Clean, but hot today! We only went a pole of miles in. Can’t wait to come back in the fall. Easy access to the water at certain points. Overall beautiful.

Fun times today! Did the entire trail out and back.

Road Conditions:

Road to the upper parking is covered in slush and snow. We parked at the the gate of the boat launch road (which is closed) and walked in. Not a far walk.

Trail Conditions:

Hadn't been anyone on the trail within a day or two. Some snow but really not that much and didn't warrant any snowshoes or spikes. The trail was a bit muddy at parts so boots with traction help a lot. There were a few trees that we had to skirt around, or under.

Weather:

Very wet out even though we did have clear patches. Lots of rain / freezing rain. And the wind was intense at times.

Hiked about 2.5 miles into Bead Lake. First 2 miles were packed down snow from those on snowshoes. We hiked in another approx 1/2 mile without snowshoes. Snow was mid shin in depth (I’m 5’8”), gaiters advised unless you like snow in your boots if you go further. There was another group behind us, unsure if they chose to break trail further. 

There was one large downed tree over the trail that was easily crawled over and another small tree down, easily navigated around. 

The hike itself was lovely, snow covered trees with views of a frozen over Bead Lake. Plenty of ice fishers dotted the lake. 

The road to both lots (trailhead and boat launch) are closed so parking is along the road on the boat launch side. 

Fun day of snowshoeing on Bead Lake Trail.

Directions to the trailhead were spot on. The road was pretty much snow/ice covered after turning onto Bead Lake Rd. Bead Lake Rdg Rd was blocked by a big snow berm, so we took Bead Lake Dr and parked in front of the locked gate to the boat launch area. There were several vehicles already there.

The road and trail were completely snow covered, so we opted for snowshoes right from the start. It was a good choice. After getting down the road, the trail was easily found at the end of the boat trailer parking area. There's a kiosk there with trail info.

This was our first time on this trail, so it was nice that a few others had been on it in the past couple of days. Even still, the trail was easy to follow and was clear other than a few blowdowns that were simple to step over. Also, besides the four fisherman out on the ice, we were the only ones there.

Go Play Outside!

Bead Lake on the Saturday after Thanksgiving has become a bit of a tradition for me, and this one was the most wintery in memory! Some years I still find a few lingering fall colors and even late wildflowers, but this year the trail is entirely snow covered already. I was able to park in the upper (hiker) parking lot, although I wouldn’t recommend it without 4-wheel drive and good snow tires. The snow varied from about 4-6” deep and I turned back before trail’s end because it was getting deeper the farther I went up-lake. I used micro spikes instead of snowshoes, but I’d consider one or the other necessary at this point. This was also the first time I’ve done a Thanksgiving weekend visit and not met others out on the trail, which surprised me. It was a gorgeous day to be out and this is an excellent winter trail, although parking access will likely be tricky as more snow is expected soon.