Big Four Mountain Big Four is a mountain summit in the Cascade Range, located about east of Granite Falls, Washington. It is situated west of Barlow Pass along the Mountain Loop Highway, near the Monte Cristo area, on land administered by the Mount Baker-Sno ...

is a mountain in the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, located east of Granite Falls. The mountain is about high. At the bottom of its steep, high north face, debris piles form from avalanches and are able to remain there year round because of the continuous shade provided by the mountain. At an elevation between and , this ice forms the lowest-elevation

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

in the lower 49 states. During the summer, snow-melt streams flow beneath the debris piles and cause caves to be formed in the ice. The Big Four Ice Caves Trail, a designated

National Recreation Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

, (#723) is one of the most popular hikes in the

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

attracting over 50,000 visitors per year. Frequently exceeding several hundred hikers per day, the trailhead's two separate parking areas are often filled beyond capacity occasionally forcing hikers to park along neighboring Mountain Loop Road. A severe autumn storm in November 2006 caused flooding of the South Fork

Stillaguamish River The Stillaguamish River is a river in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Washington. It is mainly composed of two forks, the longer North Fork Stillaguamish () and the South Fork Stillaguamish. The two forks join near Arlington. Fro ...

destroying a major footbridge to the Big Four Ice Caves. Estimated repair costs to replace the damaged span were approximately $425,000, and repairs were completed in June 2009. While the trail is open to the public, the snowfield itself was closed temporarily due to cave-ins and slides which have killed four hikers in incidents in 1998, 2010, and in 2015. Because of the danger, hikers are advised to stay out of the caves and are monitored by forest rangers. The footbridge's supports were damaged by erosion, resulting in its closure in 2019 for long-term repairs. It reopened in November 2022.

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* * {{coord, 48.0539, -121.5196, type:glacier_region:US-WA_source:usgstopomaps, display=title Cascade Range Landforms of Snohomish County, Washington Caves of Washington (state) Glaciology of the United States