Elliott Creek
Driving Directions:
From Darrington, go south on Mountain Loop Highway for 22 miles. From Granite Falls, go 35 miles, past Barlow Pass. Turn east on Forest Road 4080 (Elliott Creek Road). Continue 0.8 miles to the trailhead. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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This week found us back out on the Mountain Loop Highway trekking up the Elliot Creek Trail to Goat Lake....
This week found us back out on the Mountain Loop Highway trekking up the Elliot Creek Trail to Goat Lake. A sunny summer day was the perfect chance to tackle a popular hike that has something for everyone – history, waterfalls, and an alpine lake. It felt like maybe, just maybe, summer had finally arrived.
Elliott Creek Trail #647 begins easily, following the remains of the mining road that once provided access to the lake. Within the first half-mile you’ll find signs pointing to Upper and Lower Elliot. Lower Elliot follows the creek and is about a mile shorter than the upper trail. However, the upper trail is a smoother trail, and is little easier to navigate than the lower trail. We recommend braving the rockier, muddier, and more picturesque lower trail on the way out to the lake. Save the Upper trail for your return trip when the extra mile might be worth a little less strain on your knees. For the full report visit: http://www.hikingwithmybrot[…]t-creek-loop-trail-647.html Jer Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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Hiked in with a group of 8. Trail was busy, but not excessively so. The trail is in good condition,...
Hiked in with a group of 8. Trail was busy, but not excessively so. The trail is in good condition, the walking is very pleasant, and the scenery is excellent for such an easy and accessible hike. One area to be aware of is at the big falls, just after the trail starts to tilt up near the lake. While focusing on the falls, we managed to get off-trail on a steep boot track. It wasn't extreme - I've been on much worse - and we eventually met up with the trail, but pay close attention to find the main trail after gawking at the falls - it follows the contour back away from the stream at this juncture. (It was obvious that others had made the same mistake, and we helped out a group on the way down that had missed the turn as well...) We took the upper trail on the way down, and while not as interesting as the creek-side trail, it is a nice enough path - good to have some different views. We were walking at a pretty leisurely pace, and it took us about 2 hours in and a little less on the way out.
Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail
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We wanted to find a low elevation, but reminiscent of higher elevation hikes. I would this hike a few weeks...
We wanted to find a low elevation, but reminiscent of higher elevation hikes. I would this hike a few weeks ago and we hit the road early Friday morning from the east side of Washington. We arrived at the trailhead in early afternoon and there were four other cars. The hike is easy until you reach the wilderness sign (we too the Upper route), other than stream crossings. After the wet access to the wilderness area, the trail does become more challenging. Once you can see the old planks for the wagon bridge, take the sharp left up the actual trail (near the roots of a large blow down). Once at the lake, the campsites are not well defined. Waterfalls were feeding the lake and Cadet Peak was not visible due to low clouds. The night was chilly with a few sprinkles. On the hike back we encountered a lot of people (many unprepared for the hike) and another couple had encountered just as many people on the Lower route on their way out. Overall a good hike, just go om a weekday due to the vast amount of people.
Elliott Creek, Goat Lake
— Dec 12, 2009
— Jenarator
Day hike
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What a treat! After two weeks of sub freezing temperatures with zero precipitation this trail is snow free and the...
What a treat! After two weeks of sub freezing temperatures with zero precipitation this trail is snow free and the streams and waterfalls have become breathtakingly beautiful ice flows. Words don't do it justice.
We started on the Lower Elliott trail and connected to the Goat Lake Trail. We turned around about a half mile from the lake because we were running out of daylight. We took the Upper Elliott route back to the trailhead finishing in the dark. Lower Elliott follows Elliott Creek which was stunning with lots of ice formations. There are about half a dozen stream crossings on the trail that were frozen nearly solid and easily crossable without traction. We brought micro spikes but didn't need them. The Uppper Elliott trail follows an old logging road and is less interesting but still offered some stunning ice flows and territorial views across the valley with snow capped peaks. This hike produced lots of oohs and aahs--an amazing afternoon out in a winter wonderland.
Elliott Creek
— Jul 11, 2009
— Slow Loris and Walks Ahead
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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We were supposed to get showers and thunderstorms today, but they were less likely farther north so we picked the...
We were supposed to get showers and thunderstorms today, but they were less likely farther north so we picked the Elliott Creek trail to Goat Lake off the Mountain Loop Scenic Byway. It turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day and clouded up only toward the end of the afternoon. The trailhead parking was jammed with cars parked on both sides of the little access road. We took the Lower Elliott Creek trail, which is in good repair with no blowdowns, a lovely forest route with many views of Elliott Creek through the trees. We always hope to see large wildlife but didn't. At Goat Lake we found a nice shady secluded shoreline spot in spite of the great number of people on the trail. A number of people were camping up there. There is an impressive hand-drawn map by an SCA volunteer (EM Meier) posted, showing the location of the campsites and toilets. We enjoyed sitting by the lake for three hours, admiring the lake and surrounding slopes. There were a few bugs, but they didn't bite, and we didn't have to use insect repellent. On the hike out, we took the upper trail just for a change. The upper trail used to be a roadbed (rail??) but is now completely a trail, with the lush vegetation encroaching on all but the ample and gentle trail tread, sometimes wide enough to walk side by side.
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