At 5,340 ft., it is located only a 90 minute drive from Seattle. Save Mount Pilchuck for a  clear day, because the views of the Olympics and the Cascades from the old fire lookout on  top are the stuff of dreams. This is one of the few short trails in the region that reaches  the summit of a major peak. Pilchuck was first climbed in 1897 by topographers; by 1918 the U.S.  Forest Service had established a rough trail to the summit. In 1991 the first lookout house was  completed and most recently renovated. You may feel like you're in a fairy tale as the trail winds  through a giant's garden of boulders, flowers and rivulets.