off the road to a certain knob which tempts the mind...climb me, come climb me. The isolated knob I refer to is Highwire Ridge, a 600+ prominent uplift just north of the highway. For those not into dumpster hiking, recently the summit was harvested offering sweeping views across the Puget Sound lowlands. Take the family, it's a nice hike, with two viewpoint options.

At the east end of Sultan, take the Sultan Basin Road. Follow it north for 2.2 miles to a sharp right turn. Then. in 0.4 miles the Sultan Basin Road will make a sharp left turn. Stay straight at this point, onto 112th St. SE, and follow it to a dead end and yellow gate after 0.5 miles. There is only room for 2 or so cars.

Access:

Distance: 2 miles
Summit Elevation: 1,290 feet
Elevation Gain: 250 feet
Road Access: Paved

Highway 2 Hiking

From the yellow gate, follow the road for 0.6 miles to a right turn that drops down a short bit. Follow this spur for 10 minutes to a fantastic view. For the area highpoint, back at the main road, keep going 0.2 miles further to a Y. Go left uphill following this road (ignoring side spurs) to the base of the highpoint (at a 4 way intersection). Go straight, up the steep road as it wraps up and around the summit. At the road highpoint is a great eastern view and the summit can be tagged by a short bushwhack.

Route: