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Trip Report    

Basic Snowshoe - Reflection Lakes

Enjoying the peace nature brings can create a harmonious, calming balance when unknown winter trail conditions arise. This trip was loaded with the element of surprise given the weekly park closures and no trip reports but, quite possibly made my mentored snowshoe trip even better in my mind. Having the tools to stay safe the element of potential adventure and having to problem solve on the trail, is why I give this trip a 5.

Lisa Elliott Lisa Elliott
December 23, 2024
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • A warming trend kept most of feeling quite cozy this last day of autumn as we ventured out with our snowshoes today.

    PASS use your interagency pass, senior pass or paid pass to enter Mt Rainier National Parks Nisqually entrance. Try to arrive earlier to use the amenities and not get stuck in line of cars prior to Longmire.

    GATE ENTRANCE the upper gate opened at 9 am. The times are published the evening prior between 4-5 pm with any last minute changes again at 7 am HERE The upper gate to Paradise is closed Tuesday-Thursday this winter season due to a staffing shortage. Chains must be carried in your vehicle.

    PARKING Narada Falls parking lot had one car when we arrived at 9:30. Icy patch lingering from last week and a warm bathroom nearby are part of the amenities. Parking lots have been treacherous lately. 

THE TRIP After reviewing the terrain topo map around Stevens Canyon Road and re-reading my old trip report of observations on March 30, 2024, we chose to break trail up the well marked, safer. route then drop down to Reflection Lakes via Lower Lakes Trail thus avoiding a rather large terrain hazard around Stevens Canyon Rd. In addition we would be the first group out after the Tue-Thurs three day closure, making for a fun day of route finding and trail breaking. In total approximately 2 miles of trail breaking (5 or so inches of new snow) a total of 3.5 miles with some hills made it a good first trip of the season for many.

Climbing from the Narada Falls parking lot to the Stevens Canyon Rd intersection we went left, then following the road a short bit. We last headed up over the ridge and then down to the lake. Good thing the trail markers had just been put in. At other times in the past I've used Gaia as well and my saved gpx from a previous trip to confirm where we were headed.

HAZARDS Avalanche report from NWAC was considerable, wet slab, south facing slopes all areas, so we chose the preferred safer route. Tree wells were avoidable. A bare spot here and there were easy to avoid indicating some water underneath a thin layer of snow (my leg went clear through one spot).

SUMMARY This snowshoe is on my list each year; sometimes I go more than a few times. In particular this year made it special because we had no trip reports to go by except for a solid plan we made and a discussion with the ranger 3 days earlier. In all I actually ended up making more than several plans then opted talking about it with the group of how we might have more than a few surprises that could make it adventure. Luckily my first plan worked out with the weather and early season conditions.

My mentored snowshoe trip is in the books. The element of adventure, the weather genie who created an opportunity, and a willing group up for said adventure is why I would give it 5. Maybe that is why my mentor kept close tabs on me even during lunch.

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3.5 miles- 682' elevation gain and a lot of solitude. Strava Link