Taylor River - Otter Falls, Snoqualmie Lake — Friday, Aug. 12, 2005

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

The Taylor TH is a short drive from Seattle, and just outside of North Bend. The hike follows the Taylor River for a while (5-6 miles) along an old road thru forest. The trail begins at about 6 miles when you begin to elevate up the ridge into the Alpine Lks Wilderness and towards Snoqualmie Lk. in about 3 miles, you get to the shore of large Snoq Lk. Immediately, there are about 3-4 campsites. We followed the trail past those for about 0.5 mi to find a lunch spot, but the trail elevates above the lakeshore, so the best spots to eat are right away. We didn't continue to Bear and Deer Lks and beyond to Dorothy, but I remember going to those from the other side and they were pretty lakes as well. Snoq Lk is surrounded by rocky cliffs, big cedars, and huckleberries - classic alpine lake. We ate in a spot surrounded by ripe berries, which made a good dessert. Not many bugs. The trail up to the lake is suffering from age and lack of maintenance, but is still easy to follow. Some of the creeks are in different spots too, as is evident by huge abandoned culverts. This is a nice trail, but not one to show off all the wonders of the Pacific NW. The blueberries are nearly untouched though!