Length: 3.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 900 feet

After my failure to complete the Steamboat Rock hike (post on that one coming later, but to summarize: my body decided to cripple itself with a fear of heights halfway through), I needed to finish one for the sake of my bruised ego.

I’m still obsessed with fire lookouts, so I went to go check out another one. The Kelly Butte Lookout is on the outskirts of Mt Rainier National Park — far enough out that you don’t need to pay the Rainier admission fee to get to this one. Unlike the Heybrook Tower I visited a few weeks ago, this one was open when I got there so I got to peek inside, look at the fire finder, and sign the guest book!

Anyone know how to use this thing? Not me!

The trickiest part about this hike is just getting your car to the trailhead. You have to take a few unmarked forest roads, though the WTA directions are spot on, so follow those and not Google Maps because the latter definitely tries to make you drive through some roads you’re not supposed to be on so that you’ll come across a path blocked by some very confused and concerned campers as you suddenly careen out of the trees. Oops.