Silver Peak Trail, Snoqualmie Pass, Washington

Silver Peak Trail, Snoqualmie Pass, Washington

August 12, 2018

Distance: 6 miles from the head trail.  We walked 10 miles from the parking spot we got.

Time: 5 hours, 20 minutes.

Calories: 1,965.
Elevation Gain: 2,721.1 ft
Highest Point: 5,297.2 ft

Entrance Fee: We used our Discovery Pass / America The Beauty Pass.

Difficulty: Medium

Today we wanted to do a day hike and gave the Silver Peak Trail a shot.

If you plan to do this hike, we would strongly suggest that you drive an SUV, as the potholes on the road make it nearly impossible to drive to the trailhead in a car that has low ground clearance. It will be a lot easier if you a have an SUV or Jeep. We decided to park on the side of the road about 2 miles away from the trailhead because this was our experience visiting this trail and we were not aware of the road conditions.

To reach the hike from I-90 take exit 54 towards Hyak Dr. E, and then merge into FR-9070 which will eventually cross the Pacific Crest Trail on your right. Look for the PCT sign carefully.

The silver peak trail is a little hard to locate because there are no signs to mark the trailhead for this specific hike. As mentioned on WTA, Silver Peak trail starts after walking nearly 2 miles(some reports we read said 1.7 other 2.0 miles) on towards south on PCT(Pacific Crest Trail).

The picture below is facing north (do not go this way).

The Pacific Crest Trail sign is barely visible.

 The picture below is facing south, this is where you need to go for Silver Peak Trail.

From the PCT to the trailhead of Silver Peak Trail the hike is easy, it was heavily transited during summer months and you will find hikers, hiking with dogs. You will have good views of Silver Peak, fallen trees, water formations, a couple wooden bridges, and at least during August, some almost dried up streams.

As mentioned before, about 1.9 miles after hiking the PCT towards the south, pay attention to the Silver Peak trailhead towards your right. There is no sign, and the only marking we saw was a cairn with a fainted “Silver Peak” label.

Th next 0.5 mile is steep and a little slippery. At some points you will have to “climb” your way up some rock formations. You will be able to see Keechelus Lake (which had a low water level given the heat this year) and I-90 in the distance.

Once you reach Abiel Pass, you will see a fork. You want to continue to the right side (Northwest) for Silver Peak. The left goes towards Tinkham Peak.

Shortly after, you will your destination. Notice that the last part of the trail is a steep path with loose rocks. There is a clear path to follow, however, you are free to take any route you see fit. We decided to go a little left to click a couple pictures of the Annette Lake. We do want to hike the Annette Lake trail as we were told we might even try swimming there (not sure about how cold it would be though).

On your way back, be extra careful as it gets tricky with the loose rocks and at some point, after Abiel Pass, it gets slippery when wet.

Tips

·        FR-9070 has many potholes, an SUV will make your trip better.

·        There are plenty of mosquitos and bugs, wear repellent.

·        The trailheads are not easily viewable, make sure to bring a compass, GPS, and make sure you pay attention to the rock cairn marking Silver Peak Trailhead.

·        If you like to hike with dogs, this is a good trail for that.

We hope you enjoy your visit.

See you next time!