Hiking Yellow Aster Butte in the Mount Baker Wilderness
Contents
Yellow Aster Butte Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 13.20Km (8.20 Miles)
Elevation Gain: 865m (2,838 Ft.)
Highest Elevation: 1,868m (6,129 Ft.)
Average Gradient: 13.10%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 5 – 6 Hours
– Moderate: 4 – 5 Hours
– Fast: 3 – 4 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: ~June to October
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Yellow Aster Butte Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 48°56’36.1″N 121°39’45.5″W
Yellow Aster Butte Overview
Yellow Aster Butte is a very popular hike in the Mount Baker Wilderness of northern Washington, drawing in crowds throughout the summer, but particularly in the fall when the entire region becomes bathed in reds, oranges and yellows throughout. Despite its fairly moderate elevation, the summit of Yellow Aster Butte lies between numerous iconic mountains (namely Canadian/American Border Peak, Mount Larrabee, Tomyhoi Peak, Mount Shuksan, Mount Baker, Mount Sefrit, Goat Mountain and Winchester Mountain) and offers panoramic views of them all from the top, and indeed for much of the hike.
Thanks to multiple alpine lakes located directly below Yellow Aster Butte, this is also a very popular area for backcountry camping, with countless campsites spread throughout. It’s also a dog friendly region, plus a great place for a trail run. All in all, there are many reasons why Yellow Aster Butte is popular, but thankfully it lives up to the hype as the views are outstanding for much of the hike.
Accessing the trailhead requires a fairly long drive up Twin Lakes Road, which is heavily potholed in sections. Still, all vehicles can make it to the trailhead with some careful driving. On a sunny fall weekend you can expect cars to be lined up along both sides of the FSR a long way down the road, so an early start is strongly recommended if you want to park at the trailhead proper.
In terms of seasonality, Yellow Aster Butte is typically a summer hike given that Twin Lakes Road is snow covered throughout the winter and much of spring, generally only thawing to this elevation by late spring/early summer. As such, July to October is the peak season, though a little earlier will work if you don’t mind snow. If you want to see the fall colours you should aim to visit in the last week of September and first two weeks of October, typically. It can’t be overstated how busy this hike is on any sunny weekend during that period, however.
As noted, dogs are welcome on this hike, and you will likely see a lot.
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Is Yellow Aster Butte worthwhile?
Yellow Aster Butte offers incredible views for relatively moderate effort, and it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. If you time it for the fall it only gets more impressive, but anytime in the summer will be good. The only drawback is just how popular it is, so if you can time it for a weekday or at least begin your hike early to avoid crowds, that will add to your experience no doubt. Camping at the lakes and summiting before the day hikers arrive is another worthwhile option.
How difficult is the hike to Yellow Aster Butte?
At just 13.20km (8.20 Miles) and 865m (2,838 Ft.) elevation gain, this is a perfectly manageable hike for most abilities. The majority of parties will be finished within 4 – 5 hours at a moderate pace. Even then, some parties opt to skip the true summit, stopping at the false summit that you initially climb. This would reduce the hike to around 12km (7.5 Miles) and 750m (2,461 Ft.).
Technically speaking this is a very straightforward hike following a trail the entire time. Reaching the false summit is merely just hiking. The true summit requires some very simple scrambling that most parties should find easy, with no exposure.
Yellow Aster Butte Route Information
The trailhead for Yellow Aster Butte is pretty much just on the side of the FSR (see coordinates). There is very little designated parking, but thankfully the FSR is wide enough to fit quite a lot of cars. Still, if you get there late on a sunny summer weekend, you can expect to be parked a long way down the FSR, which would leave you with a steep climb up just to reach the trailhead. The FSR is rough in spots, but most of it is well groomed. Overall, any car can reach the trailhead with some careful driving.
At the trailhead you will find a washroom and information signage. The trail immediately enters the forest and begins a fairly steep climb, initially offering some nice views into the valley below Winchester Mountain to the east. There’s not much to note about the first couple of kilometers of the trail, but you’ll want to make a mental note to keep an eye out for a junction at around the 2.8km mark (1.7 Miles). Here the trail splits between Tomyhoi Lake and Yellow Aster Butte. It is well signposted so you shouldn’t really miss it.
Concurrently, the views now begin to really open up, with the Yellow Aster Butte ridge visible to the west. You’ll now begin a horseshoe traverse across the open slopes, which will be filled with colourful heather in the fall, all the while offering ever improving views, with Baker coming into view to the south.
The next 1.5km (1 Mile) or so so will be largely flat but incredibly scenic, with any forest gradually giving way to open heather slopes. You’ll work your way below the southeastern slopes of Yellow Aster Butte, all the while enjoying panoramic scenery, with Mount Shuksan soon coming into view. Shortly ahead you’ll begin a more gradual climb, crossing a creek before wrapping around to the southern slopes. As you do, the views to the south fully open up now, with Mount Baker dominating the skyline, and the pointed Keep Kool Butte in front. If you’re visiting in the fall, every slope will be covered in red, orange and yellow heather/grass around here. You’ll now work around a small tarn as you continue west.
You’ll soon reach the base of the climb up to the false peak, where you’ll get your first views of Tomyhoi Peak and the myriad of lakes down below. You can optionally drop down to these lakes to explore the area, which is a worthwhile extension. This is also where anybody camping will head to.
The final 0.5km or so to the false summit will be a steep but straightforward grunt up, which will all be worthwhile once you get to the top and enjoy the 360 degree views. Every peak will now be on display, with the border peaks and Mount Larrabee now coming into frame, as well as the short ridge over to the true summit. Many parties opt to stop here, not considering the true summit worthwhile enough to bother with. If that’s the case, after soaking in the views you can simply return back.
Assuming you are continuing on, however, you’ll now continue in the direction of the true summit, dropping steeply off the false summit. This can be difficult if there is snow around, but without it is quite straightforward.
Following the ridge along is simple, and in short order you’ll reach the base of the true summit. Most of this short climb is simple, but you’ll need to use your hands once or twice to clamber up a couple of rocks just before the summit. It’s very straightforward and there’s no real exposure. The true summit is much smaller than the false summit, with space for only a handful of people. It does offer unobstructed views of the border peaks and Larrabee, as well as some nice views back towards the false summit. Still, whether you consider it worthwhile is up to you, it will only add half an hour or so to include the true summit so it’s not a big commitment either way.
Once finished on the true summit, head back along the ridge and climb up to the false summit before heading back down. You may want to consider dropping further to explore the lakes/tarns down below, and more adventurous parties could add on Keep Kool Butte, which is a worthwhile extension with a trail the whole way up. For some reason this sees very little traffic despite offering fairly comparable views to YAB.
When should I hike Yellow Aster Butte?
If you want to avoid snow then July to October is the peak season for Yellow Aster Butte. June may work fine as well, however there may still be snow at higher elevations at this time. If you’re aiming for the fall colours then you will want to visit between the last week of September and perhaps the 2nd week of October when they usually hit their peak. The hike will be very busy on a fall weekend, and in fact every weekend in the summer can be pretty busy.
Top Tip
Parking can be a bit of a mess here on a weekend, so I’d suggest getting there early (7 – 8am) to avoid the worst of it. If you get there late in the day you will quite likely end up parking way down the FSR and having to hike up it, which will add a fair bit of elevation gain.
YAB alone is a short hike, potentially only taking 4 hours or so for quicker parties. If you want to extend this to a more fulfilling outing, consider dropping down to explore the lakes, and potentially also adding on Keep Kool Butte. I thoroughly enjoyed both of these, especially to get away from any crowds. Very few parties hike KKB, for some reason, but there is an easy to follow trail the whole way up. This might add an extra 2 hours to your hike to do both.
Capable scramblers will also note this is the same trail that leads to Tomyhoi Peak, which you can also combine with YAB for a much bigger day. Tomyhoi requires scrambling with significant exposure, so do not attempt it if you aren’t confident with that.
