When snow starts falling in the mountains, you may find yourself longing to get out and play in all that fresh, fluffy powder. While there are a ton of great snowshoe trails in western Washington, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to figure out where to go, especially if you’re new to the area or to the sport of snowshoeing! Grace Lakes is an awesome snowshoe trail located in Stevens Pass. It’s a fun adventure whether it’s your first time out or your hundredth. Read on for all the details!

Grace Lakes snowshoe trail at a glance

• Location: Central Cascades – Stevens Pass
• Pass / Permit: None required!
• Distance: 4 miles roundtrip
• Elevation Gain: 500 feet of elevation gain
• Terrain: Rolling hills on a well-packed Sno-Cat road with deeper powder along the sides
• View the WTA Hiking Guide entry

How to get to the Grace Lakes snowshoe trail

The Grace Lakes snowshoe trail starts from parking lot #4 at Stevens Pass Ski Resort, which is located just off U.S. 2. If you’re coming from Seattle, this set of parking lots will come before the ski resort (located to the west). Parking lot #4 is the uppermost lot. If it’s blocked off when you arrive, you can simply park in a lower lot and walk up the hill to get to where the trail starts (this is what we did). You’ll begin your snowshoe from the far western-most end of lot #4.

Tips for traveling along U.S. 2 to Stevens Pass

The distance from Seattle to Stevens Pass Ski Resort is roughly two hours depending on traffic and road conditions. Conditions in Stevens Pass can change drastically from one day to the next, or even within the span of a few hours. You can check conditions with WSDOT here. 

You should also be aware that tire chains are required on all vehicles in the pass except for those that are all wheel drive. That being said, we have an all-wheel-drive SUV and have used our chains on numerous occasions. Even if you are accustomed to driving in the snow (like us coming from Ohio), you will likely find that driving in these mountain passes is on another level. This is especially true when you throw in heavy traffic and plenty of people who are not used to driving in the snow! We highly recommend practicing putting on your chains before you leave home so you’ll feel comfortable in a higher stress situation. You shouldn’t be intimidated about putting on the chains, but a little practice will go a long way to ensure you get them on correctly!

When to arrive for your snowshoe trip to Grace Lakes

You should definitely keep in mind that this parking area is associated with the Stevens Pass Ski Resort, and thus it will fill up early and can be quite busy. If you’re able to visit on a weekday, that will be your safest bet. If coming on a weekend, we suggest arriving before 8 a.m., knowing that many people arrive early to hop on the lifts that open at 9 a.m. You could also plan to get there after lunchtime when some of the early bird skiers might be heading home. 

We visited on the Tuesday before Christmas. We arrived around 9:30 a.m. and had no trouble parking. Once we were on the trail, we only saw a couple other groups, so it was a nice peaceful experience! 

About the Grace Lakes snowshoe trail

As mentioned above, you’ll start this snowshoe trip from the far western-most end of parking lot #4 at Stevens Pass Ski Resort. You should see a faint path heading up through the woods toward the Mountaineers Cabin, which will start to come into view as you make your way up. 

Once you reach the cabin, you’ll run into a packed down Sno-Cat track, which is essentially like a road running in front of the cabin and continuing to the left. Follow this wide path the entire time. It will split a couple of times, but you will always stay on the main path and to the right. You will eventually come to a large snow-covered lake, which is Grace Lake. You can continue walking past this for a little bit longer, but you’ll eventually come to a sign that says not to continue any further due to the risk of triggering an avalanche on the highway running below this area.

Traveling on such a well-packed path is actually pretty nice, as it makes walking a whole lot easier than if you were in deep, fresh snow. We found it to be the best of both worlds, as there was plenty of powder along the sides of the path that you could walk and play in when you wish! The snow along the sides was probably about waist deep. 

While this trail doesn’t really have expansive mountain vistas, you will get occasional peeks at the surrounding peaks, and plenty of beautiful snowy trees. We found this snowshoe trail to be exactly what we were looking for, and it felt like the perfect distance and difficulty!

Other tips to keep in mind before hitting the Grace Lakes snowshoe trail

• Stay alert throughout the duration of your outing, and be sure to stay off to the side as much as possible. Many skiers and snowboarders use this trail, and can seemingly appear out of nowhere at high speeds! 
• Avoid walking on ski tracks. Skiers and snowboarders rely on smooth forward motion and your snowshoes will quickly mess this up and can even create a hazard for these other users. Stay as far to the side as possible and walk in an existing snowshoe trail if one exists. Walk single-file to minimize your impact on the groomed path.
• Be avalanche aware. Before heading out on any trails in the winter, you should have at least some basic avalanche awareness in order to make smart decisions. You can check the avalanche forecast with the Northwest Avalanche Center (NWAC). They also offer free avalanche awareness courses, online resources, and more advanced learning opportunities.
• Need snowshoes? We’ve had these Tubbs brand snowshoes for years and have gotten a lot of use out of them (women’s | men’s)