Lodge Lake

 We drove up to Snoqualmie Pass to hike to Lodge Lake and to see the the wildflowers in bloom at Summit West Ski area.
This is on the Pacific Crest Trail heading south from Snoqualmie Pass.
4 miles round trip with about 600+ ft of gain.
Parking is to the west of the ski area on a short dirt road.
The trail starts in the forest for a short section.

 The trail emerges out onto the ski slopes where the fields were covered in wildflowers.

 so pretty!

 there are mountain ridges to the west

and mountain peaks to the north across I-90, a beautiful alpine setting right off the freeway

We enjoyed the bright colors and

found some ripe huckleberries and wild strawberries along the trail

The trail re-enters the forest as it approaches the top of the ridge.

 About 1 mile from the trailhead is Beaver Lake, north end of the lake

 looking toward the south end of Beaver Lake,
we saw some water lilies and a duck swimming on the water here.

 some asters blooming alongside the trail as we continue along Beaver Lake

 The trail gains a bit more elevation, before dropping 200 ft on the way down to Lodge Lake. This section of the trail was a bit muddy with some streams from the recent snow melt.
There was a small waterfall at one of the creek crossings.














A short spur trail took us to Lodge Lake, 2 miles from the trailhead.
The lakeshore is very muddy, but we found some dry logs to sit on and enjoy our lunch.

 This is a great trail to do with kids. My granddaughter enjoyed looking for flowers and mushrooms along the way.

 We were happy to traverse through the wildflowers in this alpine area on our way back down the trail.











some of the wildflowers and other flora we saw along the trail today: