Cougar Mountain

Cougar Mountain is a 22 square mile cluster of highlands in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington, southeast of the intersection of Interstate 90 and I-405. Reaching as high as 1,595 feet above sea-level, three square miles of Cougar Mountain were preserved by King County (beginning in 1983) as a Regional Wildland Park. With over fifty miles of forest trails providing a true wilderness experience literally on Seattle's doorstep, the park doubled in area by 1999 through piecemeal acquisitions to become the largest urban wildland in the United States. City nickname Emerald City City bird Great Blue Heron City flower Dahlia City mottos The City of Flowers The City of Goodwill City song Seattle, the Peerless City Mayor Greg Nickels County King County Area   - Total   - Land   - Water   - % water 369. ... King County is the name of a number of counties in the United States of America: King County, Texas: named for William Phillip King, who lost his life in the Battle of the Alamo. ... 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Access

The main trailheads are Red Town in Newcastle, elevation 600 feet, at the site of an old coal-mining company town, Radar Park in Bellevue, elevation 1,400 feet, where a radar installation for Nike missiles was located during the Cold War, and Wilderness Creek, elevation 400 feet, on State Route 900 near May Valley Road. There are several lesser trailheads providing access from neighborhoods abutting the park.

Geography

The park is bordered on the north by the City of Bellevue and on the northeast by the City of Issaquah. Neighboring Squawk Mountain looms over State Route 900 on the southeast and the farms of May Creek valley lie to the south. To the southwest is the City of Renton. The Kennydale Hill, bane of commuters on I-405, is a shoulder of Cougar Mountain on the west which rises abrubtly from Lake Washington to the City of Newcastle. Bellevue (French, meaning beautiful view) is the name of several places in Canada: Bellevue, Alberta Bellevue, Newfoundland and Labrador Bellevue, Ontario Bellevue, Prince Edward Island Bellevue, Saskatchewan Bellevue is the name of several places in the United States of America: Bellevue, Kentucky Bellevue, Michigan Bellevue, Nebraska Bellevue, Ohio Bellevue, Washington... Issaquah is a city located in King County, Washington. ... Renton is a city located in King County, Washington, immediately southeast of Seattle. ... Places on Earth named Newcastle Australia Newcastle, New South Wales Canada Newcastle, New Brunswick Newcastle, Ontario West Indies Newcastle, Nevis, Saint Kitts and Nevis South Africa Newcastle, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa United Kingdom Newcastle, Northern Ireland Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire, Wales Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyneside, England Newcastle-under-Lyme...

Hydrography

Creeks

The hilltops of Cougar Mountain form a rough horseshoe-shape around the Klondike Marsh headwaters of Coal Creek, which runs northwest to Lake Washington through Coal Creek Park. Far Country Creek, Cabbage Creek, and Wilderness Creek are tributaries of May Creek, draining the south side of Cougar Mountain to Lake Washington. Deeply etching the sandstone Precipice on the north and east side, Lewis Creek, Kline Creek, AA Creek, West Tibbets Creek, and Newcastle-Queen Creek carry their water to Lake Sammamish. There are three named waterfalls within Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, Coal Creek Falls, Far Country Falls, and Doughty Falls. In Coal Creek Park Sandstone Falls and North Fork Falls can be found. Coal Creek can refer to: Coal Creek in Colorado Coal Creek Township in Indiana Coal Creek in Washington state Coal Creek in British Columbia This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Lake Washington is the second largest natural lake in Washington state, USA, behind Lake Chelan, and the largest lake in King County. ... Lake Sammamish is a lake 13 km (8 mi) east of Seattle in King County, Washington, United States. ...

Marshes

• Klondike Swamp - Former reservoir providing water for coal-car steam hoists.
• Tibbett's Marsh - Source of West Tibbett's Creek, crossed by a massive downed cedar log.

Link to Map

ftp://extranet.metrokc.gov/gis/Web/VMC/recreation/CM_0503_VMC.pdf