Gates Pass loop starts at the upper parking lot at the top of Gates Pass. The trail begins behind the shelter, just to the left of the park map. the trail begins descending into the valley immediately. It is rocky and some steps are evident, they have not been maintained. There are many social trails in the area so you must stay focused on the trail as it is easy to get off the trail. We did and had to bushwack to get back to the trail. The green area on the map indicates our bushwack. This is actually preferred to the original trail, now that we followed the trail back and found one area steep  with loose rocks. after you reach the valley floor it is almost flat. Many trails lead off to the many pull outs along Gates Pass road.

The total trail length is 5.7 miles  Net elevation gain 486 ft. For senior hikers I would give this a difficulty rating of 4 out of 5 due to the steep grade going down and coming back up. Download Track