Best Dog Friendly Hikes Washington

Best Dog Friendly Hikes Washington – The race or competition to catch them at the right time and see as many people as possible is even called by the locals “Zada Madness”.

Don’t let that stop you! There are plenty of larch hikes in Washington that are affordable for you and your dog.

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I’ve put together this list of great fall hikes with fall larch to help out others like me who don’t let their dogs walk.

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Larch are deciduous conifers with clusters of needles that turn bright yellow in autumn and fall in winter.

Larch can be difficult to spot in summer and spring because their needles are green, blending in with other evergreen trees that grow in the mountains.

However, in the spring, their needles are sometimes a lighter and brighter green than most of the evergreens around them.

If you look closely, you may see small clusters of needles or only a single cone per shoot per cluster of needles.

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As summer progresses, the light green needles darken and eventually turn yellow as the larch prepares to shed its needles to conserve energy for winter.

Many of Washington State’s native tree species are evergreen, meaning they stay green all winter and do not lose their needles.

Another part of seeing golden larches in the fall is that they seem like a treasure hunt because they only grow in certain areas of Washington state.

To add urgency, the dates of this larch viewing window vary from year to year, largely based on humidity and weather levels.

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As the name suggests, these trees only grow in the eastern United States (and parts of Canada).

Specifically, the tamarack tree grows in the upper northeastern United States, from Minnesota to West Virginia, and from eastern Yukon to Newfoundland in Canada.

So if someone in Washington State calls a tree with golden yellow needles the Washington State Tamarack, you can be sure it came from somewhere further east or learned the name from someone who did.

“If you call fireflies in Montana larch or tamarack, it may come down to your roots.

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“The older families here come from Minnesota and Wisconsin and they brought the [Tamarak] name with them,” said Bob Bell, instructor at Flathead Valley Community College.

Bell, on the other hand, said many of Libby’s families are from the Olympic Peninsula. I call it larch.

“Technically, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, in northwestern Montana, it would probably be western larch.

The true tamarack tree – Larix laricina – is not native to Montana or the western larch – Larix occidentalis of the Northwestern United States, the eastern variety of Tamarack grows here.

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But, I admit there is some conflicting information out there. Although this is one of the few sources I have found that links western larch and “tamarack”, they are few and far between.

Some articles, like this one, even conflate the names western larch and “tamarack,” but try to clarify which name should be used:

Western Larch is also known as Mountain Larch, Hackmatack, Tamarack, or Western Tamarack. The Native American name Hackmatack is rarely used and tamarack should be reserved for Larix larcinae in the northeastern United States and Canada.

So to end the debate once and for all, the technically correct name for these Washington state trees is larch.

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However, if someone chooses to call the trees tamarack, let them know that they are referring to the same tree called “larch”.

The fall season officially begins on September 22nd and ends on December 21st, but golden larch trees are usually at their peak from late September to mid-October.

Although the typical larch viewing window is from late September to late December, in my experience, subalpine larch (

This means that the maximum viewing time for subalpine larch is earlier than for western larch.

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If you want to participate in “larch madness,” following the golden hues around the state, you’ll see larch at its peak for 4-6 weeks.

By the end of October, the larch had dropped a significant amount of needles, but I found individual golden larch or small trees that could be photographed until mid-November after the snow began to fall.

Not necessarily their best, golden larches peeking through a thin blanket of snow is a beautiful sight!

If you want to get the timing right, the best way to determine the status of golden yellow larch in an area is to read the Washington Trail Association’s trip reports.

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The locals are very good at putting information out there for later hikes, including how close Larch is to their summit.

To filter the trip report results, you can enter the name of a specific trip in the search field or go to “Advanced Options” and enter Larch in the search line.

Also, while this is just a forecast map, the Smokey Mountains Foliage map covers the entire US and appears to be updated regularly (it’s new to me, so I can’t vouch for accuracy).

Note: Wildfires are common around the United States and especially in the Northwest. Unfortunately, fire season may still be in full swing during larch season. Check Gaia forecast smoke levels (free to use) before you go for the best view

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The most striking larch photos are taken on a clear, sunny day, when the larch stands out against a bright blue sky.

About an hour before sunrise and sunset (called the golden hour by photography enthusiasts) provides a soft light that makes the larches look even more incredible.

Note that most larch hikes are at least 3 miles long, so you should allow enough time to get back to your car before dark or carry a headlamp so you can fix it (recommended only for experienced hikers).

I’ve listed a few hikes below, but there are trails that aren’t on my list (at least not yet) and along the trails you can see golden larch.

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Western larch grows on north-facing slopes at elevations of 2,000-5,500 feet and is found on the edge of Cascade Crest east to Idaho (sometimes slightly west of Cascade Crest).

The largest concentrations are found in northeastern Washington and along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains.

Western Larch can grow up to 170 feet tall and has a triangular shape (long branches under a low, narrow crown).

A really great area to see western larch by car and on foot is the Blewett Pass Highway between Cashmere, WA and Clay Ellum, WA.

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The subalpine larch is much smaller than its cousin, the western larch, and grows to about 70 feet tall.

It has an elevation of 5,800-7,500 feet from Wenatchee, WA north to Canada and east to northern Idaho and western Montana.

It is usually found in cold and snowy areas and/or rocky or astragalized outcrops during winter.

One of my favorite places to see subalpine larch is along Highway 20 near the summit of Washington Pass.

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Although you can get some sun that can be warm during the day, the mornings are cooler at best and it will cool down quickly after the sun goes down.

Fall weather can change quickly in the mountains, so sometimes you can experience all of those weather conditions in the same day!

Add to that, larch grows at elevations of 3,000 feet or more, and you can expect the temperature on your hike to be significantly cooler than the nearest lower-elevation town you used as a place to check the weather .

A general rule of thumb is that the temperature drops about 5°F for every 1,000 feet of elevation.

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So, for example, let’s say you check the daily temperature forecast for Leavenworth, WA, which is 1,171 feet above sea level and should be 60°F.

But the hike you’re doing will take you up to 5,000 feet—a difference of about 4,000 feet.

You should expect temperatures to reach at least 40 °F (60 – (4 x 5)) during the hike, which is remarkably cool!

So the bottom line is that you should be prepared for colder and wetter climbing conditions than summer, and you should be prepared for rapid changes in weather without warning.