Twin Lakes Snowshoe — Monday, Jan. 2, 2017

Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass

We were out today snowshoeing and had a great day on the trails, however we did not reach the lake. This was mostly because we were out of time and the trail from the groomed roads to the lake required some route finding and we were unsuccessful on our first attempt. It was a gorgeous day and we had a lot of fun, but I have never had a trail description in my guidebooks and on this website be so incorrect! We parked at the Hyak Sno-Park and paid the $20 fee on top of the Discovery Pass that we already had. The first error is the suggestion that the Iron Horse Trail and FR 9070 intersect one another. We were prepared for this and cut over to Hyak Drive before the sewer ponds and followed the road up to where it intersects with FR 9070. From there it was an easy walk on groomed trails with cross-country skiers and plenty of other snowshoers. It was so well packed that I just carried my snowshoes and hiked with my microspikes. It seemed to take forever to cover the "1.5 miles" from the parking lot to the turn-off and according to my GPS and a double check with Google Maps when I got home, the distance was actually 3 miles. Not sure how the author of the description was so far off. The hike along the road was magnificent with steep cliffs and hanging icicles, a nice waterfall, and a fun bridge. What we expected to be a 2 mile hike in to the lake was just over 3.5 miles and we stopped about a 1/2 mile shy of the lake (as the crow flies). We ended up hiking 7.2 miles by the time we got back to the car. before we turned around and headed back to the car. If we had made it to the lake it would have been over 8 miles. Significantly more than the 4 miles we anticipated when we left the car. Still a fun hike and one I would like to complete, but it was a bit much for my 12-yr old daugther and her first time on snowshoes.