Everyone Should Have a Little Mountain Park

View of Mount Baker from one of the viewpoints on Little Mountain

Little Mountain Park is located in Mount Vernon, Washington. There are approximately 10 miles of trails that can be accessed. It is shared with hikers and bikers alike, but with the many trails one doesn’t see many people while hiking.

When we first moved to Mount Vernon, I was wondering if I might be able to find somewhere to hike on a daily basis. Little Mountain was mentioned, but few seemed to know much about it. Remarkably, it is located just 10-12 minutes from my home by car.

It has become an integral part of my life since moving here. I hike well over 200 days per year. One of the tremendous aspects of Little Mountain is that you can hike it in so many different ways. You can take hikes ranging from 30 minutes to three hours, flat or steep. Each side of the mountain has a different feel, so you can vary it day by day.

There are viewpoints on the North and West sides of the mountain. You can look out over the Skagit Valley to the Olympic Mountains or to the North towards Canada and a view of the majestic Mount Baker and the Skagit River below. You can see both the Olympic Mountain range and Cascade Mountain range.

It is a meditative place for me that marks time passing for me. I get to experience the four seasons. Watch fall move in and leaves falling from overhead. The stillness and cold of the winter, the energy and birth of spring and the warmth and dryness of summer. I get to ponder whatever is happening in my own life while cruising through a lush green environment with a canopy that protects me from the rain above.

Occasionally I can get family members to join me, but for the most part it has been solo hikes and that works for me. Everybody should have a place like Little Mountain to retreat to.