Bench and Snow Lakes — Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025

The hike to Bench and Snow Lakes is short but clearly well loved. The trail is up and down with roots and some steps that have seen better days. It made a great hike for an afternoon arrival in the park and we were able to find a parking space as someone had just left. We hiked to Snow Lakes first, going to the day use area rather than the camp. Found some great rocks to sit on where it would be easy to wade in the water. People were swimming by the camp. We then headed back, stopping at Bench Lake on our way where there is a fantastic view of Mt Rainier. We were the only ones there most of the time. As we headed back to the trailhead we had more great views of the mountain. Huckleberries were ripe. Great little hike!