We snowshoed toward Surprise lake and stopped in the last steeper ascent section before the lake.

This trail is challenging with the current snow conditions. You need at least snowshoes although skis would probably be better for that last ascent. We put our microspikes shortly after starting and switched to snowshoes a little bit after crossing Surprise Creek.

We didn't make it to Surprise lake but it was still a fun challenge. The first challenge was crossing Surprise Creek. On the way up we jumped from rock to rock over a shallow section and on the way down we found a smaller log to cross near the original bridge. Another hiker we met on our way back also didn't find any good spot and decided to just cross directly in a shallow water section. There is an obvious bridge but the several feet of snow melting on top of it make it look like a dangerous trap at this point.

Our second challenge was the snow and trail conditions 3.5mi in, roughly when the trail starts to zigzag and goes up more steeply. The few tracks that existed disappeared at that point and while I had a map, there was both a lot more snow there and it was very soft which made the ascent all but enjoyable. I'd certainly go up with skis but we were with snowshoes, postholing and there were no tracks to rely on so we decided to stop there.

Great views, fun challenges and a lot of sun, so this was a great day.

I got a late start, about 930am, so I ultimately considered turning around at the first Lake, but I'm so glad I didn't. The first bit of the trail was icy so I threw on my micro spikes early. And like the last review, I popped my snow shoes on about 3 miles in. 2.85 miles according to Alltrails tracking. Just as I emerged out of trees onto the first snow field. From the time they were on until the top I was more happy to have them on than encumbered by them, though there will be times they're on such icy snow they wouldn't otherwise be necessary. Somebody had clearly made it most of the way in boots but I appreciated gliding over the top of their post holes.
There are sections near the top that aren't exactly fun snowshoeing terrain. The snow is so icy and chewed up that your snowshoes are rolling your ankles as they roll around on top of the surface. Snowshoes are absolutely necessary once you get to the lakes so if that's your goal make sure you have them. I am immensely grateful to whoever snowshoed all the way to glacier Lake and broke the trail. You saved me a lot of time checking the map and worry about where I was going. There were a few spots where snowshoe tracks cut the switchbacks. I tended to take those and accept the incline to save distance. HOWEVER on the way back downhill I realized these cut switchbacks were crossing boulder fields full of gaps and pores so I'd recommend sticking to the mapped trail. If you want a challenging snowshoe, beautiful views throughout, great payoff at the end, and a good chance of seclusion this is. Best snow should have done in my life yet.

This hike is worth revisiting with every change of the seasons.

We hiked to Surprise Lake on Wednesday, the 22nd. We arrived at the trailhead at 9:20 and hit the trail at 9:50 pm. Note: You must drive across a well-marked but very active set of train tracks. There is an acceptable open-air wood box seated latrine for those in need.  The trial is adequately signed.

We wore micro spikes and carried snow shoes. We never felt it was worth stopping to put them on. The trail has several interesting creek crossings and patches of ice. There was very little post-holing and for the most part, the trail is well worn into the snow. The views were varied and stunning! 

We arrived at the lake at 2:20, enjoyed a 20-minute lunch, and then headed back to the trailhead.  We reached the car at 5:40. The last third of the hike was in near darkness. At this time of year, a head lamp's value is obvious.

The snowpack appeared stable with a lot of hoar frost on the surface. 

Hats off to " The Kids Won't Hike"  That pair must have booked! They visited the lake and climbed the slope to Little Spark Plug's peak in roughly the same amount of time that we took to reach the lake.  Their trail report inspired us to give their track a try and we will definitely try again but with a much earlier start.  Again, thank you for taking the time to share!

Fantastic snowshoe adventure with Ngie, as we got up to the summit of Little Spark Plug Peak via the Surprise Lake trail. Beautiful day, but a little brisk out, as it was in the upper 20’s when got started at 10:08am. Road to the parking area was bare in spots with a little compact snow and ice.

Trail has a nice compact snow boot path up to some open slopes around three miles in. Micro spikes were nice to have for this section. After this I started to post hole a bit, so I decided to put on snowshoes. Ngie followed suit, and we used them all the way and down from the summit from this point. Snow was mostly consolidated today, which made the snowshoeing much more pleasant! The trail was hard to follow at times, so we went straight up the slope toward the lake,arriving at the far north end of Surprise Lake to the right of the outflow. 

When we got to the lake, we saw the two other snowshoers that had started earlier than us. These were the only people we saw all day. From Surprise Lake we went straight up the ridge following some old ski tracks, before veering to the right to get around this very jagged vertical face ridge. There was one tricky spot where we had to traverse a very steep open slope below some vertical faces. Would not want to do this trip on a high avalanche day. We were actually going to do this trip this past Sunday, but decided against it due to considerable avalanche conditions that day, and did Peak 5484 instead. It’s a good thing, as we crossed some old avalanches on this traverse.

Once we wrapped around this section we headed up and crossed the frozen Little Plug Lake. After crossing the lake we went up another steep slope up to Spark Plug Lake. Here we took a break, before heading up the ridge towards the peak. Just before the summit we ran into a gendarme, so we had to drop down to the west, and then head steeply up to a notch, and then up to the summit. Some fantastic views from the summit. The summit area is pretty small, with a cornice forming on the east side. Be aware of this, as it’s a vertical face down on this side.

We pretty much followed our tracks down, deviating a few times once down past Surprise Lake. We donned our headlamps once got down lower, as we finished at 6:23pm.

Awesome trip!! 10.3 miles with 4179 ft gain

Surprise Lake, Central Cascades is surprisingly a challenging snowshoe and disappointing. 1-star rating. Yesterday, I reached the final switch backs about 630 ft below the lake and turned around. Didn’t see a soul!

7.68 mile r/t, 1832 ft ascent to the final switchbacks.

Parking: do not park past the rail tracks otherwise you risk getting stuck and waiting for the train to move. Road to the trail head isn't plowed and adds 0.3 mile to the hike.

I do advise against this snowshoe for these safety reasons:
1- Trail travels in a deep valley parallel to the Surprise Creek and doesn’t open up except at 2 avalanche crossings. You’re always between trees going up and down at the bottom of the west mountain making it very hard to find the trail. GPS was so confused and constantly correcting course leading to a lot of deviations and work.
2- Trail crosses two open avalanche areas. On the way down I heard a sound and thought it was an airplane at low altitude but it was actually an avy that missed me by 15 min.
3- Trail crosses the creek in several spots that require walking on snowy logs which was fine but problem is with the ones without logs where you cross sketchy snow bridges. Very risky. On the way down I fell to the creek in one. So many sketchy spots as snow is getting wet and soft
4- Final switchbacks: Finding trail was impossible. GPS was confused big time in the woods. Led me to a spot that was blocked by an avalanche. Went around and ended up at a spot where an ice axe needed. Kept searching for a better way but tt was 12:40 and decided to turn around.
5- Snow is wet slick and deep. No fun. It'll get worse with warmer weather

I don’t think this trail is worth the risks in winter, no views and lots of route finding effort.

I saw fresh boot tracks on the way down and very deep post holing without snowshoes so I realized they turned around. Met them at the lot. They told me they turned around at the first switchback.