Silver Falls Loop — Friday, May. 23, 2025

I spent the day taking advantage of the open passes. Here are my observations: the drive to Stevens Canyon entrance from Enumclaw via 123 will be a challenge once construction begins. Much of the prep has begun for repaving and the back-ups will be unavoidable. Beyond the entrance, all the way to Reflection Lake, it's a beautiful drive! Reflection Lake is covered in snow and ice and is inaccessible. I drove to Paradise to a mostly full lot. It will be busy up there this year! I drove back through Stevens Canyon to the lot at Grove of the Patriarchs and hiked the mile or so in to the bridge at Silver Falls. With the Ohanapecosh campground closed you don't have the loop through the campground available. I just did the short out and back. There's a couple trees down but trail is in great shape and the falls were wild and beautiful! After leaving this entrance I went back on 123 to 410 and drove past a snow covered Tipsoo Lake to the parking lot for the Sourdough Gap hike. Parking lot is about halfway cleared, bathrooms are buried under 10 feet of snow. Thought I might wander but lots of signs cautioning avalanche. As much as I wish it were summer, it's not. From here I headed to Sunrise. White River campground is open for recreation but not campers. I stopped at the Summerland trailhead on my way out and hiked in just a short way. Some debris on the trail as well as soft intermittent snow. It felt great to get back in the area but we're still a few weeks away from easy access to trails. Thanks to the MRNP staff and WSDOT for inching us closer to a full embrace of these beautiful places.