Snowshoeing Around Trillium Lake, Oregon

After the howling winds and rains last night, this morning was calm and dry. The storm finally brought a little fresh snow to the mountains. We took advantage of the weather break and headed to Trillium Lake SnoPark for a day of snowshoeing. There were a few other cars in the lot by 8 AM (most left overnight), but it wasn't busy yet. The temperature was just below freezing and rising as the sun was peeking out. We planned to snowshoe down to Trillium Lake and then loop around the lake before heading back for a total distance of 5 miles.

Katie and I were eager to test out our new Atlas snowshoes. Thanks to the REI clearance sale, we were able to purchase a pair of 9 series and 10 series Atlas snowshoes. We needed a little beefier snowshoe than our basic Yukon Charlie's. There was about two inches of fresh snow in the parking lot, so we strapped into our snowshoes and headed down the wide, well-traveled trail to Trillium Lake. There were already several new tracks from earlier in the morning.

   

We walked past a couple dog teams heading back to the SnoPark who must have gotten an early start. After a short 1.5 miles, we arrived at Trillium Lake. It was still quite cloudy, so Mount hood was unfortunately hidden from view. Away from the mountain, there were slivers of blue sky and sun shining through the clouds. The temperature had risen above freezing and the new snow was beginning to melt. If it wasn't for all the melting snow falling off the trees, we would have taken our coats off. It was quite pleasant. We began our hike around the lake and noticed the deserted dock jetting out into the snow- and ice-covered lake. No on was fishing today. In the summer this area would have been jam packed with people fishing and playing in the lake.

   

The trail around the lake was icy in spots, bare in other spots, and snow covered the rest of the time. Much of the path winds through trees right along the edge, so the melting snow from the tree branches made it feel like it was raining. We had nice views of the lake and surrounding mountains with the entire trail to ourselves. One of the beauties of leaving earlier in the morning is we beat the crowds.

   

On one of the arms at the North end of Trillium Lake, we had a great view of Eureka Peak. One of these days, I'd like to come back and hike to the top. At the end of our loop around the lake, we walked into the forest service campground. No one had recently ventured here and the snow was in pristine, untouched condition. It made me want to set up camp and spend the night, but unfortunately both Katie and I had to work in the morning. We settled for taking a couple pictures and enjoying the solitude.

   

Before heading back up the trail to the SnoPark, we decided to go on a side adventure. I wanted to summit the nearby Mud Creek Ridge and located a fairly easy path on my map. It was less than two miles round trip. Click here for the full report.