Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Silver Lakes
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. Getting to these quiet little lakes requires hiking the first 3 miles of the Mount Townsend Trail. With over 2600 feet of elevation to gain, it's a stiff little climb to the Silver Lakes Trail junction. Most hikers who have made it this far, having expended a considerable amount of energy, remain determined to see the top of Mount Townsend. That the lakes lie another 2.5 miles away and 600 feet below helps deter them from changing their plans. But if solitude beckons, follow the Silver Lakes Trail through open forest, climbing 200 feet to a small notch on Townsend's southern shoulder. Before descending, look back east for a great view of Windy and Sink Lakes directly below. To the west, enjoy a sweeping view of the Silver Creek valley. The lakes, however, are not visible. They're hidden behind a small wooded knob. Across a steep and barren slope (except in early summer when wallflowers paint it yellow), descend into the valley following a couple of long switchbacks. After 2 miles (5 miles from the trailhead), reach Silver Creek. Its sparkling and cascading waters invite you to follow it to its source. So begin climbing again, and through openings in the forest look back for a few good glimpses of Mount Townsend. A half mile from the creek crossing, the terrain opens up as you enter the Silver Lakes basin. The upper lake lies right in front of you. Its waters shimmer in the afternoon sun, rippling from the soft breezes. Scout the shores for a warm rock to rest on. Enjoy the lake's tranquility, broken only by trout jumping in pursuit of a morsel.
Driving Directions:
From Quilcene drive US 101 south for 1.5 miles. (From Shelton follow US 101 north for 50.5 miles.) Turn right (west) onto Penny Creek Road. After 1.5 miles bear left onto Big Quilcene River Road (Forest Road 27). Drive 13.5 miles, ignoring the sign at 12.5 miles for the Mount Townsend Trail (that's the lower trail to Sink Lake). Turn left onto FR 27-190 and in 0.75 mile come to the trailhead. Recent Trip Reports
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Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Fall foliage
Issues:
Blowdowns
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One night at Silver Lakes
Matthew, Jason, and I carried on the tradition of hike around the time of our fall...
One night at Silver Lakes
Matthew, Jason, and I carried on the tradition of hike around the time of our fall birthdays, with one night at Silver Lakes, Saturday to Sunday. The trails are in great shape. There are a couple trees down that require ducking or climbing over. They are along the section between Mt. Townsend and the lakes. There were a few bugs buzzing us at the trailhead, but we didn’t really notice any at the lake. They probably had settled down for the night by the time we made camp, and then Sunday morning we awoke to rain, and bugs don’t seem to bother coming out in the rain. There were two other campers along the lake, who also departed on Sunday. Lupine and other wildflowers abound above 5,000 feet elevation. We didn’t really have time to wet a hook, but I have talked with people who have caught trout in the larger lake. We also didn’t make time on this short trip to hike up to the ridge above the lake or find the smaller of the Silver Lakes.
Silver Lakes
— Sep 11, 2011
— Barking Sasquatch
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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Day hike on the Silver Lakes trail
Chris and I got out on a toasty-warm Sunday for an invigorating trek, with...
Day hike on the Silver Lakes trail
Chris and I got out on a toasty-warm Sunday for an invigorating trek, with my dog Tia. We turned around at the ridge before the trail drops down into the valley toward Silver Lakes and returned downhill to the trailhead. The trail is in excellent condition. A few flies buzzed us during rest breaks. Lupine and Indian paintbrush are prolific in the higher elevations. The smoke from the Big Hump/Duckabush fire blew through, creating a bit of a haze and made it difficult to see very far eastward toward Hood Canal, the Cascades, and the cities. Parking was no problem in the upper trailhead above Sink Lake. Along the trail, we saw a few other individuals and small groups day hiking, and a few people returning from staying overnight at Silver Lakes. Sorry, no pictures to share from this trip…we were too busy talking and getting to know each other and walking! Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Bugs
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Forest road 27 remains in fine shape, and we were getting organized at the trailhead about 8:15 along with a...
Forest road 27 remains in fine shape, and we were getting organized at the trailhead about 8:15 along with a few other parties.
With the masses heading up to Townsend on this spectacular day, we took road less traveled and peeled off for Silver Lakes after passing through quiet Camp Windy. The slopes below the "notch" were beautiful, filled with interesting wildflowers. As we descended, the slopes were covered with lupine, Columbia lewisia, tiger lily, and flowering mock orange. Sickletop lousewort was blooming. At the lake, a few tents were pitched here and there, and a few hearty souls (me among them) braved the icy waters. Finally, a warm enough day that an alpine lake beckoned. It was hard to leave this spot. Do bring bug juice. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns
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During our hike up to Mt Townsend we saw the trail intersection with Silver Lakes and decided we might as...
During our hike up to Mt Townsend we saw the trail intersection with Silver Lakes and decided we might as well explore since we were already up there! The trail to the lakes was in good condition. There were two areas where we had to crawl under downed tree's but there was plenty of room under them to get through without much trouble. There were only a handful of patches of snow and enough people had walked over them already to leave foot prints and make them easy to cross. The wild flowers on the upper switch backs were in bloom and gorgeous. There were considerable horse flies up at Mt Townsend but at silver lakes it was pretty bug-less (thankfully!). There was considerably less snow than how it appeared in the review from a couple of weeks ago and there were three tents set up around the lake, relativly empty compared to the number of people on Mt Townsend. Overall the lake was gorgeous and completely peaceful.
Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Snow on trail | Bugs
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The trail to the Mt. Townsend/Silver lakes junction is in super great shape. Check out the many reviews of the...
The trail to the Mt. Townsend/Silver lakes junction is in super great shape. Check out the many reviews of the Mt. Townsend hike for particulars on the trail before the junction. After the silver lake junction (there is a sign) there are a couple snow patches as you climb up to the ridge overlooking the silver creek basin. Nothing to be worried about. On the way down the other side of the ridge the rocky slopes can be a bit loose, but again nothing to worry about. The wildflowers on the way down this ridge are in full bloom right now so it is gorgeous. Once down by Silver Creek and on the way up into the Silver lakes, there are numerous areas with snow on the trail. It didn't look like anyone had been along there in quite a while so we went pretty slow and were able to stick to the trail.
Once at the Upper Silver lake there are only 4 camp sites that are not snowed over. The camp sites between the big boulders, on the west side of the lake are still under quite a bit of snow. The other cleared camp sites have a good deal of slope to them, so you might wake up in a corner of your tent in the morning. The only camp site that is really nice and level is the very open site on the north end of the lake on the east side of the creek. But it is quite open to the elements. The prairie on the south side of the lake is completely covered in snow, as is the whole east side of the lake. The west and north side are your best bets. There were numerous trout (? I think they were trout) hiding under the logs at the beginning of the creek at the north end of the lake, so if you're an angler, bring your fly rod. Only complaint is that there were a lot of bugs. Not just mosquitoes, but huge horse flys, and those bites have a good sting to em. |
Silver Lakes. Photo by Janersue.
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