Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Snow Lake
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. Find the trail at the northeastern corner of the broad parking area (directly across from the ski lodge) and start up the long trail as it climbs a series of crib steps. These wooden "cribs" backfilled with dirt earn curses from some hikers, but they were necessary improvements. Volunteers added them in the late 1990s to reverse the ravages of erosion that plagued the trail. As you walk up the steps over the first 0.5 mile or so, take time to admire the workmanship and intensive effort that went into rescuing this trail from destruction. The steps may not match your stride perfectly, but the alternative would be a lost trail. After that first 0.5 mile, the trail traverses the slope above the upper South Fork Snoqualmie River, rolling through forest and occasional alder-filled avalanche chutes for nearly 2.5 miles to a trail junction at that headwall of the valley. A secondary path leads off to the left, contouring around the headwall and leading to Source Lake. The trail to Snow Lake goes right and climbs long, steep switchbacks up the headwall to a high saddle between Snoqualmie Mountain and Chair Peak. As you climb, you'll enjoy increasingly fine views of the craggy peaks of the Snoqualmie Pass area. The long ridge to the southwest starts with Chair Peak at the end of the ridge you're climbing, and south from there is Bryant Peak, The Tooth, and Denny Mountain. At about 3.5 miles you'll crest the meadow-covered ridge (elev. 4400 ft) and start a moderately steep descent over the last 0.5 mile to the lakeshore. You can stroll all the way around the sprawling lake on boot-beaten trail, but please don't create new paths--or widen any of the other faint way trails that have been kicked into the heather by hikers' boots.
Driving Directions:
From Seattle drive east on I-90 to exit 52 (signed for Snoqualmie Pass west). Turn left (north), crossing under the freeway, and continue to the end of the road at the Alpental Ski Area parking lot. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
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Snow on trail
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Today, the shortest day of the year, was stunning – with fresh white snow and deep blue skies.
We met...
Today, the shortest day of the year, was stunning – with fresh white snow and deep blue skies.
We met about ten people along the route today, so the trail was packed and well defined. Until the next snowfall, the trail to Snow Lake should remain easy to follow clear on up to the ridge. We did fine with sturdy boots and poles. More photos: http://seattlewalks.blogspot.com/2011/12/snow-lake.html
Snow Lake
— Dec 12, 2011
— mOuNtAiNeEr51
Day hike
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Beautiful sunny day and since there hasn't been a lot of new snow if awhile, the trail was well compacted...
Beautiful sunny day and since there hasn't been a lot of new snow if awhile, the trail was well compacted so snowshoes were not needed. However, when the next round of snow hits, that will all change.
I went up some narrow and steep gully to get to the top of the pass. I took out my ice ax and up I went. The gully was steep, but was like a staircase because of the steps kicked in before me. Not the normal route, of course, but still pretty fun. At the top of the hill I hung a left (toward Chair Peak) and soon got back onto the main trail. From here I simply followed tracks straight downhill to the lake. Still didn't need snowshoes! At the lake most of the tracks follow the shore in either direction. Yes, they are on top of ice, but since you are right next to the shore the water underneath is probably rather shallow. And the ice was pretty solid. Stay close to shore and you will be fine. I went right (like summer route) for a bit to get a view of Mt. Roosevelt before turning back. On the way out I took the side trail toward Source Lake. Lots of tracks lead to and from the lake. I know that there is a route down there that leads back to the TH but I chose to play it safe and take the normal trail back. Day hike
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The trail to the ridge overlooking Snow Lake was easy to follow and easily passible without snow shoes. As...
The trail to the ridge overlooking Snow Lake was easy to follow and easily passible without snow shoes. As the trail started climbing, it became a somewhat less obvious, but was still fine without snow shoes.
At one point the trail appears to go straight up a narrow passage of snow between some rocky cliffs. There are steps kicked in here, but they're two or three times as tall as you would expect someone to ascend. I kicked some additional ones, but I think I was following the remnants of someone's plunge-step descent. I made it up this, but it probably wasn't the safest way to get to the lake. It's steep at the bottom, and just gets steeper as you ascend. You really wouldn't want to fall here, and I don't think an ice axe would have done much good. Two other parties attempted this route, but turned back. Instead of climbing straight up, you should continue traversing horizontally to the left. The route appears to get fainter or possibly disappear, but it picks back up again in maybe 50 feet. From there it's a nice trail with switchbacks. By the time I made it to the ridge, the fog had rolled in and I was concerned about finding a safer way back down, so I didn't bother descending to the lake. On the way back out, I took a detour at the obvious fork in the trail to head back away from the trailhead. That trail leads to a nice basin where there were a bunch of people skiing and some people practicing avalanche rescue. I had a lunch of soup and tea and then headed back to my car. The road to the trailhead was in great condition. I didn't see the ice axe that Big Daddy P mentioned losing in his 12/4 trip report. Day hike
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I started today with good sun shining down on my shoulder heading up to snow lake retracing my steps from...
I started today with good sun shining down on my shoulder heading up to snow lake retracing my steps from the weekend before(Dec 4)searcing for an ice axe which had slipped out of Isiah's pack.We didn't see it and we figured as much.There was a good amount of snow all the way up and at the saddle.We continued down to Snow lake and headed across the west side of the lake which seemed as solid as the rest of the lake but was closer to Chair Peak and is the deeper side of the lake. I'm sure it was all in my head but I felt a little uneasy being out on that side.We made our way up to chair peak lake by scrambling up thru the trees and snow, by which time the sun decided to split and the clouds rolled in! I couldn't see much of anything really. The one thing I could see is that my good friend and hiking bro Alex,did not like the route that we took up to Chair peak lake. He called it exposed,I call it adventure.Sounds like the same thing to this cowboy.We didn't see many tracks up there,just some ski tracks.We then proceeded up to the saddle at Melakwa pass and ate some food huddled in the trees. We headed down to both of the Melakwa lakes which were frozen as well and covered in snow. I expected to see some folks but none were to be found! I didn't see a single print till about 3/4 of a mile from the lake. We followed the blue diamonds in the trees for a bit till we ran into a set of prints which was someones turn around point.(pansies).We ran into a bear about a mile above the falls,he took off thru the trees and across the trail and up the east slope and minded his own buisness.He could clearly see that I wasn't gonna take any lip out of him. We came to the falls and made it down to the trail head where we saw a fair amount of folks coming back from the falls. Eleven miles total from point A to B. I'll see you on the mountain and you will know it's me when you hear me howl!! Gorillaz in the mist baby!!
Snow Lake
— Nov 06, 2011
— Varnishkes
Day hike
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The roads and the parking lot are still clear of snow. There's some frost on the ground, but we had...
The roads and the parking lot are still clear of snow. There's some frost on the ground, but we had no issues driving there. On the trail, however, there is some early snow and frost, and it gets very slippery! Almost everyone in our group slipped and fell at some point, and we really wished we brought hiking poles!
There is more snow towards to the top of the trail and all the way down to the lake basin, which is much safer, as it's fluffier. It was much easier to walk those parts than the beginning of the trail. Still, it was a beautiful day, and a magical winter/fall wonderland! The trail should be easier to navigate once a little more snow falls, and if you do go, bring your hiking poles and you should be fine. Totally worth it! |
Photo by Susan M. Mueller.
2010, 2011
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