
What we’re about
Welcome to the Northwest Hikers 55 Plus website.
FYI: This is a “meetup group”, NOT the “meetup+” which requires a paid subscription, and additional benefits.
Here is the difference between the two: https://www.meetup.com/.blog/new-to-meetup-plus-October-2024/
Our leadership team is made up of volunteers who enjoy experiencing the great scenery the Pacific Northwest region has to offer. We invite like-minded novice or experienced hikers who are ages 55 and up to join us when they can.
To enjoy our surroundings as well as allow for visiting with our fellow hikers, WE SET A SOCIAL PACE and stay with the group.
To be an OFFICIAL MEMBER, it includes:
1. A CLEAR recent picture of yourself without sunglasses, so we can recognize you on our hikes; your first real name and last name initial.
NOTE: “translucent sunglasses” are acceptable if face is clearly recognizable.
2. An annual WAIVER: Consent, Release Agreement, and Authorization form with a handwritten signature.
3. An annual $10 fee which covers the $389.48 Meet up website expenses, donation to WTA and Northwest Avalanche Center, and annual picnic.
When both waiver and fee are received, the symbol @ and the year goes on your profile, ex:@25. This symbol signifies you are an official member, and can rsvp on hikes and attend its events.
THANK YOU,
Northwest Hikers 55 Plus team
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Spring Fling! Let's go camping (and hiking, of course!)Needs location
Let’s go camping and hiking for a few days on the other side of the Cascades. Central Washington weather in late April is usually quite nice, sunny, but not too hot. Spring wildflowers are expected to be blooming, and no reservations are needed for our lovely state park campgrounds. Please come with tall tales and s'mores fixings for around the campfire, plus good spirits and flexibility, because plans may change. Feel free to join us for any or all activities. Or just show up and be the camp cook!
Pass: Discover Pass.
Day 1 (Monday): Get yourself and your gear to Lake Wenatchee State Park – South Entrance – for our first overnight.
Night 1: Lake Wenatchee SP South Campground.
https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/lake-wenatchee-state-park
Day 2: Pack up camp and drive 43 miles to Horse Lake Reserve for our wildflower hike in the Wenatchee foothills. Some of you will remember this from a few years ago.
Hike Horse Lake Reserve: 5.2 miles, 700’ gain, elev. 2,410’
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/horse-lake-reserve
Or Twin Peaks/Horse Lake Mountain
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/twin-peaks-horse-lake-mountain
(The WTA description isn't great, but it's well laid-out in Craig Romano's Central Cascades guidebook)
Drive 26 miles to Sun Lakes/Dry Falls State Park.
Optional short hike along the route: Lenore Lake Caves: 1.5 miles RT, 200’ gain, elev 1,300’. Trailhead is 6 miles from campground.
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/lenore-lake-caves
https://parks.wa.gov/about/news-center/field-guide-blog/lake-lenore-caves-state-park-heritage-site-history
Night 2: Sun Lakes/Dry Falls State Park
https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/sun-lakes-dry-falls-state-park
https://parks.wa.gov/about/news-center/field-guide-blog/sun-lakes-dry-falls-state-park-history
Day 3: Hike Umatilla Rock: 5 miles, 100’ gain; trailhead is a 10-minute drive from campground.
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/go-hiking/hikes/umatilla-rock-monument-coulee
Visit Dry Falls Overlook (about a mile north of Sun Lakes SP on Highway 17)
Night 3: Steamboat Rock State Park
https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/steamboat-rock-state-park
Day 4: Hike Moses Coulee, Steamboat Rock, or Northrup Canyon, tbd. Decision to be made the day of the hike based on group enthusiasm and additional research.
Moses Coulee: 4 miles RT, no gain, 1,750’ elev.; 45-minute drive to trailhead from the campground.
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/moses-coulee-preserve
Northrup Canyon: 3 miles RT, 384 gain, 2,134’ elev.; 11-minute drive to trailhead.
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/northrup-canyon
Steamboat Rock: 6 miles RT, 650’ gain, 2,250’ elev.; 20-minute walk to trailhead.
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/steamboat-rock
Drive 75 miles to Alta State Park.
Night 4: Alta Lake State Park (preferred) or Entiat City Park (depending on Day 5 hike and if Hwy 20 is open for the season)
https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/alta-lake-state-park
https://www.entiatwa.us/your_community/parks/entiat_city_park.php
Day 5 (Friday) Pack up and drive 60 miles (1.25 hours) to Sawanke Canyon (south of Entiat) or drive further on Hwy 2 to somewhere near Leavenworth and do a low elevation hike near there if we find one
Sawanke Canyon: 6 miles, 1,470’ gain, elev. 2,980; 1.25-hour drive SW of Alta Lake SP.
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/swakane-canyon
From WTA: Swakane Canyon is a nice two season hike on an old road with views of the Columbia River valley from Badger Mountain to Wenatchee. Enroute you may see spring flowers, unique rock formations, and animals like deer, coyotes, snakes and hawks. The last part of the drive to the trailhead sounds tough, but there is apparently parking before that starts (see the WTA article and April 2023 trip report)
Home Friday night.
*** If Hwy 20 isn’t open between Mazama and Marblemount, Julie will need to head home earlier, or from a more southerly point (to cross back over Hwy 2) because she has an art opening on Saturday, April 26.