Granite Creek Trail to Granite Lakes — Friday, Dec. 30, 2016

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

This trip report is written for the Granite Lakes trail in the Snoqualmie area next to Mailbox peak. This trail has a round trip distance (to the first lake) of 10.4 miles and elevation gain of 2600 feet. The trail is mostly snow free up to the first bridge at 1.8 miles. There is snow on the way to the intersection with the new Granite Creek connector trail (2.8 miles-second bench encountered on the left of the trail marks the new trail), but the snow is easily crossed. After the intersection with the connector trail, it is about a half mile further to the second bridge and there is a lot more snow. We managed to continue on the trail without snowshoes for another 1.2 miles after the bridge, but we had gators to keep the snow out of our boots. We finally turned around about .7 before the lake due to the stream crossing and the deep snow. This trail has a lot of very small creek crossings, but most have large flat rocks to step on - very nice trail work. The trail is scenic with partial views of the mountains and some creek views and it's a gradual climb making it a great day hike. We didn't encounter any other hikers all day.