Goat Lake, Mt. Baker National Forest-Snoqualmie Trip Report
October 26, 2002
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John Munyan
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Directions: Take state Route 92 through Granite Falls and at the end of town, turn left onto the Mountain Loop Highway. Drive 36 miles to Barlow Pass, then north about four miles to the Elliott Creek Road. Take that one mile to the signed trailhead.
Trainotes: The trail begins on an old road and passes several small waterfalls. In summer, you will see columbine, bleeding hearts, cow parsley, wild ginger, fireweed and Canadian dogwood. You will walk through old-growth forest and a vast cedar grove. The road ends at 3 1/2 miles and the trail enters the Henry Jackson Wilderness. At 4 1/2 miles faint tread going off to the right leads to the remains of the Penn mining settlement. McIntosh Falls can be seen through the trees. If you cannot cross the creek, continue hiking to the lake and cross on logs at the outlet. The main trail climbs gently until the last half-mile when it becomes true miners trail and switchbacks rudely to the lake.
There are several good designated campsites at the lake and plenty of places to picnic. Most everyone in the family should be able to get to the lake, but do not try to hike around the lake unless you are prepared to wrestle with stinging nettles. The unmaintained trail leads around the east shore of the lake. It was built by miners to reach their claims at the head of Goat Lake. The view of Cadet Peak improves if you persist, but after crossing a low peninsula, the path dies out in the nettles. Only a crazed miner or climber would carry on from here.
The lake takes its name from the goats that roamed the basin and sometimes provided meat for the miners. Henry Cochran and Del Bishop first located claims to the area in 1891. Miners reported that the whole valley was streaked with ore. In 1892, the Elliott Creek approach to Goat Lake was pioneered and a cabin built on its shore. By 1895 the Penn Mining Co. was established and a seven-mile puncheon wagon road was built. Traces of this wagon road can be hiked today. A mining camp was established halfway up the north side of Cadet Peak and another on the south side of Elliott Creek, about a half-mile below the outlet of the lake.
Legend has it that Ida Pass was named for a dance-hall girl who lived in Monte Cristo -- the lonely miners hiked from Goat Lake and over the pass to visit her. Ida Pass can be seen from the lake, which lies on the southeast side of Foggy Peak. A rock pinnacle occupies the center of the pass. Experienced mountaineers can climb over Ida Pass and descend into Glacier Basin as the miners once did, but it is a challenging route. The north face of Cadet Peak is seen from the lake. The peak was named in 1896, taking its name from the Cadet mining claim. The Sauk Indians called the lake "Sweetleehachu." It offers fishing for eastern brook trout and rainbow trout and is one of the larger mountain lakes in the Monte Cristo region, with depths to 100 feet.
The original headquarters of the Penn Mining Co. was on the knoll at the northeast side of the lake outlet, but it was moved downstream when an avalanche swept the building into the lake. The knoll is also the site of a hotel built by the W.M. McIntosh family, which operated between 1927 and 1936. A trail goes part way around the lake but it is overgrown with nettles and brush. Find a place to sit and watch the snow on the high peaks glitter.
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Gorgeous!!!!
Reviewed By: kmeldrum on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 @ 08:02:21 AM
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I did this hike on the weekend of July 18th and did an overnight stay. This hike is pretty easy to do, and the trail is well maintained. The lower route gives some nice pictures with the river, but the upper does occasionally open up for some mountain views, but I think the lower is an overall better experience. Make sure to stop at the falls as it is an awe-inspiring sight. I wasn’t impressed with the designated camping sites so my buddy and I took the spur trail on left and circled all the way to the far side of the lake. Be warned if you attempt this spur trail it is highly overgrown and can be difficult to find. Also keep in mind there are some areas on the spur trail that are very narrow and a sheer drop into the lake awaits those who slip. You can follow this spur all the way to the far side of the lake, but the best place to stay that we found was on the SE corner. From where the spur ends you have two choices, you either hack through all the underbrush, or you get into the lake and wade your way around until you hit the rock field. We waded in on the way, and tried to cut our way out, bottom line if you want to get to this part of the lake I recommend a raft or else be prepared to get wet. It took an extra 2 hours to get around to this secluded part of the lake, but the views and solitude were worth the effort. Overall a great hike!
stay the night
Reviewed By: timenotspace on Sunday, July 12, 2009 @ 06:13:08 PM
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Go on a hot day and swim in the lake. If you want one of the nice camping spots get there in the early afternoon. Plenty of beautiful nature to enjoy.
Reviewed By: Melissa on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 @ 09:09:57 AM
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The lake is absolutely gorgeous. Just did the hike this weekend (09.13.08) and there was still a little snow to see. There's a pretty impressive waterfall about 10 min before the lake that's totally worth making a slight stop for. Its just a a slight deviation from the trail, a couple hops over some logs and trees and you're there. You'll know where to find it when you hear rushing water... just follow the noise and you'll find it. Once at the lake, if you want to go around it, prepare for some bushwacking... there's somewhat of a trail that you can follow around the perimeter, but there's a LOT of overgrowth, and if you're wearing shorts, prepare to break a little skin. Overall, a nice easy hike for a saturday morning :-)
Reviewed By: Tami on Sunday, August 17, 2008 @ 09:32:25 PM
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Hiked in on Saturday, August 16th, out on Sunday August 17th. Took the upper trail on the way in and the lower trail on the way out. The upper trail is a slow and steady incline and the last 1/2 mile or so is brutal, but worth it once you reach the lake. There were approximately 10 other campers by the time we got there (around 3:00). Camping is only allowed in a designated area and there are limited decent spots. We arrived late and ended up sleeping on a hill (not good). All the way up and at the lake, the flies and mosquitos were pretty bad but disappeared once the sun went down. The lower trail was much more scenic and bordered the river. We took our two dogs and they had a blast swimming in the lake with some of the more adventurous humans. The lake is beautiful but cold!!
If you're planning on camping, get there early and definitely bring some DEET. Nice hike - we had a blast.
Goat Lake
Reviewed By: Robie on Saturday, August 2, 2008 @ 11:10:46 PM
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Goat Lake is beautiful. The water is clean and clear, but cold. Camping there was great. It was getting pretty crowded when we were about to leave. and the whole walk down many groups of people passed us heading up the trail. the hike isn't too bad. just bring plenty of water.
goat lake/elliott creek/sloan mtn
Reviewed By: another happy hiker on Sunday, July 27, 2008 @ 09:01:43 PM
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We did this hike yesterday, July 26th, 2008. Began at 330pm from the trailhead and reached the lake at 530pm. We didn't know how far it was or what the hike is as we experienced hikers from Bellingham, Seattle, SF & Detroit... It was awesome. There were quite a few cars at the trailhead and of course, at that time of day lots of folks heading down. We took the lower trail as a portion of the upper trail turns back on itself close to the start so that makes it longer (see the map of the trail). It was very pretty along the creek.
I was with 3 twenty somethings and the lead was hiking like a bat outta hell. But I did fine (49, a little on the heavy side but I've been riding my bike!). Unfortunately about 1 hour into it you will hit (maybe longer if you take more breaks or move slower) the uphill part. The lake is about 40 minutes beyond that. While it is steep it is only the usual stuff w/out a lot of switch backs. The creek part meanders up and down as you gain elevation so it seems steep and you are getting hungry.
The lake was beautiful and folks were camping and fishing. A couple in our group got wet as it was a bit warm. We headed back about 6pm and made the car at 730pm at a quick but more leisurely pace. The views change going back and you see much more of beautiful elliott creek. We never did the upper route.
I wouldn't recommend this hike for small children unless you were camping overnight and they were experienced. An easier hike for backpacking w/kids is damfino lakes to excelsior ridge up the mt baker hwy. Have fun and leave no trace. One thing is that quite a few folks left their soiled toilet paper on the way back on the lower trail. If you can't carry it folks then bury it coz it doesn't just stink it's ugly.
Goat lake in midsummer
Reviewed By: happy hiker on Friday, July 18, 2008 @ 09:23:41 AM
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the lower trail is more scenic than the upper one on an old roadway. Many downed trees have been cut through and cleared to allow passage in the upper portion. Lake is beautiful. Limited camping all on knoll to left of outlet. A relatively gentle grade until some steeper portions as you approach the lake. Not many people on the trail midweek, and a WTA & ranger crew worked on the trail the day we went, 7/17/08. Even at 10 miles a good training day hike for the backpacking season.
Goat lake
Reviewed By: Rob on Thursday, July 17, 2008 @ 09:01:55 AM
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I was just at Goat Lake this past weekend....what an amazing experience. Not a cloud in the sky, the lake looked awesome. I even saw a lady sunbathing nude :) Overall, it was awesome, but the hike can be long, over 5 miles to get in and the last mile is up hill for quite a distance.
Goat Lake
Reviewed By: carol on Thursday, June 29, 2006 @ 11:10:11 AM
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Since the road is washed-out, this turned out to be a long hike. Drive Mountain Loop Highway until road block, from this point to the Goat Lake trailhead is about 3.5 miles. And according to the Verlot Public Service Center the trail itself is 10 miles RT. So all in all we hiked a total of 17 miles today (6/27/06)!
The hike was mostly flat until the last mile or two, but still, my legs were pooped by the time we got back to the car! The trail was mostly covered, not problem on a hot day. Lots of bugs, blow-down trees, trail over-grown everywhere, but still very hikable and it was a great adventure for us :-) lots of fun. The lake is very beautiful, I wanted to stay up there longer to enjoy the view.
I got growled at by a bear on the way to the lake (I think). Didn't actually see it, but it was this deep, loud growl! It was scary, turned around and ran! We worked our way back to that same spot eventually and passed without any problems. Some fresh bear scat at the lake.
Loved it 15 years ago
Reviewed By: markbullard on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 @ 09:08:02 PM
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Review: I hiked this route 15 years ago when I was in high school and loved it. In fact the next summer, my friend and I convinced a bunch of our buddies to go up to Goat Lake for our senior trip instead of squandering our money in Mexico. We hiked up with a full dual burner Coleman stove and pots and pans and an iron skillet. We made a base camp at the lake and spent a week exploring the area around the lake, reading, and generally having a good time.
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