AMBLEWAY Wildest hikes
Views from Norse Peak, 9 November 2025 03.jpg
Wilderness trespasser · CC BY-SA 4.0
Norse Peak Wilderness

Goat Lake–Pickhandle Gap, 7 sights

13.9 mi · ▲ 4,111 ft · 6 hr 41 min

Goat Lake–Pickhandle Gap, 7 sights is a 13.9-mile out-and-back in Norse Peak Wilderness near Cougar Valley, WA. The route passes Pickhandle Gap and Scout Pass before reaching Goat Lake at the turnaround, 6.9 miles in. It climbs 4,111 ft, with sections as steep as 26% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 88/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.

Elevation

0 mi4,856 – 6,841 ft · steepest grade: 26%14.1 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Bear Gap Trail #967 46.91160, -121.46514
Nearest town Cougar Valley, WA
Google Maps Apple Maps

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Goat Lake–Pickhandle Gap, 7 sights

13.9 mi · ▲ 4,111 ft · 6 hr 41 min

Elevation 4,856–6,840 ft

Out & Back · Norse Peak Wilderness

Trailhead: Bear Gap Trail #967 · 46.91160, -121.46514

Weather Sep 20: sunrise 6:51 AM · sunset 7:09 PM

  1. Start on Bear Gap Trail #967, heading NE.
  2. 0.4 miContinue straight onto Fog City Trail #967A, heading NE.
  3. 0.8 miTurn right onto Pacific Crest Trail, heading E.
  4. 50 ftPass Pickhandle Gap.
  5. 2.9 miPass Scout Pass.
  6. 50 ftTurn left, heading NE.
  7. 0.4 miContinue straight onto Norse Peak View Trail, heading NE.
  8. 0.7 miSharp left onto Norse Peak Trail, heading NW.
  9. 0.9 miBear right onto Goat Lake Trail, heading N.
  10. 0.2 miTurn right, heading N.
  11. 0.3 miContinue straight onto Goat Lake Spur, heading E.
  12. 0.4 miReach Goat Lake, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  13. 0.4 miContinue straight onto Goat Lake Trail, heading SE.
  14. 0.5 miBear left onto Norse Peak Trail, heading S.
  15. 0.9 miSharp right onto Norse Peak View Trail, heading S.
  16. 1.1 miTurn right onto Pacific Crest Trail, heading S.
  17. 1.4 miBear right, heading S.
  18. 1.6 miTurn left onto Fog City Trail #967A, heading SW.
  19. 0.8 miContinue straight onto Bear Gap Trail #967, heading SW.
  20. 0.4 miArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail map, photos and weather for this hike: www.ambleway.com/hikes/goat-lake-goat-lake-out-back-4-saddles-22-km

Trail surface

100% dirt

Weather

Sunrise 6:51 AMSunset 7:09 PM

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 3.9 mi in (~148 min). Leave by 4:22 PM for the 7:09 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:04 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

More sunset hikes nearby

Other ways to reach this destination

More from Bear Gap Trail #967 Trailhead

Hikes near Cougar Valley, Washington