The path to Pratt Lake was once a braided super highway, at times more than 10 feet wide. Hardly the stuff of wilderness. But Washington Trails Association (WTA) volunteers stepped in and rebuilt the trail. Not only did they rebuild the tread to channel all hikers onto the proper path, they decommissioned all the unauthorized secondary trails, creating a new single track worthy of a pristine wild area. Hikers can now stroll easily up this picturesque trail to the pretty Pratt Lake basin.

The first mile of trail is busy. You're sharing this section with crowds headed for Granite Mountain. But don't worry: at the 1-mile mark most of your fellow hikers will peel off to the right as you push on straight ahead to Pratt Lake.

At around 3 miles out you'll find a fine viewpoint at 3400 feet. Pause to take pictures of the Snoqualmie Valley and the peaks above the Ollalie, Talapus, and Pratt Lake basins. Just beyond you'll enter the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and then you'll encounter a side trail at 3.8 miles leading down to forest-rimmed Talapus Lake.

A scant 0.25 mile past this junction you'll reach a low saddle (elev. 4100 feet) separating the higher Pratt Lake basin from the Talapus and Olallie basins. This is a great place to stop for a rest and, in late August (most years), to harvest the abundant huckleberries. Turn around here unless you really need to reach the lake.