Lake Serene, Bridal Veil Falls — Tuesday, Jul. 23, 2024

I arrived at the trailhead around 10:30am and there were still quite a few parking spots left. I was disappointed at how much litter was scattered around the parking lot...more on litter later in this report as well. This trailhead doesn't have a place for you to buy a NW Forest Pass, so make sure you buy one ahead of time.

The trail is in great condition, though I will tell anyone doing this hike please be prepared for a LOT of stairs and intense rock navigation. This was especially tricky coming back down; I almost sprained an ankle at one point. I saw one man hiking this trail in flip flops and/or barefoot (I passed him twice doing one or the other). This is definitely not a choice I would make...but to each their own I guess. 

If you decide to hike up to Bridal Veil Falls, I recommend doing this before you go to the lake. Just like others have said, you likely won't want to do it on the way back because the ascent to the lake is intense. There were ripe blue and red huckleberries, as well as thimbleberries, but most of the salmonberries have been picked over at this point.

MY BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Litter and other hikers blaring country music on their bluetooth speaker at Lunch Rock. My jaw dropped at the intense beauty of Lake Serene, quickly followed by rage as I looked down to see a myriad of Starburst wrappers, plastic bottles, Redbull cans, broken plastic containers from a pair of sunglasses, and even a small coat hanger. I couldn't fit all of this in my own pack, so I recruited some nearby hikers to help me clean up and put some in their trash bags to carry out. I picked up all the garbage I could find and left the place much better than I found it--however, I draw the line at others' bandaids and dog poop bags, of which I passed far too many. I desperately wish other hikers would respect the land they inhabit and Leave No Trace. This includes noise pollution. Other hikers do not want to hear your music, especially when we've worked so hard to get to such a beautiful place for some peace and quiet. I waited around long enough for that group to leave (and also reminded them to pick up their litter before they left...) so I could actually enjoy myself, but it was definitely a bummer to have this happen at all. 

I was very proud of this solo hike, and would definitely deem it "hard," not "moderate." The last hike I did was to Upper Granite Lake and that was labled "hard" but it was much easier compared to this hike. The ascent is hard enough with the steep grade, and then add the rock navigation and stairs on top of that. Definitely worth the climb if you can make it, though! Bugs were not bad overall, I only killed one mosquito when I was retying my boots descending. I got back to my car around 3:45pm and the lot was full.