Surprise Lake Snowshoe — Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

We got a later start and were at the trailhead by about 11:30am. The trail had snow (6+ inches on the trail and 2-3 feet along the trail) and we used snowshoes the entire time. The trail was very easy to follow so we had no trouble navigating, and we only encountered two other groups the whole day. The trail has great views of the creek, forest, and surrounding valley. Our dog had a great time in the snow, but we did have him leashed for most of the trip because we didn't want him trying to cross the streams without us. There are quite a few stream crossing, most of them are very easy to do with snowshoes, but there are 2-3 crossings that rely on a downed tree. These crossings were still manageable with snowshoes but do require a little focus! We turned around at about 4 miles and were back at our car shortly before 3pm. We had a great time and great weather, and we definitely plan on going snowshoeing here again!