Green Mountain Hike and Social

Note: Starting May 11th Green Mountain hikes start around 5:30-5:45.

If this is your first time, or first time hiking with us this year, please read the entire text below for details on the hike, our expectations of participants, etc.

Are you ready for your midweek workout? The Green Mountain After Work Hike and Social will begin again on April 6, 2023 and  continue through September. Plan on being at the Gold Creek trailhead and prepared to hike by 5:00-5:30 pm (depending on time of year–we start a little earlier when there is less daylight). Be sure to bring a headlamp – just in case! Hikes will occur every Thursday evening, weather permitting (see note below).

These hikes have been very popular and are a great opportunity to meet hikers of all abilities from the Peninsula Wilderness Club, Kitsap Outdoors Meetup and the Kitsap Hikers Group on Facebook. We have had close to 50 hikers show up on past events. All are welcome to attend and share a snack at the summit.

Please see the notes below about bringing your dogs, or if you are new to hiking Green Mountain.

PARKING AND CARPOOL – A Discover Pass is required for parking at the Gold Creek trailhead. You are responsible for bringing a Discover Pass, or riding with someone who has one if you intend to park a vehicle at the trailhead. The Discover Pass can be purchased at Walmart, Big-5, Fred Meyer, REI and Sportsman’s Warehouse as well as the Discover Pass Website. The yearly pass is $30 but will probably cost more after service fees. As of 2013, the pass is transferable between two vehicles.

A good place to rideshare from is the parking area at the Wildcat Lake County Park (not to be confused with Wildcat Trailhead) as a park-n-ride. It’s free to park there. If you drive, watch your speed. The sheriff has been known to pull over speeders on the way out to the trailhead. If you are looking for a rideshare partner, the Kitsap Hiker’s Facebook page is a good place to start. The hike sponsors do not facilitate or make carpool arrangements.

We attempt to have a trip sponsor on each hike (see below for host details), but life happens, so please be prepared in the event that a sponsor can’t make it. If a trip sponsor can’t be there, an attempt will be made to announce this on the Kitsap Hikers Facebook page sometime before the hike. The hikes are for the most part, autonomous, as there is almost always someone hiking each week. Regardless of that fact however, an attempt will be made for a host to be there. Bottom line – ultimately you are responsible for yourself on these hikes. If you are counting on a trip leader to be there because it is your first time or you don’t want to hike alone, it is your responsibility to find out if a trip leader will be there.

DOGS – Your pets are welcome, but per the Green Mountain and Tahuya State Forest DNR webpage, they are required to be on leash unless you are on horseback. Furthermore, we love to see you folks show up with your pets. Please keep your dogs away from the picnic table and stirring up dust and begging for food and/or fighting with other dogs while we are socializing with one another at the summit. Please don’t put us in the situation to have to ask you not to bring your pet because it won’t behave.

NEW? – Great! If you want to hike with someone, be sure to make that known to whoever the trip sponsor for that week might be. Most folks in the group hike at their own speed and will meet up at the top as a group for snacks and socializing. The same goes for heading back to the trailhead. Everyone goes their own speed. The summer season is long and occasionally there will not be a sponsor. There is usually always someone there however, so if you have a fear of being left behind and hiking alone, say something to someone. We’re a nice group and we won’t bite, but you must let someone know.

What is the actual hike like? The hike is about 4 miles round trip and about 1000 feet of elevation gain. It takes most people somewhere between 40 minutes to an hour to reach the top.

Directions from Bremerton: From Kitsap Way exit near Bremerton. Turn west on to Kitsap Way going up the hill away from Bremerton. If you were coming from Tacoma on Hwy 3 you would be turning left on Kitsap Way.
1. Turn left onto Kitsap Way for 1.4 mi
2. Slight left onto Northlake Way NW for 1.1 mi
3. Slight left onto Seabeck Hwy NW for 3.0 mi
4. Turn left onto NW Holly Rd for 4.2 mi
5. Turn left onto Lake Tahuyeh Rd NW for 1.2 mi
6. Slight left onto Gold Creek Rd NW for approximately 1.5 mi. Trailhead parking lot is on the left.

Directions from Silverdale: From Newberry Hill exit near Silverdale. Turn west on to Newberry Hill Rd going up the hill away from Silverdale. If you were coming from Tacoma on Hwy 3 you would be turning left on Newberry Hill Rd.
1. Head west on NW Newberry Hill Rd for 3.1 mi
2. Turn left onto Seabeck Hwy NW for 2.0 mi
3. Turn right onto NW Holly Rd for 4.2 mi
4. Turn left onto Lake Tahuyeh Rd NW for 1.2 mi
5. Slight left onto Gold Creek Rd NW for approximately 1.5 mi. Trailhead parking lot is on the left.

Weather permitting you say? Now we know some of you are masochists that will hike in any weather and are not afraid to tell everyone about it, HA! But some of us think hiking in the rain is a real bummer man. As a host that has pulled into the trailhead on a few occasions when it was raining and seen not a single car there will tell you, – we reserve the right to cancel for weather.

Trip Sponsors: The Peninsula Wilderness Club sponsors for the Green Mountain Weekly hikes are usually attended by one of the following: Doug Savage, Doug terry, John Stieber, and Joey Sim. Generally, on every hike, one of us will be there, but sometimes not. If you need to know who will be the host for any given week, ask us on our Facebook page (see link below). Talk to one of us on one of the hikes if you would be willing to host some hikes this year.

If your question hasn’t been answered already in this entry, head over to the Kitsap Hikers Facebook Page or the Peninsula Wilderness Club’s Facebook Page and post your question there as they are our primary discussion areas for this hike.