I did a lollipop route today on the Snow Lake and Source Lake trails. The conditions above are for only the Snow Lake part of the route - I'll describe the Source Lake conditions below.
My route was to take the Snow Lake trail up the normal route to the pass overlooking Snow Lake. I then found the Source Lake trail that heads roughly west from the pass, and followed it toward Source Lake. I scrambled down to Source Lake and back up, then continued down to the Snow Lake trail and back out. Took me about 3.5 hours total with about 1,750 elevation gain and 6 miles.
The Snow Lake trail is entirely snow-free except for one or two tiny sections just before you hit the pass. The big rock outcropping viewpoint where you can look down at the lake is snow-free, but the trail on the back side is still covered in very deep, and occasionally steep and icy snow. Most people were turning around here, though I saw several parties headed down to Snow Lake. Snow Lake itself is still frozen over but you can tell the melt-out is starting.
I found the Source Lake trail junction just in front of and below the big overlook rock, though it's unclear if there is a more obvious junction further down, covered by the snow. In hindsight, it would have been better to just stay above the rock and head west, since I had to scramble around or over some steep snow, and the Source Lake trail from here basically goes uphill anyway. For the most part, all of the trail is snow-covered as you follow along the ridge, so you'll need to be familiar with the area or have a good map or GPS to find your way. There were some old footprints I sort of followed, but no one had been up this way too recently.
I found a cool flat area at about 4550' at the top of the ridge that looked like it had been used as a campsite before, including some trash and a tent stake that I picked up. Good views of Snow Lake from up here, and really good views of Chair Peak. I continued following the route via GPS toward the southwest, finding occasional snippets of the trail and old footprints. Watch out for snow bridges here, though there weren't any that were too hazardous today. The snow is firm and easy to walk on up here and I didn't use spikes. The waterfalls running down the surrounding peaks are everywhere, like a scene from the Lord of the Rings.
There were one or two steep snow sections to contend with, but I was able to plunge step down them without incident. Spikes would help, or an ice axe, but I didn't use either. Most of the way here is snow-covered, but generally gentle slopes. There is a big section of open rock, but there is a trail through here - look for the cairns and you'll find it. Upon reaching about 4150' on the trail, I came across a large talus slope followed by a pretty steep avalanche chute still covered in snow. At this point I could see Source Lake below, and I was planning to go down the rocks to get to it, so I turned downhill before crossing the snow-covered chute. It took me about 10 minutes to scramble down the rocks to the lake.
I wouldn't recommend walking on most of the snow right at the lake. Tons of meltwater running under big snow bridges that could easily collapse. They look cool from below, though! I reached the lake at the west end, then walked around the shore to the north side, marveling at the tunnels running under the snow. The lake is amazingly beautiful, especially with the backdrop of Chair Peak and Bryant Peak, and dozens of waterfalls running into the bowl. I then scrambled back up the rockslide to the east of the snow-covered chute mentioned before, until I reached the trail.
If you're not into scrambling, then I still highly recommend hiking up the Source Lake trail to the overlook - the views of Chair Peak and all the waterfalls are amazing. Also, once you can see Source Lake at the overlook, go a bit further because there is a really cool waterfall running across the trail just a few minutes up.
I haven't done this route during summer, but from what I saw, the trail between the Source Lake overlook and where it meets the Snow Lake trail is somewhat primitive. Still, it's not too brushy and I don't think it would be hard to follow once the snow melts, and you get some really cool scenery that way.
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