Hike: Dirty Harry’s Balcony

Dirty Harry’s Balcony Hike Report from 6-3-2026: Exact logistics on how this can be your 5-9 after your 9-5

Dirty Harry’s Balcony At a glance


Distance	4.4 mi round-trip (out-and-back)
Elevation gain	1,600 ft (WTA)
Highest point	2,600 ft
Difficulty	Moderate
Type	Day hike · after-work friendly (if you start earlier than we did)
Best season	May–September
Drive from Seattle	~40–55 min to trailhead (I-90 Exit 38)
Pass	Discover Pass (DNR / state recreation lands)
Dogs	Yes, on leash
Land manager	WA Department of Natural Resources
Trailhead	Exit 38 → Fire Training Academy → 1.8 mi → parking lot + bathroom
WTA	Dirty Harry’s Balcony
Map	Green Trails Bandera No. 206

Guidebooks vs my GPS

If you are curious, this is the comparison of my Garmin vs what main trail sites are saying.

Source	Distance	Elev. gain	Est. time
WTA	4.4 mi	1,600 ft	Moderate · ~2–3 hr typical
AllTrails (Birdhouse route)	4.3 mi	1,377 ft	~2h 41m avg
Mountaineers / Green Trails	4.4 mi	1,600 ft	Moderate
My Garmin (Jun 3, 2026)	6.6 mi	1,407 ft	1h 47m moving · 3h 09m elapsed

GPS shows extra mileage vs WTA (road approach, overlooks, or watch on before/after trail). Moving time ≠ elapsed… I took a lot of photo breaks since the light at the top of the mountain was so beautiful. Max elev 2,526 ft on watch vs 2,600 ft WTA.

My trip — June 3, 2026


Who	Group of friends
Vibe	After-work hike
Drive to trailhead	~53 min from Seattle (weekday + traffic)
Car	2012 Hyundai Elantra — sedan, no clearance issues, road in fine shape
Trailhead	Organized lot, bathroom, no potholes on the approach
Started hiking	6:30 pm (I’d aim for ~5:30 pm next time)
Sunset	~9:00 pm
At the balcony	Golden hour — best light of the whole hike
Off trail	~9:30 pm (headlamp section)
Back in Seattle	~10:30 pm — late night!

Quick logistics

Pass: Discover Pass on the dash.
Directions (WTA): I-90 Exit 38 toward the Fire Training Academy → right at the stop sign → 1.8 miles → left under the freeway → trailhead parking. Do not drive past the Dirty Harry’s parking area — the road beyond is closed.
Trail finding: Graveled path → short road walk → bridge over the South Fork Snoqualmie → trail on the right immediately after the bridge. Well signed from there.
Payoff: Rocky balcony overlook — Mount Kent, McClellan Butte, Mount Washington. Several overlooks before the signed balcony turnoff; WTA notes the first cliff overlook isn’t the true balcony.
After-work tip: Start by 5:30 pm in June if you want daylight both ways without a headlamp. Sunset ~9 pm; we traded an early start for golden hour and it was worth it, which means brig a headlamp!

Dirty Harry’s Balcony

Getting to the Trailhead After Work

After work on Wednesday, June 3, I did Dirty Harry’s Balcony with a group of friends. It is in the Olallie / Exit 38 area off I-90, and you need a Discover Pass to park there.

It took about an hour to get to the trailhead on a weekday (53 minutes + traffic). Normally on weekends that would be 40 minutes. I drove my 2012 Hyundai Elantra with no problems.

The trailhead was neat and organized and had a bathroom. There were no potholes getting to the trailhead.

We didn’t start the hike until 6:30. Normally with after work hikes I want to start closer to 5:30 pm. That being said, we had the most amazing golden hour lighting since we were at the top of the mountain right around sunset. Sunset is around 9 pm. We did have to do some hiking in the dark and we got down around 9:30, and then had an hour drive to Seattle. (late night for a work day, but worth it)

Golden Hour

This hike was absolutely beatiful! It gives you wonderful valley views, and has lots of little lookouts even if you don’t make it all the way to the top. The incline is quite steep and intense on the way up, so moving from sedentary work to rapidly hiking up a mountain felt quite intense.

Golden hour hike meant great photos of my friends and I. (I am not sharing all of them here). Love being outdoors on a workday and really makes me appreciate living in Seattle 🙂