Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Union Creek
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. Start up the trail on the soft path leading north out of the parking lot and in just 0.5 mile enjoy the spectacle of a pounding waterfall on Union Creek. Snap a picture or two to capture the pretty scene, then keep hiking. The trail crosses the creek and angles steeply up the nose of the ridge on the east flank of Union Creek valley. The trail zigs and zags up tight switchbacks before rolling into a long, climbing traverse well above the creek. At just over 1 mile from the trailhead the path crosses the North Fork Union Creek above another waterfall, then descends to the main trunk of Union Creek to hug the water's edge before climbing onto the wall above the creek once more. At 4 miles out the trail returns to the creek for a long visit. The trail turns steep once more as it leaves the creek at 4.5 miles for a torturous 2.5-mile climb to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) below Blue Bell Pass. From this hard-earned vantage point, enjoy great views of the Norse Peak Wilderness and its rocky summits: Gold Hill, Norse Peak, Pickhandle Point, and the Crystal Mountain peaks.
Driving Directions:
From Chinook Pass drive east on State Route 410 (Chinook Pass Highway) for 9 miles, and turn left into the Union Creek trailhead parking area at the base of Union Creek. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Blowdowns
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I do this loop once or twice a year. It is kind of brutal. I started off going up the...
I do this loop once or twice a year. It is kind of brutal. I started off going up the Crow Creek trail. This trail is in excellent condition. The horse "hikers" must drag chain saws up there as the first 10 miles of my hike were truely a "walk in the woods". You go past the turn off to Crow Creek Lake (to your right) and head Crow Creek. Maybe 3 miles up you cross a creek and enter into a different world. One without horse packers and chain saws. There is a large blow-down and the trail disappears. I poked around by the creek but the trail is way up on the hill - to your right. At this point the trail is not in very good shape but it is easy enough to follow - mostly uphill.
You follow the trail up to Big Crow basin where the horse shelter is. This year I decided to follow the unnamed trail that heads off to the left (rather than going up to 2000). THere is a trail there (one of my previous reports was wrong). It is hard to follow as there are several deer/? trails that are about as well used as the hiking trail. Anyway I made it up to the place were 2000/Basin Lakes comes in and then followed the Basin Lakes trail. It was sunny with a good breeze - perfect weather for me. Java (who is black) was getting a little tired and hot in the sun. We followed 987 (Basin Lakes) trail down to where Union Creek trail cuts off to the left. I did not see a sign for Union Creek and I was wondering if I had missed it. I was getting close to the pass on the Basin Lake trail when I saw a trail to the left and a marker saying Basin Lakes (I think) up on the Basin Lakes trail. Union creek is not in really good shape at that point but it is easy to follow. As you go down Union Creek its condition steadily improves. From the trail head you simply follow the Snow Trail (999) that has blue markers. The highway is running right along side you. All in all a Perfect Day for a hike. Cool and breezy - only had to use Deet once. This is not an easy hike. It took me a little over 8 hours and that is without stopping. John
Union Creek
— Jul 23, 2011
— martinaj
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Bridge out
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I don't see many reports for this area, so I thought I'd post one. This was a consistently uphill hike...
I don't see many reports for this area, so I thought I'd post one. This was a consistently uphill hike to a couple of beautiful waterfalls. Trail was clear and easy to follow. The 1st creek crossing only has a log to walk across, but it is easily done. No bugs this time. I forgot my poles and they would have been helpful on both the up and down hills. Had lunch by the top waterfall and enjoyed the cooling spray before starting down into the heat. A lovely hike.
Union Creek
— Jun 25, 2011
— Leanne
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Bridge out
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Attempted this hike yesterday. At the trailhead there is a sign stating the bridge is closed. There are...
Attempted this hike yesterday. At the trailhead there is a sign stating the bridge is closed. There are plenty of downed trees across the creek, which could be used to cross, but the creek is running quite high right now, and would make crossing difficult, especially with a dog, so we turned back.
We did see a few hikers crossing the bridge that was closed, but I wouldn't recommend it. You can clearly see rotten portions of the bridge and it's leaning a little to one side. I will attempt this hike a little later in the season, when the creek isn't so fast and high, so crossing it won't be quite as scary. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Washouts | Bugs
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This is kind of a brutal hike. The trail starts at the Crow Lake Trailhead. To find the trailhead, locate...
This is kind of a brutal hike. The trail starts at the Crow Lake Trailhead. To find the trailhead, locate the outdoor potties and imagine that you are stepping out of one of the toilets. Walk straight ahead and you will find the trailhead. The trail is in good shape and there are plenty of switchbacks going up to the turnoff to Crow Creek Lake. I started at 6:30 so it was still pretty cool. Starting at the turnoff to Crow Creek Lake, the trip transformed into one of the worst hikes I have had. I have hiked this before so I know there are a lot of water crossing and the trail is steep, but this time the mosquitoes were overwhelming. Even with DEET they were in my mouth, eyes and ears. Java (my 4 legged companion) was covered by them. The good news is that the trail is easy to follow and it won't be crowded. There are 3 places where you cross a field and the trail is not very clear. My advise is to walk straight across. Pretend that there is an arrow that extends in the same direction as the trail that you entered on and you will find the trail on the other side (helps to look for tell tale signs like cut logs as there are not too many of them in the mountains). The trail out of Little Crow Basin is hard to follow. There is a 3 walled shelter for horses at the basin and a sign that tells you where Trail 2000 comes in.Continue straight at the sign (don't go right) and you will be on a trail that will take you toward Basin Lake. As you go up the hill the trail cuts off to the left and a game trail goes straight. If you are like me you will follow the game trail for a ways before you come to the conclusion that it does not look "right". Once you get over "the next ridge" you should see Basin Lake off to your left. Unfortunatley there are a lot of unmarked trails at this point and you might find yourself by the lake even though you want to stay above it. It is a nice clean lake. We met 3 people there, one guy packed in with horses and the other 2 hiked from Crystal. I took the Basin Trail (987) to Union Creek. When you hike into the lake from north you can see where the Basin Trail goes over yet another ridge south of the lake.
From the lake, both the Basin trail and 2000 can be located by heading due west. The Basin Lake trail is pretty steep but for me the clouds had moved in, the mosquitoes were gone and the hike turned out to be pretty nice. Union Creek is a couple of miles down on the left. Union Creek is pretty steep where it hits the Basin Lake trail but after that it morphs into a really nice hike. Once you get the the Union Creek trailhead there is a trail (snowshoeing) that runs on the north side of 410. There is a nice wodden bridge that leads from Union Creek trail to this one. Follow that for about 3 miles and you will be back where you started. LOTS of flowers and butterflies - and those mosquitoes.
Union Creek
— Jun 21, 2009
— toadlicker
Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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The Union Creek Trail is in good condition, with only one or two small trees over the trail and no...
The Union Creek Trail is in good condition, with only one or two small trees over the trail and no snow. At the end of the trail I turned right at the junction towards Basin Lake. Snow covers the ground in the Cement Basin area, and along the traverse above Basin Lake.
I camped at Basin Lake and felt the temperatures drop. In the morning it began to snow, which made a much more pretty scene, but was surprised to walk through a snow storm in mid/late June. June is perhaps the best month to hike this trail because the wildflowers are blooming and waterfalls are much more impressive (compared to summer or autumn), and the hunters aren't out in full force. |
Union Falls. Photo by Hiking Queen.
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