Had the day off and decided to make it my first time to Grand Prospect... and WOW!
THE ROAD / PARKING
I started at the Rattlesnake Mountain trailhead next to Snoqualmie Point Park — the parking lot is pretty sizeable. I got to the lot around 9:15 and hit the trail soon after. There were several cars in the lot, but it was pretty empty overall.
When I got back to the car around 12:40, there were definitely significantly more cars in the lot, but it was still far from full, with plenty of spaces left.
The vault bathrooms had some toilet paper when I got there, but I suspect there wasn't much left by the afternoon (I didn't check).
THE TRAIL
The trail is generally in great shape to Grand Prospect.
I saw a lot of devil's club around, but none of it had encroached onto the trail.
There are some muddy spots throughout, but they aren't problematic and are easy to walk over (or around, when the trail is very wide).
TIMELINE
9:15 — Reached trailhead
9:20 — Left trailhead
10:10 — Reached Stan's Overlook
11:10 — Reached Grand Prospect
12:00 — Returned to Stan's Overlook
12:40 — Returned to trailhead
MISC.
Okay, so as mentioned above — W O W!! This may have become my favorite forest hike of the year. It's been many years since I've hit up this side of Rattlesnake, and I've only been as far as Stan's Overlook. I'd forgotten basically everything about the trail since it'd been so long. The forest is so pretty, with such tall trees and greenery, and the trail grade is great across the board.
Views from Stan's Overlook were actually nicer than I remember. Not sure if that's just my memory or if some of the vegetation in front of the views have been cleared over the years at some point. The last time I was here, the picnic table wasn't (only the benches were), so that was fun to see!
Views from Grand Prospect are amazingggg. It was a cloudy day so I couldn't see the top of Mount Si, but it was a great view. Honestly, the cliff made me a little dizzy — as someone deathly afraid of heights — but the benches were very nicely placed so I could sit near the edge without getting vertigo. I would love to have a picnic here someday.
So much trillium, bleeding-hearts, and other smaller wildflowers around today!
I only saw a handful of folks on the trail today, only one of which was on my way up. It was just such a nice, quiet Monday morning for a hike. A really wonderful way to start off the week 😊
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