4,100 feet
- Stats:
- 8 miles round trip
- 1,400 vertical climbed
October 14, 2008
The Drive
The Snow Lake trail head start at the Alpental Ski Resort off of I-90. It's about an hours drive from Seattle. Take exit 52 toward Snoqualmie Pass. Turn left, drive 2 miles on the Alpental road to the ski area. Park in the large parking lot at 3,100 feet.
The Hike
Snow Lake is a great little hike that you can easily do in an afternoon from Seattle. The trail climbs up the valley passing meadows and scree fields for away's until you see the Source Lake junction. I continued another half a mile for the view down to Source Lake and up at The Tooth and Chair Peak.
Chair Peak from Source Lake with a light dusting of snow.
The view down to Alpental.
Surrounding mountains of Source Lake.
I hiked back to the junction and headed up towards Snow Lake. This is where the elevation gain comes to play. You switch back up to the ridge line at 4,400 feet with a great view of the lake. The trail descends another half mile down to the north end of the lake. You can also continue around the lake and to Gem Lake which can make a great day hike.
Snow lake from the ridge.