Greider Lakes
Last modified
Nov 01, 2009 03:29 PM
A pair of scenic lakes is tucked in an open cirque awash in avalanche greenery and streaming with cascades that tumble down shiny rock ledges. Visit in late spring for the flowers, late summer for the berries, or late autumn for a last hiking hurrah. But no matter the season, keep your senses keen for Ursus americanus, for he's as fond of this valley as you'll soon be. Recent Trip Reports
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Boulder Lake, Greider Lakes
— Jun 28, 2009
— Mangy Marmot
Day hike
Issues:
Road to trailhead inaccessible
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Tried to hike to Greider Lakes today, but we were stopped by a road closed sign. The Sultan Basin Road...
Tried to hike to Greider Lakes today, but we were stopped by a road closed sign. The Sultan Basin Road is closed before Spada Lake. This is at least 8 miles from the trailhead.
Bald Mountain, Greider Lakes, Boulder Lake
— Nov 05, 2008
— Janice Van Cleve
Day hike
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We attempted to find the old trail up to Bald Mountain via Cutthroat Lakes from Sultan. No es possible!...
We attempted to find the old trail up to Bald Mountain via Cutthroat Lakes from Sultan. No es possible! The road west from the Olney rest stop to Spada Lake's dam is permanently gated. The road east along the south and east shores of the lake pass several boat launch areas but there is no longer any access road north up Williamson Creek. Greider Lakes trailhead is open but the road to Boulder Lake is closed and blocked to vehicles. It is possible to hike in from the Greider Lake trailhead 1.5 miles to the start of the Boulder Creek trail.
Day hike
Issues:
Mudholes
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with photos
FYI..Boulder lake trail head is now the Greider Lake trail head. The DNR Decommisioned the stretch of road between...
FYI..Boulder lake trail head is now the Greider Lake trail head. The DNR Decommisioned the stretch of road between Grider, and Boulder trailhead's. The DNR has planed on removing the whole Spada south shore road since 2005. However plans may have been altered to a partial Decomissioning. This will mean, that Boulder lake in the future will be a ten mile hike, if this plan is followed.
But for now your going to have to navagete some deep ditches between the two trail head's I'have encloed a photo with me in it for scale.
Greider Lakes, Boulder Lake
— Sep 23, 2008
— Janice Van Cleve
Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns
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It's a shame that more people don't make use of the hike up to Greider Lakes. The trail is...
It's a shame that more people don't make use of the hike up to Greider Lakes. The trail is in very good shape and the campsites at Little Greider are incredible with metal fire pits, benches, stumps for tables and one even has a large wood tent platform! It's 5 miles round trip and only 1350 ft. altitude gain. There are 3 blowdowns: a big one on the switchbacks going up and two near the Little Greider spillway. The two lakes are a mere half mile apart and to tell the truth, "Little" Greider looks larger than "Big" Greider. The trail between them is heavily overgrown, rocky and muddy in places. There is not much at Big Greider by way of camping. A faint trail starts up the hill about 20 yards before the Big Greider outhouse. It used to go to a former lookout but it gets lost in heavy brush and is marked "closed" on the map.
Sultan Basin road just off Highway 2 is closed for road construction but there is an easy detour a few miles down at the McDonald's. It's 15 miles in on pretty good road to the trailhead. Along the way is a rest stop with registration tickets. Take the left fork here. The actual trailhead is well marked, has a clean outhouse, and from there it's only 37 switchbacks to the top. Huckleberries are gone but mushrooms are coming out. Fall colors should be much better by Oct 15. The Boulder Lake road is closed at the Greider trailhead. It's 1.5 miles along the road to that trailhead.
Greider Lakes
— Sep 19, 2008
— Chuck
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage | Ripe berries
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Headed off for a quick day hike/fishing trip with the dog. What a difference 4 years makes. Hiked...
Headed off for a quick day hike/fishing trip with the dog. What a difference 4 years makes. Hiked to Little Greider lake in 2004 and the trail was tough but in pretty good shape. In 2008, many of the man-made steps are crumbling, some are totally gone. A weekend of WTA work crews could do wonders on this rough trail.
Cool and overcast, I got into the mist half way up the hillside. For everyone who found this trail in the "Best Hikes with Children" books, be warned: the first mile is continuous switchbacks up the side of a hill. The 1 mile sign is hung upside down, the easier to read while doubled over trying to catch your breath. But not to worry, you are almost to the end of the long, grinding switchbacks. The next half mile, the trail builders decided they weren't getting to the top quickly enough so they switched to short steep switchbacks. The 1/2 mile trail between Little Greider and Big Greider lakes is narrow with brush encroaching. A sign at Little Greider claims that the trail to Greider Vista is closed, but the sign at the trailhead makes no mention of that. Didn't have time to find out for my self, there were fish to be sought out. Managed to catch and release 2 small (7-8 inch) rainbow trout, saw lots of little guys (2-3 inches) jumping at insects near shore. Any rumors of golden trout hiding out from the plants in the '70s are false. With the rainbows now in the lake, any golden trout would have been hybridized out of the lake long ago. Camp sites at both lakes are in good shape, looks like some idiots have been chopping down trees for bon-fires *sigh*. Saw 1 couple camped at Big Geider, 1 other couple just up for the day. Highlight of the trip was driving out, about 1/2 mile from the trailhead a spotted owl watched me carefully from a tree about 10 feet from the side of the road. Cursed myself loudly for having put my pack with the camera in the trunk. No way he would stay around for me to stop the car, open the trunk, search for a camera and snap a picture. Had to satisfy myself with the memory. |
Driving Directions
From Everett follow US 2 east to Sultan. At a traffic light east of the town center, just past milepost 23, turn left (north) onto Sultan Basin Road. Follow it for 13.25 miles (the pavement ends at 10.25 miles) to an information kiosk. Stop and sign in, acknowledging that you understand the rules and regulations for visiting Sultan Basin, which is Everett's public water supply. Then continue 500 feet farther to a Y intersection, bearing right onto Forest Road 61. Reach the trailhead (elev. 1560 ft) in 7.1 miles. Privy available. |
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