Howard Creek

Howard Creek descends from a trailhead off Forest Road 9712 near Blewett Pass, following Howard Creek's headwaters before connecting to the Naneum Creek Trail. The 10-mile roundtrip route gains 1,783 feet and passes through old clearcuts, recovering burn areas, and forest. A popular shorter option hikes 1.4 miles to Trail 1373, then 1.8 miles to Haney Meadow, from which hikers can connect to the Mount Lillian Trail for a 1.5-mile ridgeline traverse through stark burned trees with expansive views of the Blewett Pass area.

The Wenatchee Mountains trail network here is extensive but confusing, with many intersecting roads and trails. A GPS device or detailed map is essential for navigation. The burn areas create an unusual landscape of blackened trunks and regenerating meadows, with larch groves turning gold in October. Wildflowers fill the meadows in summer. Access via Forest Road requires checking conditions, and the ashy, slippery terrain in burn zones calls for gaiters and trekking poles. This is not a heavily traveled area, and most visitors come for the broader loop possibilities connecting Tronsen Meadow, Mount Lillian, and Haney Meadow.