Lodge Lake
Snoqualmie Pass,
Washington
Overview
Lodge Lake, named because the Mountaineers had a summer lodge next to the lake from 1914 until 1944 when it burned down, follows the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) through the ski area, past Beaver Lake and then down towards Lodge Lake, where you will depart the PCT and follow a short spur trail to Lodge Lake. It makes for a great moderate hike, coming in at just under 4 miles and less than a 1,000ft elevation gain. While the noise of I-90 can be quite loud during the start of the hike, it mellows out once you leave the ski area. If hiking during the early fall, expect to encounter through hikers in the final stages of completing the PCT.
Directions
Parking
Trip Reports
Driving my electric car, a Subaru Solterra, to SeaTac from Manson entailed a charging stop along the way. I think I could have made it all the way to the airport without charging, but didn't want to deal with having to immediately charge on the way back (turns out I was able to charge the car at the airport parking while I was on my trip). Looking online, there looked to be a serviceable charger near the Chevron at the Pass, and what better way to kill time while the car is charging than a quick hike to Lodge Lake!
Fortunately, there was an open charger and after hooking up my Solterra, I walked over the the trailhead and began my hike. There were a couple of cars parked in the lot, as well as a large motorhome, whose occupants were grilling when I came back (guessing they might have been meeting some through hikers?).
It's been at least 15 years since I had last done this hike, and I couldn't recall much about the hike, other than remembering it went through the ski area before dropping down to Lodge Lake. The trail winds through the forest for a little bit, and it was nice to be back in the lush environment of the west cascades, with mushrooms, ferns and greenery everywhere you look.
The trail then empties out onto the ski slopes of Summit West, passing below some of the ski lifts. One part of the trail was a little overgrown, but it was a short section and not hard to get through. I hadn't recalled how noisy I-90 was, being very loud at the start of the hike, but it eventually turned into more of a low hum farther into the hike.
Farther up the trail just before Beaver Lake, there was heavy equipment at work not far from the trail. Since moving to Manson, I hadn't really been paying attention to the changes at the Summit at Snoqualmie and I was puzzled at what they were building. After looking at their website, I'm suspecting this was work for the Wild Side chair realignment. I passed by a group of thru-hikers in a meadow and then stopped to take some photos of Beaver Lake.
After Beaver Lake, the trail enters into the forest again and slowly begins the descent down to Lodge Lake. There were quite a few different kinds of mushrooms growing along the trail, and at one point, I noticed a bunch of steam coming from the ground - it almost looked like a thermal vent, but I think it was just the sun breaking through the tree canopy and drying out the wet ground.
I was able to catch glimpses of the lake through the trees as I descended, and lost in thought, I almost missed the sign and spur trail over to Lodge Lake. Fortunately I saw it at the last minute and veered off onto the trail and made my way down to the lake. There were a couple of other groups spread out along the shoreline and I made my way over to an uninhabited spot to snap a few photos, trying my best to avoid the very muddy sections of the shoreline.
I checked my car's charge status, and it was almost at 75%, so I opted to not take a break at the lake, and make my way back along the trail. I overtook another thru-hiker as well as a group of day hikers on my way up from the lake, and as I came out of the forest was treated to nice views of the familiar peaks of Snoqualmie Pass, like Kendall, Red and Guye Peak.
I walked back to my car, and headed down the mountain to SeaTac, ready for the long journey to India for a work trip.
