Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Pratt Lake Basin
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Snoqualmie Region,
by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. 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.
Driving Directions:
From Seattle drive east on I-90 to exit 47 (Asahel Curtis/Denny Creek). Turn north over the freeway, turn left at the T, and drive to the nearby Pratt Lake-Granite Mountain parking area. Recent Trip Reports
Hiked here recently?
Submit a trip report!
There are
138
trip reports for this hike.
See all trip reports for this hike.
Pratt Lake Basin
— Jan 01, 2012
— john deer
Snowshoe/XC Ski
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
Four of us ended up at the Pratt/Granite TH since we had our usual situation - no definitive plan other...
Four of us ended up at the Pratt/Granite TH since we had our usual situation - no definitive plan other than get out and have a nice day of hiking or snowshoeing. The 12/3 report by terpene is still accurate for this trail: minor to no snow at the trailhead; some snow at the junction to Granit Mt; deepening snow near the junction to go down to Talapus and Olallie; reasonably full creeks but no real problems; and some narrow snow bridges before the Talapus junction. These snow bridges are memorable for me since it was the scene of an upside landing in the creek bed face to face with some devils club. But that is another war story for another day.
The only serious creek crossing is past the Talapus/Olallie junction at a place I call the "creek of no return". Fortunately, there is still a decent snow track to almost the creek bed but there is a 3' step down to the creek bed. The usual turn around point in winter is the Olallie Lake overlook with nice views of Rainier with an ominous looking lenticular cap. The reason for the turn around is an open snow field which we never trust for stability. It has one of those "optimum" angles for sliding purposes. There is a ridge line about 200 vertical feet above the trail which we did try to reach ascending along the steep tree line. The higher we got, the stronger the winds and the footing was questionable. After Bill slid about 6 feet and I did the same, we just returned to the trail for a nice lunch. Multi-night backpack
Issues:
Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
Starting at Granite Mountain trailhead my girlfriend, husky, and I hiked to Talapus Lake to camp for the weekend.
Pratt...
Starting at Granite Mountain trailhead my girlfriend, husky, and I hiked to Talapus Lake to camp for the weekend.
Pratt Lake Trail was relatively free of snow/ice until 3000 feet. We put on microspikes at that point and they helped us keep pace. The junction that breaks off to Pratt Lake was well marked. We continued west (Pratt Lake is north) until reaching another sign/junction for Olallie Lake. Just past a challenging stream crossing. The trail to Olallie was less traveled – but we were able to quickly make our way out and even walked across the frozen lake. The hike back from Olallie down to Talapus was well traveled. We put our snowshoes on to keep from post holing here, but the trail was almost packed enough where they were unnecessary. Talapus Lake was quiet and we saw no other campers Saturday or Sunday night. There is about 8-12 inches of snow on the ground, which was becoming increasingly icy with sunshine melting the top layer and re-freezing over night. On Christmas morning we started a hike out to the Island Lakes. The trail to Pratt Lake Basin was well packed and easy to follow. It appeared that the majority of hikers went down into the basin at the fork – we chose to follow the ridge and stay high. We made it about a half-mile of the 1.1 section and we decided to turn back. The tail must have gone up, but it was hard to find. Overall the trip provided spectacular lake scenery and solid winter trails. Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
The Pratt Lake trail is a great go-to winter hike; it starts at low elevation (1800') and is pleasant for...
The Pratt Lake trail is a great go-to winter hike; it starts at low elevation (1800') and is pleasant for a leisurely stroll to Olallie Lake without traversing clear-cuts or passing under crackling power lines, but can be extended for snowshoeing or XC skiing as far as your legs will carry you. It eventually leads all the way through the pass between Granite and Pratt Mountains to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie, at least for those sporting superpowers (that would be a 20+ mile trek with some tricky route finding).
Leaving I-90, I found the very short paved TH road covered in almost invisible black ice, so be wary on this stretch. Even knowing the ice was there, I still fell when exiting the car. You could have ice-skated on this stuff. The trail is in good shape, with no blowdowns or giant mudholes to impede progress. Snow is spotty right at the TH, becoming continuous at about 2200' and deepening after that, but the trail is compact snow and ice which is actually an easy tread. After the Olallie Lake junction, however, the trail narrows to a much-less-traveled snowshoe track amid ever-deepening snow. Another half-mile along it narrows again to a single XC ski track, with snow 3-5 feet deep. At 4100' there is a nice open view of Olallie Lake down below. Since the track disappeared just a few feet after this, I turned around for something like an eight mile round trip. I looked pretty hard but couldn't spot the trail over the ridge and, since the terrain gets pretty steep here, I decided it was not a good area for late afternoon solo bushwhacking. There are several good-sized creek crossings along the route. They're easily passable right now, but flimsy snow bridges are beginning to form and will get tricky as winter progresses. Though most hikers don't bother, I always wear Microspikes on trails like this. They keep you from falling but, more importantly, they help you avoid the "one step forward slide back a half" syndrome, which is very tiring and inefficient. Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Mudholes
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
This is one of my favorite trails and it did not disappoint today. Contrary to rumors, FR 9030 is...
This is one of my favorite trails and it did not disappoint today. Contrary to rumors, FR 9030 is clear and in good shape. FR 9031 has some logging activity going on and this may cause delays driving to the trailhead, but it is very passable as well. Trail 1039 climbs 400 feet through quiet forest to Lake Talapus with no obstructions and a nice soft tread of evergreen needles and duff. Where the trail crosses the outflow basin of the lake, there are lots of mudholes. This would be a good place for turnpikes.
From Talapus the trail gains another 400 ft in half a mile to a junction. Go left to the shores of Lake Ollalie. Go right across the stream to the connector to the Pratt Lake trail #1007. This trail is also in very good shape, gently gaining 600 ft. to the Ollalie Saddle. Here it follows the ridgeline over a spur of Pratt Mountain to Island, Rainbow, and eventually Mason Lakes. This ridgeline portion is one of the most charming parts of the trail. Moss draped trees rise from sunlit carpets of bright green moss, dappled with sunlight and contrasted with the blazing autumn vine maples beyond. On the saddle is also the junction down into the Pratt Lake basin. Here some good work has been done on the trail and it is clear at least to the boulder slope where I admired the bright colors of autumn and dominate Kaleetan Peak before turning around. My total distance was 8 miles roundtrip. Day hike
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
This trail makes for a really lovely day hike. We started at the Pratt Trailhead, but decided to make the...
This trail makes for a really lovely day hike. We started at the Pratt Trailhead, but decided to make the turn-off to Talapus Lake instead of continuing on to Pratt.
Trail conditions were good, a little muddy- but that was understandable since it was raining for the duration of the hike. There are several creek crossings on the trail; they are all easily crossable, but your boots may get a little wet. The only real inconvenience on the trail is that the door to the toilet at the trail head doesn't lock, you'll want to have a buddy watch the door for you or face getting surprised in the can. |
Pratt Lake. Photo by Captain Crush.
2010, 2011
Map it
|
Document Actions
- Email this page
- Print this
- Share
Forgot your
New user?
