Surprise and Glacier Lakes
Jul 16, 2010
by
Chris Hoffer
—
last modified
Jul 18, 2010 03:50 PM
- Type of Outing
- Overnight
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Surprise and Glacier Lakes
- Region: Central Cascades -- Stevens Pass - West
- Agency: Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
- Trails: Surprise Lake (#1060)
- Avg Rating: 3.38
Glacier Lake
Overnight at Surprise Lake with trip to Glacier Lake. Glacier Lake is definitely worth the extra mile - more scenic (in my opinion) with some great big rocks on the shoreline. Water is still pretty cold for swimming though! Bugs were out, but not too bad.
Trail to both lakes is in decent shape, though the half mile or so from Surprise to Glacier might be tricky. Some people were heading south along Surprise Lake to get to Glacier, which is possible, but a scramble.
The real trail heads up along a rib away from Surprise Lake, with tarns and a creek on your left. There is a sign at Surprise Lake with a hard left to get to a toilet and a softer left for Glacier, but there have been some blowdowns so the initial section is obscured. A few trees had blue reroute tags on them which were helpful in identifying where to go. If you find yourself heading toward or along the shoreline of Surprise, then you've missed it.
There are some camp sites snowfree at Glacier but a bit more snow lingering than at Surprise. A fair number of people on Friday night at Surprise and a downright zoo on Saturday, so plan on making some new friends.
Trail to both lakes is in decent shape, though the half mile or so from Surprise to Glacier might be tricky. Some people were heading south along Surprise Lake to get to Glacier, which is possible, but a scramble.
The real trail heads up along a rib away from Surprise Lake, with tarns and a creek on your left. There is a sign at Surprise Lake with a hard left to get to a toilet and a softer left for Glacier, but there have been some blowdowns so the initial section is obscured. A few trees had blue reroute tags on them which were helpful in identifying where to go. If you find yourself heading toward or along the shoreline of Surprise, then you've missed it.
There are some camp sites snowfree at Glacier but a bit more snow lingering than at Surprise. A fair number of people on Friday night at Surprise and a downright zoo on Saturday, so plan on making some new friends.
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Mountain reflection at Surprise Lake
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