Kendall Peak Lakes Snowshoe

Snow has been dumping on Western Washington this past week! More snow means perfect snowshoe conditions are coming soon! A few weeks ago, I was able to go on a great snowshoe trip that will be even better with a few inches of fresh powder. I had been looking for a hike that would allow me to take advantage of the sunny day, and decided on Kendall Peak Lakes since it has an awesome viewpoint near three alpine lakes. (Note: Be sure to check the avalanche forecast at NWAC before heading out! Want to know how I evaluate avalanche risk on hikes? Check out this blog post)

Snowy trail with the sun peeking through the trees

On the morning of my hike, I left home a bit later than planned and just typed “Kendall Peak Lakes” into Google Maps. Most of the time, doing this will lead me straight to the trailhead of the hike, but this time Google led me to a random spot on an interstate exit ramp! Definitely not a trailhead. I pulled over and used the Washington Trails Association website to figure out that this hike actually starts at Gold Creek Sno-Park near Snoqualmie Pass. Thankfully I wasn’t too far away from the sno-park.

Gold Pond Creek is a very busy sno-park since there are a few trails in the vicinity and is a place families like to take their children to play in the snow. If you’re going on a weekend, I definitely recommend getting there early. Thankfully, once I was on the trail and about a mile away from the parking lot, there were fewer people and I had the trail mostly to myself.

Clouds moving through Snoqualmie Pass

The trail is an old forest service road so it is very wide and has a moderate grade. As I hiked, I watched the clouds move through the valley and over the ski resort across the highway from me. I love watching fast clouds move through the area and am always mesmerized by cloud inversions. I never knew clouds could be so expressive until I moved to Washington.

After hiking for a little over four miles, I checked my map and realized that the old forest service road continued a short distance to the top of the mountain but the trail to the lakes branched off in a different direction. I could see that people had hiked further up the old road, so I decided to check it out too. I’m so glad I did!

As I rounded the final corner, I was greeted with an amazing few of Mt. Rainier, Keechelus Lake, and the valley of Snoqualmie Pass. The lake glittered in the sun as puffy clouds flowed between the mountain peaks, obscuring and then revealing Mt. Rainier. I was completely amazed. I decided to have lunch there so I could just watch the clouds and admire the beautiful view. It was so nice to feel the warm sun on my face and breath in the crisp mountain air.

View at top of road: Keechelus Lake and Mt. Rainier

As I ate, I had to guard my food from grey jays. Unfortunately, so many people have fed them that they associate humans with food and act aggressively towards hikers to try and get more food. As cute as the birds are, please do not feed them.

Grey jay who wanted some of my lunch

After I finished my lunch, I soaked in the view for a few more minutes before returning down the old road towards the lakes. The trail got narrower once I was off the old road, but it was still clear enough to follow. After a little ways, I reached a clearing in the trees and realized that I had reached the first lake. The lake was completely covered in snow and the path that others had forged before me went straight over the middle of the lake! I was a little apprehensive about crossing over the frozen lake, but there was nothing to indicate the ice was about to break, so I crossed.

Trail over center of first lake

Once I reached the other side of the lake, the trail became a little less defined. Looking at the map, I could tell that the second lake was just a short distance away through the trees. With my map out, I hiked up a short hill before emerging at the second lake. Like the first, this one was just completely covered in snow. There was no path going directly across it, so I decided to walk around the edge instead. It was difficult to tell where the shore ended and the lake began, but I tried to stay on the shore as best I could. Once I reached the other side of the lake, I looked up the hill towards the location of the third lake.

Second lake

I had read online that trying to reach the third lake during the winter can be dangerous because the hill between the second and third lakes is very steep. Upon seeing how steep the hill was, I decided not to continue to the third lake. The hill was indeed very steep and not something I was comfortable with, especially since I was hiking by myself. Instead, I decided to finish walking around the second lake and would then return the way I came. As I got back to the trail, a cloud began to move in, engulfing the lake and surrounding forest. 

I could still see the sun through the clouds, but it was very eerie. I was glad that I’d gone to the viewpoint before the lakes. Once I reached the old forest service road again and had hiked down it for a while, the clouds cleared and I had blue skies again. The hike down was peaceful. I was just enjoying being in the forest on a beautiful, sunny winter day.

As I came around a corner, I looked up at the sky and saw a sliver of the moon. I smiled as I have always felt so lucky when both the sun and moon are on our side of the earth. It was a great way to end an amazing hike.

If you look closely between the trees, you can see the crescent moon

Once I got closer to the parking lot, I ran into more and more people, most of them families who were sledding down the trail. I missed the solitude I had been enjoying just a mile before. Soon enough I reached the sno-park and removed my snowshoes. It always feels so weird to walk normally after wearing them for a couple hours! 

I left feeling content and thankful to have spent the day outside in the mountains enjoying the sunshine!