Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Lower Gold Creek Basin Snowshoe
Featured In:
Snowshoe Routes - Washington,
by Dan A. Nelson.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. To get there, from Seattle drive east on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass to exit 54, 2 miles east of the pass's summit. Exit I-90, turn left, cross under the freeway, and just a few hundred feet north of the highway interchange, turn right onto a narrow paved road and drive east parallel to the freeway for 1 mile. Cars generally line both sides of this road, as the shoulder is the primary parking area for the long Gold Creek Sno-Park. Park at the end of the plowed road, near the small bridge over the stream connecting Mardee Lake to Keechelus Lake. Start the hike by heading north along a narrow access road (Forest Road 144) on the eastern side of Mardee Lake. The road stays tight to the eastern wall of the valley, but if the snow is deep enough to bury all the ground cover, drop off the road in a few hundred yards--just past Mardee Lake--and snowshoe up the open meadow and through the thin stands of forest. As you hike up the valley, the view of Kendall Peak gets better and better, while on your right, Rampart Ridge rolls majestically along. As the valley tapers in, the meadows give way to wide stands of trees and small forest clearings. The walls close in tighter and tighter on the valley floor, and the views become more dramatic. At about 2.5 miles in, stop and enjoy the scenery and the feeling of power that this winter wilderness emits. At the northern end of Rampart Ridge is the bulky summit of Alta Mountain; directly opposite is the vertical face of Kendall Peak. The steep walls of these mountains seem to rise from the ground at your feet. Continue to press on up the valley, but only if you know how to evaluate avalanche dangers. Even on the valley floor, hikers are susceptible to avalanches. The mammoth slides can come barreling off the valley walls with enough momentum that they sweep well out onto the basin's floor. Stroll to your heart's content along the valley floor, then weave your way through the trees back to the starting point for a gentle day on the snow. Author’s Rating: Easiest to More Difficult Generally good trails for beginners, with moderate elevation change and minimal avalanche danger.
Driving Directions:
To get there, from Seattle drive east on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass to exit 54, 2 miles east of the pass's summit. Exit I-90, turn left, cross under the freeway, and just a few hundred feet north of the highway interchange, turn right onto a narrow paved road and drive east parallel to the freeway for 1 mile. Cars generally line both sides of this road, as the shoulder is the primary parking area for the long Gold Creek Sno-Park. Park at the end of the plowed road, near the small bridge over the stream connecting Mardee Lake to Keechelus Lake. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
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The trail (really a road ) is wide open and well compacted in the first mile and a half or...
The trail (really a road ) is wide open and well compacted in the first mile and a half or so. There are a bunch of small signs to keep you going in the right direction. You don't really need snowshoes at this time. It takes about 40 minutes to get to the end of the trail/road.
If you want to go further ... 50 yards before where the road ends take a right and head up the valley. The trail narrows as you head up the valley toward Alaska Lake / Joe Lake. After a mile or so (on the narrow trail) .... you will need some type of traction. I got to this point and put on my shoe "chains". Also, if we get some fresh snow I would check the avalanche / snow report website because at times Rampart Ridge is right above you. At about 3.5 miles you have to cross Silver Creek. There is a rock "bridge" but the rocks are ice covered so be careful. After crossing Silver Creek the trail is no longer really visible and you have to make your own thru the snow. Decided it was a good spot to take a break for lunch and head back. Overall ... about 7 miles (out and back to Silver Creek crossing) and basically no elevation gain. Snowshoe/XC Ski
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Reached the Sno-Park around 11am. The Sno-Park was filling up, but we still got to park within a few hundred...
Reached the Sno-Park around 11am. The Sno-Park was filling up, but we still got to park within a few hundred feet of the trailhead.
Didn't need snowshoes at first as the trail was packed down well, but beyond the last house, snowshoes were required to avoid occasional postholing. Followed various tracks past Gold Creek Pond and a bit beyond Heli's Pond, along the summer trail. The crowds congregated around the two "ponds", but we met almost no one off the main trail or further along the trail. Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/[…]/GoldCreekBasinMarch2011 Tracklog: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71726555
Lower Gold Creek Basin Snowshoe
— Mar 01, 2011
— The H crew
Snowshoe/XC Ski
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Wow, So much fresh deep powder....3 ft? Did this same hike last Monday but today it was...
Wow, So much fresh deep powder....3 ft? Did this same hike last Monday but today it was a totally different hike. We arrived around 11 with it snowing slightly. We were the 1st on the trail to Heli's Pond which meant a lot of hard work breaking trail but it was fabulously fun. We brought our two friends on their first snowshoe adventure and they loved it. This is the perfect place for beginners. It is,however,very slow going with knee deep snow so plan accordingly. We were lucky and met up with a couple who were willing to share in the labor. We had our lunch in the deep snow at the pond and then headed back to the car.It started snowing much harder after lunch and we were thankful for the layers we had packed. We moved much quicker on the way out... Starbucks was calling!
Snowshoe/XC Ski
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We were forced to park right off of the exit because somebody tried to take his snowmobile trailer down the...
We were forced to park right off of the exit because somebody tried to take his snowmobile trailer down the road which is 1 lane once people park all along it. I definitely would not recommend this unless you want the first/ last mile of your snowshoe to be on a road that parallels I-90. Make sure to go past the first area where people have parked down to the bridge where the gold creek trailhead actually is.
We started out later in the afternoon which seemed to contribute to a few less people being on the trail. The snow was deep and we had a great time cruising through the powder pillows. The trail itself is packed down enough that it would be doable in boots/ shoes, but having the snowshoes to go through the trees and deeper stuff was fun. Since we got out there later on and were kind of lollygaggin/ frolicking, we didn't make it all the way to the end, but decided to turn around at Heli's pond. We walked around the pond which was beautiful. Had to blaze a bit of a trail though. There's a pretty cool Eagle Scout project that somebody did with info about the pond. Overall this is an awesome intro snowshoe that would be great for anyone including kids. I expected it to be a lot busier than it actually was, and not encountering a single snowmobile was nice. There's also lots of areas to just kind of roam around if you aren't used to the snowshoes yet. Just be careful because part of the trail does go through private property. Although we didn't see anyone, we did see some signs that made it look like they might have had problems with people trespassing in the past.
Lower Gold Creek Basin Snowshoe
— Feb 21, 2011
— The H crew
Snowshoe/XC Ski
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Great beginner snowshoe hike. We started out about 10:30 am. Snow was compact at the beginning of our day but...
Great beginner snowshoe hike. We started out about 10:30 am. Snow was compact at the beginning of our day but the snow was falling and we ended with a nice fresh layer.It wasn't as crowded as we expected but it was clearly a favorite spot. At about 1.7 mi. we stopped and walked around Heli's pond, definitely worth doing. At about 2.5 mi you come to a beautiful meadow just perfect for a lunch stop. Because of time constraints this was our turn around point. However, if someone had the time it would be fun to explore up the valley farther.....Another important detail...you must purchase a sno-park pass. This would be great for kids as well , as we saw many having a great time.
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Golden light over Gold Creek. Photo by Damien Murphy,.
2011
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