Day Hike: Reflection and Louise Lakes Snowshoe

Summary

Sunday morning (10-March-2019) day snowshoe to Reflection and Louise Lakes in the Mt Rainier National Park with a friend.  This is a non-technical hike that is easy to moderate depending on your snowshoeing condition. There were no apparent avalanche zones to worry about along the route.  There is little elevation gain along the normal route (~560ft), though if you wonder to where we turned around, you will probably add about 600ft more. Between the Narada Falls parking lot and Reflection lake, the views are somewhat limited but you do have good peekaboo spots to view the south-side of Mt Rainier. The majority of the views are along the road from Reflection Lake to Louise Lake.  The weather cooperated with us, giving way to clear skies and decently warm temperatures.  There were lots of cross-country/backcountry skiers and snowshoers the whole day on the trail. The hike took us about 4hrs, including a decently long lunch break.

** This is an abbreviated version with more photos of the trip due to the post delay**

Route Overview

Washington Trail Association Links:

• Reflection and Louise Lakes Snowshoe
  • https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/reflection-and-louise-lakes-snowshoe

Overall Difficulty:

Easy to Moderate.  Dependent on the snow-pack and your conditioning with snowshoeing.

Gear Load-out:

• Osprey Atmos AG 50 Pack [Gear Review]
• Snowshoes
• 3L Hydration Reservoir
• First Aid Kit
• Glacier glasses
• Goretex Jacket
• Light down jacket
• Beanie
• Neck gaitor
• Layered glove system [read more]
• Compass
• Map
• 1x pair extra socks
• Food

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Getting to the Trailhead:

From the Elbe, WA, drive east along WA-702 for about 13.6 miles.  After you get to the Nisqually entrance into Mt Rainier National Park, you’ll continue along the road for another 14.7miles before turning off into the Narada Falls parking lot area.

The parking lot is paved.  There is a maintained bathroom structure at the parking area.

Google Maps Directions:

From the Elbe, WA to the Narada Falls Parking Lot (click here)

Vehicle Clearance:

There are no issues with vehicle clearance but at the time, tire chains were required if your vehicle was not AWD and 4WD.

Permits:

You do need a National Parks/Forest for this area.  Have it ready before you get to the Nisqually Entrance. Display appropriately.  If you dont have your pass, you can pay the park fee at the gate.

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Day Trip:

Pack Weight Start: Did Not Measure, est 15lbs. No picture.

Narada Falls Parking Lot to Reflection Lake. 1hr 13min. 770 cal.

Starting about 1025, the parking spaces almost gone but we were able to get one of the last spots.  The temperature was in the upper 30s/low 40s in the parking area and mostly clear skies.  The trail starts just past the restroom building. Once you start, you’ll likely want to put on your snowshoes and you’ll wear them the whole time.

It was a fairly busy with a couple of different groups of people, some snowshoers and some cross-country skiers. Eventually we made our way past the larger groups. The trail was not well marked in terms of which trail you were on but the trail itself was clear from the amount of snowshoe/ski traffic. There were only two ways to get to Reflection Lake, so we were not concerned with looking at the map. We could tell which way went to Inspiration Point and which went more directly toward Reflection Lake.

The pictures below are along the trail leading to Reflection Lake. You can visually see the trail is clearly trafficked. Along the way you do get some views of Mt Rainier through some of the trees along the trail. (click pictures for larger views)

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The following were the view once we got to Reflection Lake. (click pictures for larger views)

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Reflection Lake to Turn Around Point. 1 hr 56 min (0hr 43min). 1247 cal (477 cal difference).

You can get a sense of the view along the trail from Reflection Lake to where we turned around on the east side of Louise Lake. (click pictures for larger views)

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The following were the views at our turn around point looking east toward Stevens Ridge, Cowlitz Divide and Stevens Peak. (click pictures for larger views)

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After taking in the views, we figured we would head back toward the western side of Louise Lake, overlooking the lake for lunch.

Turn Around Point to Louise Lake Overlook 2hr 21min (25 min). 1855 cal (608 cal difference)

The way back was all uphill at a railroad grade which made the short trek seem much longer. Around 1250 we got to our lunch spot and took a break. (click pictures for larger views)

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After about 30minutes of rest, we packed back up and got back on the trail.

Louise Lake to Narada Falls Parking Lot. 4hr 16min (1hr 16min). 2860 cal (1005 cal difference).

The rest of the way back was pretty straight forward since we returned on the same trail. Before heading back to the parking lot, we decided to check out Inspiration Point for a quick view (not marked on the map above). (click pictures for larger views)

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By the time we got back to the restroom area, we were both quite beat. This was a long snowshoe day for both of us but we had great conditions all day and crisp views. This would be a worthwhile trip to do again next year in the winter on a clear day.

Trip Metrics

• Total Mileage: ~7.0 miles
• Total Elevation: ~1537
• Start Time: ~1025 Sunday 10 March 2019
• Finish Time: ~1442
• Est Calories: 2860

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