Trip Report
Coal Creek Natural Area - Red Town Trailhead to Newcastle Beach
A surprisingly lovely gem of a trail tucked away in an urban jungle, with regional history to be learned.
Tyler Stevens
- Fri, Mar 27, 2026
- Coal Creek Natural Area
- Day Hiking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Trail was well maintained, with a few muddy patches. Portapotties at the trailhead at Red Town, bathrooms with warm water at Newport Beach (which was an add on).
There is a section by coal creek parkway where construction forces you off the trail and over paved roads briefly before rejoining the trail on the other side. It was well marked.
A lovely hike through a long creek ravine with room to spread out in many sections and room for the soul to spread out among the broad canopy in an otherwise urban setting.
We hiked with a good group of people who kept a steady clip throughout, and made it 11 miles RT from Red Town Trailhead on Cougar Mountain to New Castle Beach Park on Lake Washington in around 6 hours with a decent lunch stop at the beach and occasional fascinating history and naturalist lessons by the leader.
A word to the wise though: from Red Town to New Castle Beach and back, with all the ups and downs, the total elevation gain was around 2,000’, as evidenced by multiple tracking devices in our group and the fact that I logged more elevation gain on mine than a hike to Grand Prospect last week. But these ups and downs were spread out and it really was a pleasant trek!