Granite Lakes Road
Nov 12, 2009
by
Janice Van Cleve
—
last modified
Nov 12, 2009 09:39 PM
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Granite Lakes Road
- Region: Snoqualmie Pass -- North Bend Area
- Avg Rating: 3.33
- Be Aware Of
- Snow on trail
This is the trailhead
What a wonderful day for a quick mountain hike! 32 degrees, blue skies and snow. The trailhead for Granite Lakes is a short unmarked gated driveway off of the Snoqualmie middle fork road about 300 yards from Mailbox trailhead. There is room for 3 cars max if they are all friendly. The trail is a forest service road that gains 2300 feet elevation in 5 miles yet you don't notice it. The grade starts out gentle on a leaf carpeted road in the cool shade of Mailbox Peak. At about 1.5 miles it comes to the first S curve with a shortcut. From there it gains altitude, rounds a corner at 2.4 miles and at 2.6 miles crosses an overgrown bridge. From there the trail climbs more steeply 1.5 miles more to a second S curve. Here is where the snow starts. At first it is only 2" thick and crusty. The next mile is steeper to the fork in the road with a sign. Go left for Thompson Lake and right for Granite Lakes. The trail never actually goes to the Granite Lakes shorelines - it stops short above them and it would take bushwhacking to get to the lake shores.
All along the road/trail is clear and very well drained. All the culverts are clear and the bridge is sturdy. There are no obstructions. This is a great snowshoe route for winter and a good 10 mile round trip workout.
All along the road/trail is clear and very well drained. All the culverts are clear and the bridge is sturdy. There are no obstructions. This is a great snowshoe route for winter and a good 10 mile round trip workout.
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Looking back from the Thompson/Granite Lakes fork
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Some melting on trail to Granite lakes
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The reward on a beautiful day
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