Snoqualmie Lake, Taylor River - Otter Falls — Sunday, May. 11, 2025

Road to trail: After the paved portion of the middle fork trail, the road is rough with large potholes. Just about any car should be able to make it if going slow though. 

Trailhead: Got here at 4:30 pm on a weekend day for an overnight hike to Snoqualmie Lake. The trail was mostly full with a handful of spots open. There were cars parked down the road too, meaning earlier in the day it was probably overflowing. The toilet was open and fully stocked. 

Trail: This trail is really two hikes in one. The first part is an easy flat river trail that goes on for the first 5-6 miles (one way) through a second growth forest with great side trips and plenty of water falls. The second part is a 2-3 mile hike in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness with some elevation gain through a beautiful old growth forest past a couple raging waterfalls to a huge alpine lake. The Taylor River trail was smooth and easy. Not much elevation gain. All the downed trees have been cleared. I even saw someone biking the trail. The creek crossings were relatively low and easy to navigate, but the waterfalls were still great. At the trail junction between Nordrum Lake and Snoqualmie Lake my watch read 5.7 miles. After that the trail started to climb and was notably more rough. Definitely more muddy, and 5-6 downed trees across the trail, including a couple that were pretty tricky to get around/over. That said I was able to do it without much trouble. There is an amazing waterfall on the Taylor river about half way up. A little less than 2 miles from the junction is a tricky creek crossing, not because the water is high but because it is a little unclear which way to go. There are some cairns to help guide the way across this wide boulder field, but as long as you use your maps you should be able to find the way. Best to stay towards the left/higher side and make your way up, but there is more water that way too, including a place where the creek seemed to be going down the trail directly. The waterfall at the lake outlet is right after this and really nice. Once at the lake there started to be a little late spring soft snow, but nothing too hard to cross. There was no one camping in the first site to the left of the trail I saw but it wasn't very nice. The second site on a ledge up above the lake to the left of the trail had a couple of tents in it. The third site I came to on the right side of the trail right on the lake shore had someone in it. The 4th site which was to the left had no one in it. You had to cross a little snow to get there but the site itself was snow free and nice. I set up here, got my tent ready and made dinner. I saw probably 20-25 people on the Taylor River trail on the way up but not one after the junction. There was someone at the lake with a blow up kayak enjoying sunset. It took me about 4 hours to get to the lake so I made it there just before sunset. On the way out I went the same way that I came. I got an early start in the morning and didn't see anyone until I was about 3 miles from the trailhead. After that I probably saw another 20 or so people. Got back to the trailhead at 9 am and it was already filling up and was mostly full. 

Wildflowers: There were a bunch of forest flowers blooming. Saw a bunch of trillium, some salmon berry flowers, skunk cabbage, and some other stuff I didn't recognize. 

Wildlife: Some squirrels, a turtle at the lake, and not really anything else. 

Overall, a quick overnight backpacking trip that was about 16.5 miles total with about 2300 ft elevation gain. Really beautiful place. I will definitely come back when I have more time.