Mileage: 2.4 miles RT (to the lake)
Elevation Gain/Highest: 1100/5100ft (to the lake)
Map: Green Trails Benchmark Mountain No. 144 and 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.
Snowshoe Details:
Skyline Lake snowshoe is a short but steep climb up from Stevens Pass to an alpine lake nestled below Skyline Ridge and Tye Peak. A nearby boulder field is transformed into a winter wonderland when snow is deep. The route mostly follows a forest road up until less than a quarter mile from the lake before turning in through light forest to arrive at the lake’s edge. Skirting the lake on the left side and continuing toward the ridgeline brings you to Boulder Gardens.
My trip reports:
2/14/2020
It was a little doubtful heading up to the pass when weather conditions had us stopped about 4 miles from the summit but patience paid off and we were soon parking in lot D.
The trail was groomed up until the turn off for the lake so our ascent was was uneventful. Lots of folks heading in to make snow caves but all stopped short of the lake on the side of the trail to have their fun. Things got fun once we turned off the road where the trail levels out, a narrow trench beckoned. If you are new to Skyline, you don’t take the road all the way to the lake.
The trench we followed wasn’t quite direct but got us there. We paused briefly to put layers back on then began to break trail to the left of the lake. Talk about nice powdery snow!
I hoped we would make it to Boulder Gardens but we had the kids so it would only be as far as they could go. At times the snow was waist deep as we pushed on but light enough that it wasn’t too arduous. With four of us it helped to take turns!
At 12:45 it looked like we might run out of steam before the Gardens but I talked the boys into one more ridge. Luckily, it was here we realized we’d made it. We spent a few minutes checking things out but it was of course a bit sketchy with the towering windswept cornices and caves around the boulders. This was the most snow I’ve seen here!
Our descent was much quicker now having tracks to follow and we were soon back down to the road. We cut several of the switchbacks making it even faster. All and all a great outing while the skies were tame.
11/30/18
Skyline Lake seems to be the place for snowshoeing right now! We had talked about a few options up HWY 2 but when my friend Sarah said she had never been, that made it an easy choice.
Conditions were much different from when I was here 2 years ago (see report below). For one, there was no 15 foot high berm in the parking lot to navigate to get up on the service road. We were able to follow the service road right from parking lot D between the PUD shed on the east side and the Port-A-Potties on the left side. Our trip began just before 10am.
Despite not having the most amazing views but we could see glimpses of the ski resort across HWY 2 as we made our way up the steep road.
There are several pink stakes along the road once we passed the radio tower at .8 miles in, all seeming to mark ways to cut across to the lake. The second one seems to be the most popular and that is how we headed in at just over 1 mile from the parking lot. The road had a pretty good trench from previous snowshoers but once turning off there was more powder to play in.
Without a whole lot of blue sky, we arrived at the lake (1.2 miles) and made our way around on the south side and across the outlet. If I were to do it again, I might go around on the north side and avoid the possible postholing as there isn’t more than a couple feet of snow here and it took some hopping to get across.
We wanted to see if we could get over towards Tye Peak and headed for the gap in the ridge above the northwest corner of the lake to drop down to the other side. The snow was amazing, mostly powder!
We ran into some problems because there really wasn’t enough snow yet to make maneuvering Boulder Gardens feel safe for us. We punched through a few times and no one wanted to end up with a twisted ankle or worse. After three of four attempts in different directions, we ended up deciding to spend some time summitting the knobs on more northern part of the ridge.
We shared our time with a few skiers dropping off into the bowl on the other side and the sun gave us blue skies briefly and a glimpse over at Tye Peak which would allude us today. The snow on the knob was a mix of powder and ice and some sections were pretty steep both on the fall line and the contour, all good practice for more snowshoe trips this season!
We came back down to the lake along the edge of the ridge (which was a fairly steep descent), stopped at the lake again and then made our way back out on the road. The skies were a mixed bag, Cowboy and Big Chief played peek-a-boo with us and we were back to the car by about 2:15pm.
1/30/2017
I had a weekday off, so I decided to head up to Stevens Pass and visit a few lakes when the crowds would be considerably smaller. The forecast was for cloudy skies, so I chose Skyline Lake and Lanham Lake instead of Valhalla, where I already knew the views are exceptional on a clear day.
I pulled into parking lot D on the north side of HWY 2, the one closest to the Pacific Crest Trail trailhead. I wasn’t sure exactly where the beginning for Skyline Lake would be, but it was pretty obvious when I parked that there were multiple ways to get there as the there were tracks heading up towards the power lines all over the hillside.
I opted to walk over to the PCT trailhead and follow tracks up from there because there was less of a berm to climb over (you can follow a service road up if you park closer to the overpass). I started my trek about 8:45am.
I soon passed some cabins and connected with the service road. Turning right, it continued a short way and brought me back to the clearing for the power lines again. Due to the popularity of this area, there were tracks to follow in all directions, but I figured they all would get me there eventually.
There was evidence of snow shelter building every 10 feet or so, maybe from classes or just folks having fun in the snow. I crossed under the power lines and just headed up into the woods on one of the many snowshoe tracks.
In a few minutes I hit the main trail, which is wide and groomed. Don’t forget to be considerate of skiers and others by walking on the outside of the trail, especially if you are wearing boots. Holes made are dangerous to those on skies!
The trail was easy to follow from here, switchbacking up most of the way to the lake. I could see plenty of cuts, particularly by those on skiing. That would be my plan for the way down…
The clouds came and went, I got a few glimpse of blue and the ski resort as I made my way towards the lake. There was no one else out today, the benefit of getting up early, I guess. The snow was hard and crunchy, my snowshoes going “clink, clink, crunch” most of the way.
As I got closer to the end of the trail on the map and things began to level out (shortly after passing a smaller tower and building), the tracks went left in towards the lake. I did the same and soon came out to a gorgeous view of a frozen Skyline Lake and Sky Mountain in the background.
More evidence of snow shelters here (as well as plenty of other humans not practicing LNT) as I made my way around the lake to the left and headed up towards Heather Meadows and more views. I will definitely not be venturing here on a weekend.
The clouds cooperated and I was able to see down at the ski resort and out at the surrounding peaks.
It was fun to be able to look down and see the glittering lights of the ski runs, something I imagine you don’t see on a clear day. Once you to the lake and around, the snow is much less compact and powdery, with a thin hard layer on top. Although there were multiple tracks everywhere, I was still able to wander and find a few patches of undisturbed snow for myself.
I found my way over to the popular stone garden that seems to be what everyone comes to Skyline for. I could see Skyline Ridge and wondered how far I could get up along it towards Sky Mountain.
I continued to weave my way through the large boulders, marveling at their size and how the snow covers and drapes them so elegantly. Watch out for dips in the snow, with all that white on white it is easy to fall into a “ditch” around the rocks. Just sayin’.
My approach towards Skyline Ridge took me around to the north side and could see a peak of Glacier and Sloan off in the distance. I made my way up to a saddle about 5390ft up and stopped for a snack there. The ridge continued, but I hadn’t brought my spikes or ice axe and I knew that although it looked like others had gone further, I knew it was more than I wanted to conquer by myself today. Sometimes, more knowledge makes you more cautious.
The views were still spectacular and I was happy there was no breeze as I took in the day.
One my way down Glacier became easier to see, lit up by what little sunshine we would have for the day.
My trek down was uneventful. I loaded up the garbage I found at the lake and cut pretty much straight down to my car. Periodic breaks in the treeline allowed me to gauge where my car was parked and I set a course to there. I came out just a bit onto the Pacific Crest Trail, about 30ft or so from the TH. Walking out at 11:25am, I saw the only other people I had seen this morning. My stats came out to 3.3 miles RT with the addition of Tye Peak and subtraction of taking a direct route down. Not satisfied with only 4.1 miles, I headed over to Lanham Lake to round out my day.
Another great day of solitude!
Directions: Drive east on HWY 2 to the Stevens Pass Ski Resort. Just after you go under the overpass, you will see parking on the left (north) side. Parking is free and there are portable bathrooms. The trail starts out on a service road near the overpass, but you will multiple paths heading up over berms and into the woods from the parking lot. As long as you head for the power lines (and cabins), you are in the right direction. No parking pass is needed.
There are a few other possible snowshoes near Stevens Pass like Surprise Creek, Lake Susan Jane on the southbound PCT, Lake Valhalla, Lanham Lake, and Arrowhead Mountain. For more of my latest snowshoes, visit my Snowshoe page. For more outdoor adventures in the area, visit my SR 2 page.
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