Day Hike - Iron Goat Trail

The Iron Goat trip was done on two separate Saturdays.

We parked at Martin Creek, took the upper trail to Windy Point, and returned on the ADA lower trail, making it a loop trip. By taking the upper trail and returning on the lower trail, we avoided having to climb up the steep switchbacks, we went down them instead.

The direction to the Martin Creek trailhead on the Mountaineers website are correct. The road was in good condition. Lots of parking at the trailhead. Privy was open. The trail was a bit overgrown, but easy to follow. There were some nettles on the trail.There were lots of interpretive signs and lots of tunnels and artifacts to look at. The short trip to the spillway is worth taking. The west end of the Windy Point tunnel is a good spot for lunch, or continue on about another quarter mile to Windy Point which has beautiful views and lots of places for a group to sit. The trail down to the ADA trail is clearly marked. Take the steep trail down to connect with the lower trail to make it a loop.

We saw butterflies, columbine, lots of tiger lilies, and other flowers. There was also a Pika. No signs or sightings of bears.

The trip was longer than listed on the website. Our trip totaled 8.4 miles, 762 ft gain. This was according the GAIA track.

We left the Monroe Park and ride at 8:00 AM. Arrived at the trailhead and started hiking at 9:30. We stopped for about a half hour for lunch, and were back to the cars at 3:30 PM.