Most mountain bikers and hikers access Coal Hill from Pineview.    It can be accessed from the top of the Aberdeen area too, but these slopes are grazing lands so hikers have to be mindful of locked gates and posted signage.    Most of the grazing is from spring to the middle of summer, so the Pineview trailhead may be a better option.   Later in November we climbed to the top of the hill in 45 minutes, had lunch, and returned in the same amount of time.

We passed by an old miner’s cabin on the way up.   It had walls some years ago, but the timbers are gradually becoming strewn about and are continuing to rot.

The view from the top of the hill is across the grasslands with Sugarloaf Hill, and Greenstone Mountain in the distance.

A few ponds in the grasslands were now frozen over.   Soon snow will cover the hills.

All of this view would be a giant working copper mine so we feel lucky to come back to see it as an active ranching operation instead.

Coal Hill is the easternmost hilltop in the Pineview Trail system.    It is just outside of the trail network so any venture to the top should be done responsibly, leaving nothing but footprints, taking nothing but photos.   When cattle are grazing the hillside, there are other trail options in the area.