East Peak, Rattlesnake Ledge — Monday, Jul. 4, 2011

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

We hiked from the west end, off Exit 27 Winery Road/Snoqualmie Point, thinking we might not need the Discovery Pass. I knew the East End at Rattlesnake Lake was DNR land. Well, the West End is posted with "Discovery Pass" signs too, but only the southern parking lot and trailhead, not the Northern lot. The Northern lot and park are City of Snoqualmie, or is it? Let the Discovery Pass confusion begin. Many people just parked outside both gates to hike in. One car in the lot displayed the USFS Forest Pass. I have the Discovery pass, but there were nine of us in two cars and it's not so easy to buy the pass on short notice somewhere. We parked by the highway exit where bikers park and hiked up to the trail. We hiked to Stan's Point, and I feel a clarification could help others. Stan's Point is obvious when you get there, but not so obvious before that. When we reached the power lines, the view wasn't so good, so this wasn't Stan's Point. We continued up to a road crossing. The view was fine, but it didn't look like a point, so we continued. It wasn't much further. The trail goes back in the trees and it doesn't look like there is a point anywhere nearby. But then there was a clear sign for "Stan's Point, left arrow", and a clear trail. Stan's Point has a picnic table and two benches overlooking the town of Snoqualmie and the valley. It's very nice. I packed up a couple stoves, hot dogs, chili, and extra water, so we could eat our Fourth of July chili dogs at the point. Yumm! The salmon berries are almost ripe. The trail is in great shape. I'd like to hike westward and try to find Echo Lake someday.