Tonga Ridge

Well, the kids went back to school this week.  So, on September 1st we did our last hike before school started to Tonga Ridge off of Highway 2.  This is the hike we were planning to do at the beginning of the summer, but got snowed out.  So we tried again last Thursday and there was no snow in sight.

This hike is 6 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 1200 feet. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to complete.

A forest pass is required and there is no outhouse at the trailhead so you might want to stop at the Skykomish ranger station first.

There were a few blowdowns at the beginning of the hike that were easy to get around.

You will start off in the forest among the trees.  What we thought was interesting is that many of the trees grew sideways at one point and then grew upright again.  I researched why this might happen and found that maybe this was a high wind area.  If you have any other ideas let me know.

After about a mile the forest opens up and you will enjoy beautiful views of the mountains the rest of the way.

You also will hike along a path filled on both sides with wildflowers.  We could hear the hum of the bees the rest of the way.  No stings though.

At about 2 miles you will see a serene meadow on your left.

 Keep your eye out for a pink ribbon tied to a tree on your left.  We passed this and went on but didn't have time to turn here on the way down.  You can take a left at the ribbon and hike to a lookout point.

There are many paths you can turn off of on the left that will take you to other lookout points.  We turned off of the path and had great views of the mountains to the south.

The best part of this hike are the views.  You can see majestic and snow capped mountains almost the entire way.  The wildflowers are so colorful and the buzzing bees added to the experience.

Tonga Ridge is hikeable by most ages.  The trail is well maintained but can be quite narrow in some places with steep edges.

I have read trip reports telling of bug issues, but we had no trouble while we were there.  I did have a battery powered bug repellant fan that may have helped.  However, the only bugs we saw were the bees.

To get here drive Highway 2 east 1.8 miles past Skykomish and take a right on Foss River Road no. 68.  (you will be driving on a gravel road the rest of the way to the trailhead) After about 2.5 miles turn left on road no. 6830.  Drive another 7 miles and turn right on road no. 310.  Go another 1.5 miles to the road's end at the trailhead.  This is not much of a parking lot just basically the end of the road.