Shafer Butte is an excellent activation not far from Metro Boise - about an hour up Bogus Basin Road will get you there - and another 1.25 miles or so and 700 feet of hiking will gain you the summit proper. Or consider that there is a ski lift a few feet away from the summit - buy a lift ticket and climb a little and earn the bonus points for a "ski" activation during the winter.
Cooper Mountain might be another typical urban activation as at first glance nearby Cooper Mountain Nature Park looks like the perfect place to activate --- but it's not actually in the activation zone. There are alternative spots - one across the street from the summit on a sidewalk and perhaps the best at nearby Winkelman Park (see the trip report).
Spencer Butte is a Eugene city park about four miles south of downtown. The address for the most convenient trailhead is 85401 South Willamette Street and the trailhead parking lot is well signed as the Spencer Butte Trailhead. This trailhead has the shortest routes to the summit.
This easy 1 point summit is just off I-5 and can be quickly accomplished if you're passing through the scenic Skagit Valley.
The road is paved all the way to the top but there is also a network of trails. The road is gated at the bottom but is open from 10am to dusk. This is a city of Mt. Vernon park. It's common to find cars parallel parked along the road near the gate for those that want to walk to the top.
If you're visiting the scenic mariner town of Anacortes, or passing through on your way to the San Juan Island ferry, Mt. Erie is a quick easy 1 pointer with great views.
This summit can be reached via a paved road all the way to the top, or park at the bottom and utilitze the extensive network of trails to reach the summit. Once there, I set up on the south side of the hill, a rocky area looking at Whidbey Island and Lake Campbell. Tall fir trees lie just behind the rocks, perfect for wire antenna deployment.
Directions:
The weather did not improve at all. It got worse actually. When I started from Kelly Butte trailhead started to drizzle. On the summit I got some sleet with strong wind. Luckily twenty meter was much better, but still in bad condition.
After my failure on Ararat, where I only made 3 Qs with my handheld radio on 144 MHz, I am looking for some easy summit. I can only blame myself, as I was too tired to assemble the Buddipole. If it is easy, then let’s do 3 or 4 summits straight away. As always, despite the long and thorough intelligence, things did not work out as planned at the first place. However, I bagged two summits out of the four, but let’s see the details.
The goats and I made a last minute decision on Friday night to get a SOTA fix. Saturday morning we hiked Little Baldy, near Alger, WA. If you're heading north on I-5 towards Canada or Bellingham, this is right off the freeway. Take Exit 242, turn Right (East) and the trailhead/parking lot will be clearly visible on your left in about 1/2 mile.
UPDATE Dec 2021 - Badger Butte (and other summits in the area) are not accessible by regular motor vehicle from Dec 1 to April 1 due to closure of NF-2610 and other routes to vehicles more than 50 inches wide. A hike, snowshoe, ski, bike, snowmobile or dog sled would be the way to go. See the photo below.
Activated W7I/CI-139 Kimama Butte on 7 Jan 2013 on the way to SLC for work. Kimama Butte is the remnant of an old volcanic hill located 21 miles SE of Craters of the Moon NP and 16 miles north of Burley, Idaho. For those who study tectonic plate movement, Yellowstone was here 8 million years ago. Acces via N1150W off I-84 and cross thru obvious cattle guard. Drove about 200 yards in 4WD up the hill then decided to walk the rest.