Easy snowshoe.
Here are somethings to share. Parking was INSANE. We purposefully tried to go at a time when we thought it would be less busy, but there were easily 100 cars parked and a line even to drive up the road. Once parked, we were overwhelmed by the crowd. It was like Disneyland. Hundreds of people. Loud people. People with sleds, snowshoes, skis, snowmobiles, picnics, doing photoshoots, playing some form of volleyball or something. It felt like spring break. It was so tightly packed that we had to wait for our turn on the trail. It was overwhelming. You will not need snowshoes or spikes. The trail is so pat down it is like walking on cement.
We did the trail around the pond, and to be frank, it was too much for me. I couldn't handle the noise and crowds. So we stepped off the pond trail and did the Gold Creek Trail. That was lovely. It was quiet and peaceful. We had two dogs with us who had an amazing time.
The snow park pass is something like $25. Back-of-the-napkin math said that this site alone brought it in at the very least $5,000 that single day. Yet there was not a single trash can. Not one. I was a bit frustrated. There were diapers, dog bags, and empty take-out containers. Yes, I am all for pack it in, pack it out, but when you are making $5,000 in one day, at one location, spring for a trash can. This is how we make places sustainable, by providing SIMPLE infrastructure. There was a pile of trash that was several feet high. I get it, take your trash out is fantastic. But this level of not preparing for large crowds was truly disappointing and leaves me questioning basic planning and decision-making by this team. Pretty negative experience.
Stats:
Total Mileage: About 6
Total Time: About 2
Dogs I Saw: MANY
Snacks: Very bad peanut butter sandwich.
Comments
Hello, Your concerns are quite reasonable and justified. Consider, though, that the snowpark revenue generated barely covers the costs of the plowing in a normal winter where the snowpack at Gold Creek is deep, heavy and wet. Plowing, porta potties, and grooming contracts are expensive. Snowpark accounting should be fairly readily available through contacting State Parks. In heavy snow winters the $$$ can dry up before the close of the snowparks.
Regarding crowds, Non-motorized winter recreationists seem to simply not want to travel a bit further east to reduce the Pass area overcrowding. Easton Reload, Hwy 97 snowparks, and Lake Easton for example are actually underused. The snowpark volunteer committees sometimes even consider proposals to close a few.
There are challenges to providing trash cans also. One is the cost for waste management companies reaching remote locations and their additional preparation needed to operate on snowy and icy roads. Being so close to I-90, those provided receptacles can become dumping sites for locals and travelers not wanting to pay for transfer stations. Less so at a location like Snoqualmie, but at snowparks, trailheads and dispersed camping areas lower in Kittitas County it is a serious problem. It has been tried by land managers and completely abused.
I am not being critical of your post or concerns, it frustrates me too. I have stopped recreating in the I-90 corridor on winter weekends. I just wanted to give some information to be considered that makes this difficult to solve.
Sincerely,
John
Posted by:
John Morrow on Jan 21, 2026 12:04 PM