Snoqualmie Pass grows ever more developed each year. Condos go up left and right, the ski area plans new ski lifts (or replacements for existing chairs), and hotels pop up east and west. But even with the development, these are still mountains and there is still stunning mountain scenery to enjoy, even on the fringes of the developed areas. Lodge Lake stands as proof.

The trail climbs gradually through scrubby forest for 0.5 mile as it makes its way from the freeway corridor. Abruptly, the path erupts out of the trees onto the smooth grassy slopes of the ski runs.

For the next 0.25 mile or so, the trail runs through the sun-filled slopes, crossing under ski lifts and around lift towers before cresting the ridge near the 3500-foot level, about 0.75 mile from the start of the hike.

The trail drops off the ridge in a gentle traverse to a photogenic pond--Beaver Lake--it makes a grand reflecting pool for the surrounding mountain peaks. From Beaver, the trail continues downhill, ending at 1.5 miles on the shores of the tree-lined Lodge Lake. The namesake lodge is long gone (it was a cabin built by The Mountaineers in the early 1900s), but the lake remains a place for kids and dogs to play while parents enjoy the surrounding mountain scenery.