Green Mountain State Forest: Gold Creek, Beaver Pond, and Wildcat Trail Loop

Green Mountain State Forest: Gold Creek, Beaver Pond, and Wildcat Trail Loop

The Kitsap Peninsula has numerous hiking options. But there is only one Green Mountain, a prominent high point in the middle of a mostly flat and lowlying landscape. Luckily, the second-highest peak in the region provides plenty of good reasons to visit other than just its exclusivity, including an extensive network of trails and great summit views. The Kitsap Peninsula is full of recreation opportunities, with a host of campgrounds, boat launches, and parks available for use. Many Seattle residents keep waterfront cottages on the shores of the Hood Canal or on any of a number of popular lakes and flock across Puget Sound each weekend in the summer for the chance to get away. Yet, despite the primarily undeveloped landscape everywhere outside Bremerton, public trails that climb to significant peaks on Kitsap are few and far between. The obvious exception is Green Mountain State Forest, a managed woodland run by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. At the heart of the 6,000- acre forest are the twin summits of Green and Gold mountains, the two highest points on the peninsula. Gold might hold a slight edge in altitude, but Green is the one to visit, the latter featuring an extensive network of multiuse trails, a central campground, and wide-ranging views from the summit. If you’re looking for a hike on Kitsap, this is the place to go. The slopes of Green Mountain are still considered a “working forest,” so selected stands of trees are periodically harvested for timber. This is not a protected wilderness area; its trails serve a range of recreational users, including hikers, equestrians, mountain bikers, and even all-terrain vehicle riders and motorcyclists. The mountain is sufficiently large and spread out, though, that conflicts between groups are rare, and natural geographic segregation helps to keep human-powered visitors separate from engine-powered ones most of the time.

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