Table Mountain Road

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4/5 (3 reviews)
Ellensburg, Washington (Kittitas County)
Last Updated: 05/01/2020

Trail Information

Highlights

Table Mountain Road begins 17 miles north of Ellensburg, Washington, and brings you into the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Though you’re back in the trees, the view isn’t what you might expect, as you pass through a forest that is dead and burnt. In September of 2012, a lightning storm started several small fires in the area, ultimately merging into one and encompassing over 42,000 acres, causing the nearby town of Liberty to evacuate. This trail also gives you access to Lion Rock; a short trail with a scenic view and a great campsite. Though not always green and lush, this is an easy trail through the forest with some nice views. This trail is part of the Washington Cascade Overland Route. Visit Overlanding Across Washington for more information, including which trails to take next.

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

4/5 (3)
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1100
Open
Visited: 07/15/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

An easy mostly forest road drive with great views from several spurs and camping sites closer to the Lion Rock end.
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700
Open
Rated 4/5
Visited: 09/26/2020

Great shorter section of the Washington Cascade Overland Route. Mostly gravel and dirt roads with about ~15% needing 4x4/high clearance, mostly due to heavily rutted sections of road. A lot more traffic (even in late September) than some sections of the WCOR due to the logging and trails for ORV use. Camped overnight at Lions Rock, the end of the ridge itself was a cold, high-speed wind tunnel but on a calm day that would have been a killer, albeit rocky, spot to overnight. We opted to set up closer to the former campground location(featuring only a surprisingly not terrible camp toilet) in a grassy meadow with a thicket of trees for the wind break, still woke up to stellar views of Ranier when the fog lifted. There were a fair number of campsites along the length of the trail that seemed to be well used, so finding a spot should be no challenge. Like a lot of the WCOR there are very grim reminders of the devastating impact of wildfires, with giant stretches of the trail going thru burned out forest land which at times can feel a bit dystopian.
Trail Review: Table Mountain Road - Meg G.
Trail Review: Table Mountain Road - Meg G.
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19400
Open
Rated 4/5
Visited: 09/14/2019

The trees were a welcome change to the punishing Durr Road and Umtanum Ridge drives from the previous section.
Trail Review: Table Mountain Road - Jasmine & Jon Hughes

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