Mt. Marathon Jeep Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · River/Creek · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

You'll almost miss the trailhead if you are not driving slow, as it is almost hidden between two houses. Once you find the trailhead, you'll notice how large the trail is. Unlike many singletrack trails in the area, this route is the jeep trail that climbs Mt. Marathon and continues up past the tree line.

The way will be rocky and the trail won't smooth out for about 1.5 miles. Once you reach a certain elevation where the trail does smooth out the going becomes somewhat easy for a bit. Especially as things level off, you'll enjoy a less strenuous mile. In this mile, you'll be in a small valley with lots of mountain grass and fireweed. If you turn around, you can see parts of town and open ocean for miles. You'll also see many boats coming into port.

After you get past the meadow the trail will begin to gain elevation fast. You'll work your way past two steep elevation gains before you can relax again. Once the trail starts leveling off, you'll start heading up to what is locally known as "the bowl." You'll only make it about halfway through this feature before intersecting with the trail to the top. Here is where the Jeep Trail comes to an end

If you want to continue past this point to reach the summit, there will be a mix of terrain to get there. The way is fairly easy until you get to the climbing. You'll have to overcome some narrow singletrack about a half a mile. As a reward, you'll have great views the whole way!

Very dense forest until you reach the tree line. Once here you will find a lot of fireweed and mountain grass. Watch for mountain goats, moose, birds, and rare sitting of bears.