** super buggy at the lake (gnats in and around your face at all times)

** mile 6 SUCKS. Tread is very rocky, rooty, muddy, some overgrown sections, several logs to climb over plus 800ft of gain

** several large potholes to navigate around after Middlefork campground. It's doable in lower clearance vehicles, just take your time.

Other than that, this was an incredible hike! We clocked 5.9mi mostly flat to the split and then 2.6mi uphill to camp.

There are a handful of creek crossings that require rock hopping, but nothing too crazy.

Lots of waterfalls on the way up to stop and peek at. I highly recommend the short trip up to Otter Falls!

The lake is gorgeous! Enjoy 🙂

the trail from middle fork up to the Snoqualmie lake turn off was lovely.
flat but rocky at points.
canopy of beautiful trees with picturesque waterfalls.
me and the dude (my dogs name) started our hike at 7 am. few cars in the parking lot. one other group of overnighters were gearing up about the same time as us.
it was a overcast morning with a few very light showers. nothing you needed to wear rain gear for.
the steep hike up to Snoqualmie lake wasnt no joke. steep, two fallen treed to climb over.
over grown narrow footpaths. all very beautiful but a tough climb with a heavy pack. i almost lost the trail when it goes from dirt to a uphill boulder climb. luckily i had read previous notes on the trail. leep your eyes open for the carins. it goes up further from there.
a beautiful little water fall to your right jiat as your about to make it to the lake.
we reached camp about 13:30.
quite a few other campers where up there but everyone respected the silence.
it was so peaceful.
the bugs were awful. luckily i brought incense so that helped a little.
was pretty tired as this was my first backpacking trip in over 10 years!
well worth the effort. i had a lovely time.
and will definitely be coming back to this lake!
happy trails.

The trail from the Snoqualmie Lake trailhead to the Nordrum Lake fork is in great condition, relatively flat, wide, and “fast.” On the weekday, some day hikers coming/going from Otter Falls or Rock Creek falls. Once you pass Rock Creek you may see few people. This part of the trail is “easy.”

If you’ve never been, once you pass the Fork for Nordrum Trail, you hit a steep climb all the way to Snoqualmie Lake. There are some large trees/logs over the trail, and some overgrowth, but there is nothing too difficult to get over. The bugs start to welcome you about 100 meters into the trail. This section of the trail is “strenuous” due to the elevation gain. Don’t let the first 5 miles fool you. This trail has some work in store!

We did 3 nights/4 days - with a continuation out to Deer/Bear lakes. Really great campgrounds, and the hike between Snoqualmie and Deer lake is so beautiful that we did it twice!!! You really get great views of the mountains and down into the lake.

We had one day of rain but it stayed warm. Pretty much had the campsites to ourselves on the weekdays.

BUGS! All three lakes you’ll be swarmed. A bug net for your head is a must, and try to cover up your skin. Gnats especially, but at Deer/Bear lakes the mosquitoes revealed themselves.

My son and I had a great time though, despite the bugs. It is part of the experience!

(Written in my phone, forgive any errors)

Went for a training hike with a weighted pack, up to Deer Lake and back. Started pretty late for my goal of 16 miles, it was 10am by the time I started. My garmin watch may have mislead me into doing more than 16 (lately it hasn't been matching WTA's stats, undercounting by about a mile. Anyone else have this issue?). The first 5 miles were a breeze, lovely forest, minimal bug activity. Big Creek falls is lovely, and a nice ledge on the bridge to sit for a moment.

Once you reach the junction for Snoqualmie lake, you start gaining some elevation. More beautiful forest, old growth trees and you get some views of the surrounding mountains. It was a bit of a slog towards the lake, areas of overgrown plants, multiple blowdowns and rocky, rooty, muddy trail. Bugs increased as well, but thankfully they were mostly gnats and not mosquitoes. Snoqualmie lake is nice, but better views to be had if you head up the trail towards Deer Lake. Deer Lake was very peaceful and quiet. Only saw two backpackers up there, and the bugs were gone! Had a quick snack, rested a few minutes and had to hoof it down as it was already 2pm and I had to work later. Feet had some things to say about that. Back to the car 5:45pm. If you're looking for a way to make miles and do it quick, this is a good choice!

This was meant to be a 2-night trip, but I packed up and hiked out after first night.

The parking lot for Taylor River was over 3/4 full on a misty Sunday late morning. Pit toilet was stocked and clean, but there is no trash can so pack out your own garbage.

Saw a few groups of backpackers on their way down (despite the wet weekend!) as well as trailer runners and day hikers.

My plan was to hike up to Snoqualmie Lake and camp, and day hike up to Bear and Deer Lakes, maybe as far as Dorothy, to find some spots to sketch the next day, returning to Snoqualmie Lake for the second night. The walk up starts wide and narrows over time, becoming a single dirt track by the time you reach the climb up to Snoqualmie Lake. There are some water crossings, but none are too fast or deep to walk over. Big Creek Falls is at a wide concrete bridge a little way beyond Otter Falls and was flowing strong. The trail is sometimes quite rocky the further up you go but does not become a challenge until the last few miles up to the lake. There are several larger trees down between the Nordrum Lake junction and the climb up to Bear and Deer Lakes. The last two miles up to Snoqualmie Lake is often overgrown, muddy, and rocky (sometimes felt like climbing up a steam bed).

There were salmonberries ripening on the lower portion of trail, although heavily picked at this point. All of the higher elevation berries were still in flower or unripe.

Flowers! Creeping dogwood that became more prevalent the higher up I went, along with queen's cup/bead lily, big purple thistles, purple aster, western columbine, and a few I didn't know off the top of my head. Lots of pink coralroots popping up around the camping areas too. Looks like bear grass and fireweed will be going soon up high as well. 

There was a very light rain by the time I arrived at the lake, and between that and traipsing through wet brush, I was soaked setting up camp. Rain pants and boots might have helped, but even my jacket was saturated through. As soon as I stopped, the bugs swarmed in and did not let up. I applied picaridin and got my ThermaCell going before realizing they were mostly gnat swarms and did not seem very deterred by my anti-mosquito measures. I donned a heat net, but it was still annoying, and they were bothering my dog a lot. We spent the evening in the tent relaxing and drying off.

Campsites: There is one before you descend to the lake, on the right up in the trees. There are 3 sites down by the lake (one lakefront on the right, one on the left at the edge of the forest, and one on the right a bit further on). I found another sort-of-hidden site on the right in the trees after climbing up to see if I could get away from the bugs (did not help). I set my pack here and went to look for a running water source/the site further down I read about online. I found the trail to the last lakefront site just after the footbridges before the climb to the other lakes begins. Its steep, muddy, and overgrown, but the site is nice and has a little peninsula and a metal fire ring. I went back for my pack and set up here.

As I saw mentioned in another report, the water was strangely very warm to touch.

It sprinkled off and on all night. I'd hoped that some sun or a breeze would deter the bugs, or that maybe the higher lakes had more wind. The morning was pleasant but the bugs were still out in force, so we had a quiet tent morning before taking our hike up to Bear and Deer Lakes (in still-wet shoes and pants). There is one large tree down before the climb up, and the trail is narrow and brushy. I tried knocking water off with a trekking pole but it only succeeded in slowing down the dampness. There were some nice sites up at the other lakes, but as soon as I stopped very long, more gnats found us. I decided to turn around before going to Dorothy Lake as I didn't want to do the extra climb back and I thought I might bail and hike out if bugs hadn't improved back at camp.

They did not improve. They were finding their way in my head net as I was packing up. I didn't savor the idea of spending the whole sunny day in a tent (the dog doubly so), and figured I might as well use it walking. We headed back down around noon, stopping at Otter Falls for over an hour to eat and sketch. There were thankfully no biting bugs at Otter Falls, or most of the lower part of the trail. I noticed some campsites off trail near the river both in the Otter Falls and Snoqualmie Lake/Quartz Creek junction vicinity.

No litter, no poop bags, only 1 group playing music out of a speaker. Mostly had the trail to ourselves. Made it back to the trailhead before 5:30 pm and there were maybe 5 cars in the lot including mine.