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Summit Lake

Featured In: Day Hiking: Snoqualmie Region, by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
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Imagine hiking in Mount Rainier National Park without having to deal with the crowds and the Park Service regulations and restrictions. That's basically what you have here: a short hike so close to the big mountain that you'll feel like you're right on the flank of Mount Rainier. But as you trek up the easy trail, you'll seldom be bothered by any other hikers, especially when visiting on weekdays. Summit Lake, a picturesque little alpine lake with glorious views of Rainier, is the reward.

The trail climbs through a brush-filled clear-cut before diving under the thick canopy of dense second-growth forest. You'll continue to climb, swinging wide across a steep hillside before reaching a trail junction and a small tarn at 1 mile. The pond, Twin Lake (why is a single lake named twin?), is little more than a mosquito nursery much of the summer, so you won't want to linger.

Go left at the trail junction to loop around the western side of the lake basin before climbing the wall to the north of the lake. After 1 mile of climbing, the trail traverses west along the ridge, breaking out of the forest periodically for nice views south to Mount Rainier.

At 2.5 miles the trail slides along the shore of Summit Lake (elev. 5400 ft). This lake is a true alpine lake--wide, cold, and crystal clear. On calm, clear days the lake is a mirrorlike surface that reflects massive Mount Rainier. Wildflowers dot the lakeshores, providing color from the moment the snow melts off (avalanche and glacier lilies) to late summer (spreading phlox and paintbrush). In between you'll find beargrass, lupine, and others too numerous to name.

There are campsites around the lake and additional trail miles above the lake bowl for those who just can't bring themselves to leave the lovely basin.

Driving Directions:

From Enumclaw drive west on State Route 410 (Chinook Pass Highway) to SR 165. Proceed on SR 165 to the Carbon River Road/Mowich Lake Highway junction. Turn left onto Carbon River Road and follow it to Cayada Creek Road (Forest Road 7810), just before the national park entrance. Turn left (north) and drive about 6.8 miles to the trailhead at the end of FR 7810.

Recent Trip Reports

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There are 106 trip reports for this hike. See all trip reports for this hike.

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Summit Lake #1177 — Jul 25, 2005 — YellowDog

Day hike

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A post-wedding crowd gathered for an afternoon hike to Summit Lake. Forest Road 7810, accessed just...

A post-wedding crowd gathered for an afternoon hike to Summit Lake. Forest Road 7810, accessed just before the Carbon River entrance to MRNP was a little dicey for passenger cars (but they made it). We arrived at the trailhead from Central Seattle in about 2.5 hours, but this included a somewhat lengthy stop in Wilkeson.

The trail climbs quickly to Twin Lake, where there is a junction with a trail to Summit Lake to the left and a trail to Bearhead Mountain going to the right. We took the trail to Summit Lake and enjoyed the well-graded hike which was mostly through forest but had occasional patches of meadows (Flowers!) with views of Rainier. The fastest hikers reached the lake in just over an hour (2.5 miles or so one-way). We then continued on a path around the lake that climbs to a ridgetop over Summit Lake. Nice views of Rainier and Glacier Peak from the ridgetop. Return to trailhead took another hour.

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Summit Lake #1177 — Jul 20, 2005 — bev

Day hike

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This beautiful trail was cool and in welcome shade when we hiked yesterday morning. Scores of wild ...

This beautiful trail was cool and in welcome shade when we hiked yesterday morning. Scores of wild flowers, tiny fish jumping at the lake, stunning views of Mount Rainier, this locale is truly a small slice of heaven. Don't miss more interesting views from the rocky point above the lake. We encountered Enumclaw Forest Service staffers hard at work with maintenance chores, and the trail is certainly a credit to their efforts. Be sure to tread lightly around their revegetation areas. Suggest GT map 237 for 7810 road/trailhead location, about 6.5 miles of often rocky road. Stats to Summit Lake rocky 5700 ft viewpoint, about 6 miles RT with 1300 ft gain.

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Summit Lake #1177 — May 28, 2005 — FidalgoRob

Day hike

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Trail to the lake is completely open and in great shape. There are a few patches of snow around the...

Trail to the lake is completely open and in great shape. There are a few patches of snow around the lake and covering the loop trail around the lake (north side). Large areas on the south side of the lake are closed for revegetation. Very few bugs today -- bluebird skies and terrific views of Rainier from the north side. Great hike (but the road up from the Carbon River bridge is really rough -- I was surprised to only see one muffler laying on the side of the road).

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Summit Lake #1177 — May 25, 2005 — CraigM

Day hike

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Two hours from Seattle to the trailhead. Snow is off the trail to the lake but the wild flowers are...

Two hours from Seattle to the trailhead. Snow is off the trail to the lake but the wild flowers are not yet in their prime. It was a beautiful day and the views of Rainier were absolutely stunning. There are still patches of snow on the trail around the lake. Follow the trail counterclockwise around the lake to the high point on the west side for the best views of Rainier and peaks from Baker to St Helens.

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Summit Lake #1177 — May 23, 2005 — Slugman

Day hike

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I drove up to the Summit lake trailhead on Sunday evening, and it started to pour down rain from th...

I drove up to the Summit lake trailhead on Sunday evening, and it started to pour down rain from the Carbon river bridge on. The rain turned to snow at Coplay lake. The road is drivable to the end with caution for the average car. Daisy and I slept in the back of the car, safe from the snow.

Monday morning it was sunny, then cloudy and snowing again. A couple of FS workers came and did some signage work on the trail. They left before I even started up the trail at noon. Daisy and I made good progress to Twin lake, then kept going on up to Summit lake. The trail was snow-free except for the thin layer of new snow, which was melting fast.There was some left-over snow around the lake, but nothing a pair of gaitors can't handle. We experienced snow, sun, and massive meltwater falling from the snow in the trees, sometimes all three at once.

I went to the left when I reached the lake at 2 pm, hoping to get a view of Rainier from the beargrass meadow over there, but no luck, even though I waited an hour. I heard some voices a couple of times, one of which turned out to belong to a friend of mine, but I didn't know that at the time. They must have arrived at the lake after me, then left while I was off in the meadow.

After a while sitting in the sun, I decided to circle the lake, sort of, and climb the little peak overlooking one end. I went the long way both directions (counter-clockwise), retracing my steps, to avoid the wet brush-bash on the short side of the loop. There was quite a bit of snow up there, but the trail was generally followable. When more ominous-looking clouds moved in around 5, I bailed. It took 1:45 minutes of steady hiking to get back from the pinnacle beyond the lake going the long way around.

This is a great hike, but it really should be done on a day when Rainier will be in full view, as this is one of the highlights of the hike. There are plenty of other things to see as well, but the Rainier view is the topper. I was going to spend another night there and do Bearhead Mtn on Tuesday, but there seems to be a pocket of clouds and rain over that area, so I drove home, and will go somewhere else tomorrow, somehwere sunny.

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