In August of 2018, my wife went out of town, which meant I had 3 boys on summer break while needing to spend most of my day in the office downtown. Or…let’s go backpacking! This weekday trip meant Mirror Lake was not crowded, giving us the opportunity to pick a great site for our two night stay.
Getting There
I don’t know exactly why, but I’ve had issues with getting there several times. It really is easy, as long as you know to look out for one turn. First, exit I-90 at Exit 62 and head West. When you get to the clearing for the power lines, turn right as shown:
You will eventually reach a “parking lot” that is unlike most trailhead parking lots. Find a cozy spot tucked in to the vegetation at the dead end/left turn in NF-5480. There’s a sign there indicating you should stop. Technically, you could drive up the road closer to the trailhead (and by technically, I mean you probably shouldn’t).
The trail is short, but steep. You start out on that forest road, which is littered with oil pan-killing rocks. Along that road, there is a downhill spur with a broken sign pointing you to Mirror Lake. We’ve missed this sign before, so here is Jack pointing the way, with Henry looking confused, and that broken sign on the ground:
Your first sights of the lake are on the North end. While normally I thoroughly scope out the campsites, I have not done that here. We saw plenty of sites along the East and South shores of the lake. I think there are spots on the North end as well, but maybe that was just echo. For us, we found the last spot on the South end, giving us some privacy and a great view across Mirror Lake.
A great fishing rock at our site gave the kids an option to spend the time trying to land a 16″ rainbow trout. (Foreshadow much?) I actually taught my youngest to fish here. He initially told me he knew how to fish: “you just swing it, then turn it in”. Right. A late dinner leads us to Day 2.
We decided early in the day to try for Tinkham Peak. The trail is a boot trail, and there were definitely some tricky spots for our crew of hikers aged 5 to 35. While I would have loved to keep going, I wrote in my journal “quite while you’re ahead” at this point:
After returning to camp and having lunch, we explored the other trails that form a junction at the south end of Mirror Lake. The PCT shares the trail with Mirror Lake Trail for a small stretch on the East side of the lake. That meant we saw our fair share of people who knew what there were doing (in other words, they looked awful).
Just before bedtime, Charlie caught his first fish ever (and not a bad looking fish for the first one!):
We left camp fairly early the next morning to head back home. This has been a regular request for a return visit from all 3 kids.
Trailhead
End of NF-5480 in Snoqualmie Pass, WA
Mileage
1.1 miles each way, with about 870 ft of elevation gain on the way in
Difficulty
Easy
Site Scoping
Several sites along the south shore of the lake are spectacular. One spot along the west is great, too.
Raves
- great scenery at the lake
- options for several dayhikes either up to Tinkham Peak or South (along PCT) to views of Silver Peak
- short hike
- fishing opportunities that even kids will find enjoyable
Rants
- this place gets busy in good weather
Are you looking for more ideas on where to go backpacking? Check out the Destinations page for more Trip Reports and other resources.
