Heather - Maple Pass Loop
2 days ago
Vibrant crimson and scarlet undergrowth
14 this month · 121 reports
Ruby Mountain
North Cascades
updated 1 month ago
Current conditions for Ruby Mountain are mixed, with the unmaintained spur trail presenting some challenges. As of August 12, minor obstacles were posing few problems on the main trail, and the road to the trailhead was suitable for all vehicles. However, reports from earlier in the summer indicated significant blowdowns. Specifically, on July 8, a massive swath of downed trees several layers deep and extending for at least a hundred yards stymied a hiker on the upper section of the trail. Another report from July 10 also mentioned numerous blowdowns that significantly slowed navigation, although a GPX file aided in staying on track. Snow was not an issue for any of the reports. Bugs were noted as an annoyance in both July 10 and July 8 reports, but were not too bad as of August 12.
Generated from 10 trip reports. Trails change faster than reports do, so check anything you’d turn around for.
What hikers ask about Ruby Mountain
Generated from the most recent trip reports, newest 1 month ago. Check anything you’d turn around for.
No trip reports on this trail in 1 month, so everything below is at least that old.
All reports from the summer of 2026 indicate that the road to the trailhead is suitable for all vehicles.
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Trail notes generated from recent reports. Conditions change fast.
Sources
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
Day trip up to Ruby Mountain via Thunder Creek. Arrived to Thunder Creek Trailhead at 5:30am to a nearly empty overnight lot. I knew smoke was going to be an issue with a potential for storms/dry ligh...
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
Ruby Mountain with an overnight Friday at Fourth of July Camp, day hike up to the summit and back to Fourth of July Camp on Saturday, out Sunday morning.Camping at Fourth of July:we got extremely luck...
Older2 months ago
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
I tried to make this a day hike from the trailhead at Colonial Creek campground. About halfway along the segment from 4th of July Pass up to the summit, I got stymied by a massive swath of blowndown t...
Older3 months ago
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
Ruby Mountain via 4thof July RouteWhile Ruby Mountain is certainly doable as a long day hike, we were hoping to secure a camping spot in the North Cascades National Park.Getting there:We left Seattle ...
Older3 months ago
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
Hi We're the Mountain Goats and today I (Terrence) climbed Ruby Mountain. Ruby Mountain is a prominent mountain located between Ross and Diablo Lakes. In fact, it is the 21st most prominent mountain i...
Older17 months ago
North Cascades
This trip report is for the winter route of Ruby up the north side via Happy Creek.Road/trailhead: highway 20 is closed (as of now) at Ross Dam Trailhead -- that may change in near future in which cas...
Older17 months ago
North Cascades
I climbed Ruby Mt. today via Happy creek. Parked at Ross dam overlook highway 20 is still closed. From the closure I walked the road for about .75 of a mile before cutting up hill, through the trees, ...
Older25 months ago
North Cascades
Sunday: Bad news - Red Flag Warning up for east side of the North Cascades; Ruby Fire is almost 400 acres in size; fire suppression efforts using planes and water drops has been reduced as planes have...
Older25 months ago
North Cascades
Just posting as a heads up that Watch Duty shows a new fire just started here. With the Red Flag Warning this has the ability to grow quickly today, so stay safe. Fingers crossed it doesn’t turn into ...
Older26 months ago
North Cascades
Started at 11pm with hopes to make it for sunrise as a day hike. The first section to the bridge went fast as it was pretty flat. After that it got a bit steeper with some switchbacks with the occasio...