Mileage: 8.7 miles RT (to Surprise) and 11 miles RT (to Glacier)
Elevation Gain: 2368/4490ft (Surprise Lake) 2700/4800ft (Glacier)
Map: Green Trails Stevens Pass No. 176
My favorite places to stop post hike with friends are: Grilla Bites, Route 2 Taproom and Grazing Place, Good Brewing Company, River House Cafe, Espresso Chalet, Gustav’s, Yodelin’s Broth Company, South, Dan’s Food Market, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike or Snowshoe Details:
The Surprise Creek Trail takes you up to Surprise and Glacier Lakes on a mostly gentle trail that follows gurgling Surprise Creek with the option to carry on further to the Pacific Crest Trail and beyond.
The trail itself leaves from the utility road for the power lines, a few hundred yards up from the parking lot. The first mile climbs gradually in the forest, much of it on stepped boardwalk that can be slick when wet. At the mile mark, the trail travels east over a sturdy log crossing Surprise Creek to continue on the other side. From here, the trail gains gently as it parallels the creek. At 2.3 miles it takes a single switchback up the slope and ascends over talus and avalanche chutes. More serious switchbacks begin at 3 miles to reach the elevation of the lake. From here, the trail soon passes the junction for Trap Pass and keeping to the right, crosses back over Surprise Creek on a rock hop and arrives at the lake. You can take the trail clockwise around the lake and a privy is available. There is a connector trail up to the Pacific Crest Trail about 1/3 way around the lake that will take you towards Glacier Lake.
Often available year round as access is just across a set of railroad tracks that are clear of snow berms during winter seasons. But be cautious, the trail does move through avalanche slopes and checking conditions is highly recommended..
My trip reports:
8/13/ 2021 Stevens Pass South to Trap Pass and Surprise Lake
We stayed one night at Surprise Lake as the final part of a backpacking loop and the person doing the planning did not look up current trip reports to warn us about the trees down on the trail to the lake caused by an winter avalanche. Needless to say, it was a jungle gym!
1/22/2021, 8.7 miles RT
My original plan was to go to nearby Lanham Lake with a friend new to snowshoeing but in the morning both she and another friend ended up having to stay home so I decided to head over to Surprise Lake hoping for less people. After waiting twenty minutes for two trains, one of which stopped, I parked just on the other side of the tracks as the road to the trailhead was blocked with snow. This added about .3 miles each way but snow on the trail meant a more direct approach overall.
Starting a little after 9am, I opted to have my snowshoes on based on the road. But I could have just used spikes all the way up to the junction with the foot bridge over Surprise Creek as there were bare spots on the road and trail up to this point. Multiple stream crossings with steeply angled snow and a few thin snow covered logs meant spikes would have been less awkward. The trail was also compact snow with a substantial trench also making snowshoes tricky.
Arriving at the log crossing over Surprise Creek just before 10am, I decided to keep on the west side for my approach to the lake this time. One, I know it is possible when snow covered and two, I have a little PTSD from slipping off that log and into the creek so I’d rather have it happen on the way out rather than the way in (see my first trip report). There were a few tracks on this side to start with but they soon ended. I did see one piece of yellow flagging at the beginning but that was it. This is where having taken a class like the Scrambling Course with the Mountaineers pays off.
My journey for the most part followed the creek up, aside from navigating around downed trees, streams and sketchy talus fields. When in doubt, there were a set of critter tracks that for the most part seemed to know the best way to go. It was a refreshing perspective being on this side after so many trips on the other side. It was also interesting seeing all the avalanche debris on this side and looking across at the trail on the other. I wouldn’t normally choose this trail because of that but we had a rare green avalanche forecast so I knew this was a good day to be here.
The snow was hard most of the time, but where the terrain steepens around the creek cascades at 3400ft and 3 miles in there was just a crust with powder underneath. I was never sure when the teeth of the snowshoe would be enough or if I was going to have to dig in. Fun times.
There was a nice cliff band at 3580ft and I skirted it around on the right before coming back towards the creek. Several streams descended from the lake and I stayed between them and the creek the best I could, crossing a few times to avoid obstacles. Having heel lifts on the snowshoes was very helpful.
The terrain leveled out about a quarter mile from the lake and I arrived at 4.6 miles and 4490ft about 1:20pm just counterclockwise from the outlet. There were some old tracks in the snow but not a soul in sight. I enjoyed the sun, solitude and views on this blue bird, windless day. Surprise Sparkplug and Thunder Mountains ringed the lake for my company. The only distraction was the occasion jet or two or three from Whidbey that like to do flyovers here.
I left the lake just before 2pm and opted to take the summer trail out. The tracks I followed actually crossed Surprise Creek to the west before the summer trail, there is enough snow over the large boulder resting in it to do so. I could see tracks for those who had chosen to continue on and around the lake.
This did end up being a much faster route down but I can’t say it was easier. It was a compact trench most of the way except for where the switchbacks normally are but are non-existent for winter. It would appear most folks are wearing just boots and/or spikes and there were tracks everywhere as they attempted the steep slope. My descent was a mixture of zigzag, glissade and turning around backwards. I debated taking the snowshoes off but then I would see the deep potholing around boulders in the talus field that some folks did and opted to keep them on all the way until the foot log that crosses Surprise Creek. There was even a section where the avalanche debris had flowed down recently and covered the trail. Based on the tracks I saw, folks have been taking the trail even during the high avalanche forecasts we have been having lately.
At the foot bridge over the creek, I switched to spikes for the rest of the trip, arriving back at my car at 4pm. There was another car parked next to me but I had not seen anyone all day. I was surprised overall that I did not see more windstorm damage, there were just a few trees down in the first 2 miles and branch debris. But it was obvious more trees have fallen in the last months, just now covered in snow.
11/9/2018:
We started out on the trail around 9:30 with grey skies, expecting a little rain and maybe even some snow. We were the only car in the parking lot and ended up having the trail to ourselves, Friday hikes are the best!
All the wooden stairs and puncheons were slick with frost and we put on spikes at the log crossing a mile in to make sure we didn’t slip in. There was an abundance of water over and running down the trail, it was sure nice to have gaiters.
There were snow patches around 3,650 feet and the trail was snow converted by 3,800 feet except for some spots in the trees. The light rain we had been experiencing soon became snow as we continued up the switchbacks to the junction with the Trap Pass Trail.
The skinny log over the stream just before Surprise Lake had a layer of snow but it was compact and sticky, just had to kick in some steps to get across. The snow was about a foot deep from here to the lakeshore. It continued to snow and it was nice to be walking in a winter wonderland again! Snowshoes weren’t necessary, there was enough of a trough in the snow from previous hikers in the last few days.
We made our way to the rock outcropping at the lake, avoiding the flat marshy areas and postholing around the rocks instead. The robber jays were brazen and bold, clearly used to be fed. We only stayed a bit to eat a snack before cold fingers had us heading back down the trail. One of us decided to brave the flat area instead of the rocks and ended up cracking through the ice over the swampy stuff.
Although the snow had stopped, we were amazed at how the inch of snow on the trail made it look like we hadn’t even come up this way. It is easy to see how fast one could lose their way with just a little bit of snow. There was snow for the rest of our hike out, including a layer on the log crossing at one mile and all the wood walkways were now covered. We were still the only car in the parking lot when we arrived back at 3pm and drove away excited for what else winter would bring to the mountains.
12/21/2016
What a beautiful day! I was glad we could get out before the new snow comes and the roads become even harder to drive up to THs. We picked this one because you don’t have to drive in far and for the most part it rambles along the Surprise Creek. We knew we might only make it so far with the avalanche condition being considerable for today and there are several places along the trail after you cross the footbridge at 1.8 miles.
We parked just across the railroad tracks, the snow to the TH was deep and not recently driven on. This adds about .4 miles to the hike. We were able to put our snowshoes on from the car, the snow had a top crust though and we hoped for more powder once we were on the trail.
It didn’t take long for the snow to deepen, much more snow than when I did this back last December. You would have to be familiar with the trail to recognize the wooden steps on the first section under all that white.
The first log bridge was a little sketchy but the kids made it look easy. It didn’t seem to be too long before we got to the main log bridge at 1.4 miles and crossed over to the east side of the creek.
In order to mitigate slide potential, we stayed as close to the creek as possible for the rest of our trip, spacing ourselves in the open areas. The trail stays fairly level here as you continue along the creek with its icy waterfalls. The sun glistened through the trees as the blue skies teased us from above.
At the 3 mile mark where the trail begins its steep ascent up, we did our best to keep the creek on our right and still weave through the trees and scree. There would be no tight switchbacks to lead us up like they do in summer, it was basically straight up. It got to the point where postholing was up to our waist, often at times where it would have gone deeper if holding onto the snow hadn’t keep us from sinking lower.
It was 12:30pm when we reached the 3750ft mark and I decided to was time to call that our turn around point. We were still headed in the right direction as we had passed some flagging but I was worried about the postholing even in snowshoes. We sat and ate lunch quickly before fingers froze and then made our way back down in our tracks back to the car about 3pm. We only saw 3 other folks today, heading up without snowshoes punching through all over the place. I wondered what they would do without us breaking trail for them…
7/23/2016
I took my boyfriend and his tribe out on one of my favorite hikes and we decided to make it a loop. We headed up the Surprise Creek Trail to the lake where we stopped only briefly due to the bugs. We then continued on up to the PCT to Glacier Lake where we stayed only a little bit longer due to more of those same bugs. The kids were game so we followed the PCT back to the junction with the Trap Lake Trail and then dropped down that back to the Surprise Creek Trail junction before hiking back to the cars. This trail needed some love but I’m guessing it doesn’t see a lot of traffic.
6/10/2016
I headed up after work today with my rain gear, thought I would try for Glacier Lake. This is my 3-4 time up this trail so I felt pretty sure I could make it before I ran out of daylight. I just had my trail runners and poles (and 10 essentials) with me today.
I left the TH at around 1:40pm and there were no other cars in the parking lot. The light, intermittent rain so far today was just enough to get all the foliage along the trail wet so I had put on my rain skirt by the time I got to the log bridge over Surprise Creek a mile into the trail.
The trail was fairly brushy all the way to Surprise Lake but not overgrown. There are several large trees down along the way but nothing you can’t go under or over. I’m going to give the folks cutting switchbacks the benefit of a doubt that maybe the trail was snow covered at one point but there really isn’t any excuse now. One of the things I love about this trail is when the water is flowing (and there was a lot of it today) it runs under several of the talus fields as underground streams. It’s fun to hear as you are hiking along (unlike water you hear under snow you are walking on).
The trail didn’t have any snow until you get just before the junction for Trap Pass and it was just a few patches. I first went right down to the lake, there were a few spots of snow before the creek log crossing (which was higher than normal) and then the trail was fairly covered with snow around the lake.
I wasn’t postholing much, the snow was pretty firm. I arrived about 4:00 but I only went a little ways and then headed back to the junction because I wanted to head up the trail towards Trap and the PCT towards Glacier Lake to see what the trail was like. You can tell not a lot of folks are taking this section, the trail was a more overgrown and there was at least one significant log to climb over. Not much snow.
At the junction with the PCT, I headed south and encountered more snow but nothing too sketchy and just a few branches I could toss of the trail, only one smashed cedar log before Glacier to go over. I sure wish they would have an actual sign on the PCT for Glacier instead of just the “camp” sign.
The sign is about 20ft down the side trail! This lake was melted out like Surprise with just a little holdout patch of white floating in the water. I made it to Glacier Lake around 5:20pm but didn’t stay long because it was raining with some hail tossed in for good measure. There is enough snow melted off the boulders at the lakeshore that you can get down to the water without any problems.
I hiked back and took the Surprise Creek trail down to Surprise Lake completing the triangle. This time I wondered out to the viewpoint at the lake. The rain was letting up and the fog moving in. Pretty but eerie.
I was back to my car by 8pm with plenty of light left, feet wet and ready for a warm car. Didn’t see another soul, I guess the rain kept folks away today.
12/12/2015
This was my first hike today and this report is just for the first part of the trail to the log bridge over the creek before you start to climb up. The road to the trailhead is short with a few potholes. I was the first to get there this morning so the lot was empty. The trail is mostly snow covered when the wood steps start and you could put snow shoes on when the trail starts to hug the creek. Unlike a lot of trails, there were very few fallen trees.
When I got to the log bridge, it was covered with layers of snow, crunchy on top and mushy underneath. My first few steps slid, so I backed out to put on my spikes. Too late, I slipped and fell into the creek anyway. Since I have a history with falling into water (waterfalls, in particular), I decided that was my sign to turn around and find another trail. There were about 16 folks that were coming in after me, hopefully with the numbers they will be able to flatten the snow on the log and make it easier to cross.
Directions: Drive US 2 east to Skykomish and then continue for another 10 miles. Turn right (just after passing the Iron Goat Interpretive Site on your left) into a large paved turnout. Cross the railroad tracks and turn right, following a narrow and bumpy dirt road 0.3 mile to the TH. It is a very small parking lot but it does have a picnic table and pit toilet.
For more hikes on HWY 2, click HERE.
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