Granite Creek Trail to Granite Lakes — Sunday, May. 12, 2024

A beautiful weekend for my first time up to Granite lake. We got to the parking lot at 7:30am and saw ~2 other groups getting there at the same time and a few more cars already there but still plenty of space. The toilets at the trailhead are well maintained. As described, the first part of the hike is quite a workout but the valley views and roaring creek make it oh so very worth it. The log benches and big rocks every so often also make it easy to take it slow with breaks whenever needed. Then it is a nice gradual ascent with many little creek crossings on the way to the split off with Thompson lake. Creek crossings then become more real, I found my hiking boots and trekking pole to be very handy though it is definitely feasible without. The toughest crossing is right before the lake but everybody made it across great with the help of the log.

By the time we got to the lake there were many groups already enjoying a break there. We found a good spot to settle for some snacks and many more groups soon followed. We were glad to have started early not only to avoid the trail when it's too trafficked but also for the tree shade keeping us cool on the way up--it was much sunnier and hotter going down. Though that did make it a good time to see the pretty little wildflowers and ferns!

In total we spent about 5 hours on the trail and had a great time. Saw many other groups, some with backpacks heading to Thompson, some with very cute dogs, some trail running, but it was not too crowded and was just fun to share the trail with so many folks. With the generous size of the parking lot and people both coming and going, there were still easy open spots when we got back.

Hope to come back to this trail again sooner rather than later with my dog and to trail run or backpack!