Day Hike - Cougar Mountain Loop

Meet at 9:30 AM at the Sky Country Trailhead parking lot, reached by taking either Exit 10 (Coal Creek Parkway) from I-405 or Exit 13 (Lakemont Blvd) from I-90.  From Exit 10, go east on Coal Creek Parkway, turnleft at Forest Drive, left at Lakemont Blvd SE, right at SE Cougar Mountain  Way, right at 166th Way SE  and then right at the end of the road into the Sky Country trailhead parking lot.  From Exit 13, drive south on Lakemont Blvd SE, left at SE Cougar Mountain Way, right at 166th Way SE and then right at the end of the road into the Sky Country trailhead parking lot.  No parking pass is required.

We will hike a counter-clockwise loop by Coal Creek Falls, a deep coal mine ventilating shaft, a now landscaped former clay pit, the best viewpoint in the park and the former Nike missile site.  We'll have our lunch at a picnic table, either at the viewpoint or a nearby picnic shelter, depending on the weather.  There is a portapotty at the trailhead parking lot and near the lunch spot, but not elsewhere on the hike.  There will be bathroom break opportunities  at numerous trail junctions along the hiking route, which is nearly entirely through wilderness terrain.