Yellow Aster Butte
North Cascades
As of August 2, 2026, Yellow Aster Butte offers stunning wildflower displays and expansive mountain views. The trail is consistently reported as steeper than the official mileage suggests, with most trackers recording over 8 miles roundtrip. Wildflowers are abundant throughout, particularly in the meadows.
Snow is largely gone from the trail, though a few small patches may persist. The road to the trailhead has potholes but is generally passable for most vehicles with care, though lower clearance cars might find it challenging. Parking is limited and can be difficult; arriving early is recommended. Bugs were noted as present, especially in sheltered areas and at the tarns, with flies being a minor nuisance on the summit. Some hikers have reported loose rock on the final ascent to the true summit, leading some to turn back. A group of mountain goats was observed to be stressed and potentially aggressive in early July, so caution is advised.
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This is a beautiful hike with amazing view throughout of Mt Baker and Mt Shuskan and 360 views on top of the butte but don't let the WTA stats (7.5mi RT and 2550' elevation gain) fool you in thinking ...
Great overnight trip. Road was bumpy but fun (I drive an old Subaru forester). We arrived at 10:30am on Friday July 31 and the parking lot was already full, we parked on the side of the road a few hun...
Wow is about all I can say from so much beauty. I haven’t done this hike in ages and had forgotten how fantastic it is.Parking along the narrow FS road can be slightly problematic but if you arrive ea...
Woweeeee what a beautiful trail! 360 views on the top of yellow aster butte. Saw three marmots and a western toad.It seems that the trail may be longer than mileage here my watch shows 8.6.
This was my first time hiking this trail and it was beautiful! We got there about 7:30am and were at the top around 11:00am. It was pretty cloudy and chilly at the top, so we ate lunch and headed back...
driving to the trailhead in a sedan was a bit rough. lots of potholes, not paved. if you have an suv, defs bring that.trail was well paved though! i knew by the way we were going up, coming down was g...
Had a lot of fun doing Yellow Aster Butte as an overnight. Started around noon on Sunday just as it was getting hot but liked that most of the uphill portion was in the shade of trees. Reached the jun...
Wildflowers are fantastic right now - loads of valerian, bistort, arnica, and a good scattering of paintbrush, lupines (the ones that smell delicious like a grape otterpop), bog orchids, at least thre...
Great views throughout and the majesty of mountain ranges from the ‘Faults Summit’Nice folks on the mountains 🤙🏼
This remains one of my favorite hikes. In fact, it is in my top four every year. It is hard to imagine a more beautiful hike. The trek is steep at the start but after the initial climb, it levels out ...
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