After perusing the National Park's reservation page a week prior, we saw a spot available at Snow Lake and decided to give it a go. Since the trail is short (about 1.1 miles each way), we weren't too concerned with weight and loaded up on our most luxurious backpacking gear, including some inflatable floaties to deploy in the lake.
We came into the park via the Ashford entrance, stopping at the Longmire WIC to pick up our permit. Unfortunately, there was a very long backup at the park entrance, which took about an hour to clear. Consider either taking another route through the park (more on that below), or coming early/late. The road from Longmire to the trailhead is all paved and comes with some great mountain views. The trailhead parking lot was just about full when we finally arrived around 1:00 PM, but we managed to snag a spot along the side of the road. Even if less jammed than some of the park's main draws, this is still a busy trail!
After hoisting our packs, we set off for Snow Lake (leaving Bench Lake for our return trip). Though this trail is short, it's pretty strenuous, with lots of stair-steps and some eroded/rooty sections, so it still felt like a "real" hike. The bugs were not as bad as we feared, but still definitely out in force, especially when we stopped moving. Lovely scenery along the way, with some blooming meadows, but most of the views of Rainier happen on the return trip.
After arriving at Snow Lake, we reconnoitered campsites. There are two available at this camp, and both were unoccupied so we had our pick. Site 1 is on a spectacular overlook perched over the lake, but was fairly exposed, and the tent pads were a little sketchy (not very level, and partly on exposed rock). Site 2 didn't have quite the same views, but was more secluded, with plenty of shade, a couple good hammocking trees, and easy lake access for swimming and filtering water. We opted for Site 2.
After setting up camp, we inflated the floaties and jumped in the lake. The water was cold at first but we got used to it quickly, and it was a lovely way to cool off after a hot hike. Might still be a little cold for swimming, but some intrepid souls were giving it a go in the day-use area.
Bugs remained a nuisance at the camp. We packed bugproof clothes and a net for the hammock, which helped us avoid the worst of them, but still ended up with around 5 mosquito bites each.
As other reviews have mentioned, the camp toilet is a bit of a climb from the campsites. If you can, probably better to do your business during daylight hours. The high-tech toilet was pretty cushy as far as camp facilities go, but as other reports had mentioned, there was inexplicably some waste and TP on the ground nearby from the toilet. Don't know why you'd walk that far to the toilet and not actually use it...
On Day 2, after a leisurely morning packing up, we headed back out, with a quick stopover at Bench Lake. It's quite pretty as well, with some great views of Rainier, and has some warm shallow areas that would make for pleasant wading.
On our drive back to the Seattle area, we decided to go around the East side of the mountain, via Stevens Canyon Road, Cayuse Pass and 410. Note that Stevens Canyon is currently all torn up for a repaving project, meaning it's effectively a gravel road at the moment. It's also apparently closed Mon-Fri so this route would only be an option on the weekend. But it was a nice change of pace from the Ashford route, and provided more lovely scenery. There was no line at the Stevens Canyon entrance, so this might be a quicker way in than the Ashford route, but you'd still have to pick up your permit at Longmire or another WIC.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking for a wilderness camping experience but don't necessarily want to spend hours with a heavy pack on.
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