Belvedere to Talus Round-Trip

On the western side, the trail starts between the edges of the Belvedere and Pinnacle housing developments, at one of the many headwaters of Coal Creek. If you go during winter or spring, you'll see a tiny trickle of water running under a small wood bridge. After 0.1 miles, you'll intersect with with the sparsely used Radio Peak Trail, which you'll follow south/downhill for 0.2 miles. From there, you'll turn left/northeast onto Coyote Creek Trail for a relatively flat 0.3 miles. At the first trail intersection, you'll turn right onto Lost Beagle Trail for 0.8 miles. During this part of the route, you'll get very close to the top of Cougar Mountain, with some short sections of the trail ranging from 15-35% grade. Because this is very near another parking lot within the park, you can expect to see a fair number of trail users, including families, on the second half of this trail, where it approaches the Shangri La Trail. When you get to the Shangri La Trail, turn right/east for a gentle -10% grade for 0.3 mile, until you reach the intersection with the Surprise Creek Trail, which you'll take for half a mile until you reach the Red Cedars Trail. Take Red Cedars Trail for 0.3 miles to Military Ridge Trail, which you'll follow for 0.4 miles. From there, it's another 0.1 mile on the Military Ridge Trail to the trailhead on the Talus side of the mountain, where there are bathroom facilities. Simply reverse the route to get where you started.