Granite LakesRecent Trip Reports
Hiked here recently?
Submit a trip report!
There are
5
trip reports for this hike.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Road to trailhead inaccessible
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
The short trail past Pothole Lake, Bertha Mae Lake and Granite Lake is pleasant and the latter two lakes scenic...
The short trail past Pothole Lake, Bertha Mae Lake and Granite Lake is pleasant and the latter two lakes scenic (see photos). Mt. Rainier can be glimpsed through the trees and at Granite Lake outlet seen clearly (photo). The trail does continue to Cora Lake beneath High Rock, but it was further than we wished to go on this day. It can be reached via another road and a shorter trail. The story of this trip however is the atrocious road to the trailhead. Road #8410 has sections with deep gullies (> 1 ft deep) that finally make it impossible to proceed the final 200 yards to the TH.Road # 84 had clusters of large potholes (=craters). The roads made what should have been a pleasant short day hike into an ordeal. Crossing Hwy 706, hoping for a west side view of THE Mountain we took Copper Creek Rd up toward Lake Christine. Bad as it was road #67 was an improvement over #8410. The trail started steeper than normal grade, then alternated between moderate to steep. The lake was open, but surrounded by snow patches. No Rainier view from lake and complete snow cover discouraged us from going higher for the views. We did, however, find time for some blackberry pie at the nearby Kopper Kettle restaurant.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
I had again wanted to do Mt Tenneriffe, but on a clear day preferably. Since Thursday was another overcast...
I had again wanted to do Mt Tenneriffe, but on a clear day preferably. Since Thursday was another overcast day I opted for plan B, Granite Lakes. Only one other vehicle, a van, at trailhead, which is about 0.2 miles past the Mailbox Peak parking area (there were no vehicles there). The trail is actually a gravel/dirt jeep road which is gated just off of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road. The trail/road is mostly in forest for the first 2 miles or so. After heading east the first couple of miles the trail turns south. The landscape also opens up some. Visible to the right are Mailbox Peak and Dirty Harry's Peak (among others). There are also side trails that go at least partially up to some of those peaks. I came upon the other hikers on the trail, 4 retired aged men. One of the guys apparently knew "Dirty" Harry at one time. The guys said that Harry passed away only within the last year or so. Anyway, it was nice talking with those gentlemen and I headed on. Although the weather was overcast all of the nearby peaks were visible. No rain on the way up. At about 4 1/2 miles the most prominent Y in the trail/road is reached. There is a fairly new looking sign there showing Granite Lakes to the right and Thompson Lake to the left. I forgot my green trails map (I only had a guidebook route description) but would later check it when I got home and noted that it is only about 1.1 miles further to Thompson Lake. I will have to make this trip again and visit Thompson Lake, which I understand is more scenic. This route would be a shorter way to Thompson Lake (but less scenic) than from the Mason Lake/Mt Defiance trail. Shortly after the Y are the remains of a couple of old picnic tables. The road gets rougher (but is still a road) and crosses a couple of minor streams and descends and then ascends to a road-end cauldesac. The path to the Upper Granite Lake is marked with a rag on a tree at the far end of the cauldesac. The path is easy to follow although it is quite overgrown in a few spots. Also, the outlet stream from the upper lake is crossed but is not difficult to get past, especially with hiking poles. Shortly, the Upper Lake was reached. I took lunch there and had it all to myself (I did not see the 4 men again, they must have went on to Thompson Lake). Mt Defiance is prominent across the lake. I also noted a peak to the left that had a structure on top. It must be Granite Mt, although I didn't think I'd be able to see it from here. I don't know of any other still standing fire lookouts in this general area. Let me know if anyone knows otherwise. I had planned to try and circle the lake but it would be rough. I never did see the Lower Lake, but I didn't search that hard for it either. The outlet stream was the one place that had prevalent wildflowers. I noted columbine, beargrass, blue bells, lupine, mountain heather, phlox, salmonberry, etc all in bloom. The majority of the hike up had been sparse for blooming flowers until the area of the lakes. I returned to just below the Y and, from a distance, saw a guy with a bike helmet on, but he disappeared (on the Thompson Lake trail) by the time I got to the Y. This would be a good trail/road for mt bike travel. The rain pretty much held off until I was almost back at the car. Given the forecast, it turned out to be a great day for this hike. I would recommend this hike to families with children old enough to be able to handle 11 to 12 miles round trip. It is long, with an elevation gain of about 2300 feet. But the gain is mostly gradual, it never gets that steep.
Granite Lakes
— Jun 12, 2010
— SeaWolv
Day hike
Issues:
Water on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
No snow on the trail, although there are numerous creeks crossing the trail. All of them are jumpable across, most...
No snow on the trail, although there are numerous creeks crossing the trail. All of them are jumpable across, most of them easily. Lots of frogs out today.
The picnic benches at 4.5 miles mentioned in some guides have fallen apart, and are on the side of the trail. Access to the lake is very limited, and requires some off-trail navigation. Surprisingly, the trail was deserted. I didn't encounter another hiker the entire time.
Granite Lake #251
— Feb 24, 2008
— Jackie
Day hike
Issues:
Water on trail | Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
First mile was clear of snow. Up to 4' deep 4 miles in. Sun warmed up path and it was...
First mile was clear of snow. Up to 4' deep 4 miles in. Sun warmed up path and it was easy to sink it. Snowshoes are a good idea. A couple of streams to jump over make it fun and challenging.
Granite Lake
— May 16, 2006
— CW
Day hike
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
Nice day for a hike. Granite lake is off of exit 34 on I-90, same parking lot as mailbox peak....
Nice day for a hike. Granite lake is off of exit 34 on I-90, same parking lot as mailbox peak. Not much of a trail.... more like a road the whole way up to the lake. The road got somewhat steep after the creek crossing. About 10 miles roundtrip and there are still patches of snow towards the end of the road at around 3100 feet. The lake is nice, but to get to it requires bush wracking. Some mountain views on the way up, no wildlife besides a group of naked men we encountered on the way up. |
|
Document Actions
- Email this page
- Print this
- Share
Forgot your
New user?
