Quite a spectacular throw-away, "how good can it be?" hike! I expected this to be a mundane trail, only to find an entire pristine area with beautiful views and activities! Even the drive there, once off of Rte. 2, was fun and quite pretty, itself. 

The trail gave me 3 lakes and 2 ponds for the price of 1; and the mushrooms were putting on a fashion show just for me, showing off all of their abundant diversity. And when I say, "just for me," I did not see a single person during the entire 11 miles!

After being lulled into a sense being on an easy hike, as indicated by the first half; the 2nd half became quite aggressive at times, and the trail a little janky. But that's what we love! It reminded me of the hike to Silver Lake @ Monte Cristo, if that helps.

So, to recap: fun drive, beautiful hike, lots of shrooms, no people. And, more areas to explore!

I've put off trying this hike a few times because the sign-in seemed like a bit of a daunting hassle, but honestly it couldn't be simpler or easier or better flagged so don't let that put you off.

The road in was very passable at low speeds in my extremely low-slung car. Only one car in the lot; we passed them descending as we went up and saw nobody else all day. The trail is easy to follow and manageable, even just wearing (good) sneakers, but it does increase in severity as it goes and there is a spot later in the climb where fallen logs make it impassable and you have to look out for the tape showing the replacement trail quite carefully. 

That's the only real difficulty. My wife operates with a dodgy ankle and I was coming off a nasty bike crash, and we both managed up and back in about 5 and a half hours. Wouldn't recommend for under 10's or very small dogs as the trail does have some BIG steps. Poles are useful.

Overall a very nice and extremely quiet alpine lake hike, much enjoyed.

We hiked to Greider Lakes on Friday morning in the rain. The trail was pretty much as described in previous reports. The biggest obstacle is one large tree trunk blocking the trail. No easy way to go around. I found it much easier to go under after taking off my day pack. The switchback section has lots of rocks and roots. Hiking poles were really useful.

The lakes are pretty and have nice camping spots and actual blue porta-potties at each. We had the lakes all to ourselves. The quiet was peaceful. We saw one other group as we were hiking out. I guess it being a rainy weekday kept the crowds away. Definitely a nice hike if you are looking to get away from crowds. 

the trail starts easy, but it gets very steep and becomes an awesome way to burn some calories and get rewarded with a fantastic view.

My friend and I reached the trailhead just after 8am. It was warm and fairly humid, and of course the haze from the wildfire smoke made the sun little more than just a bright red dot in the sky. The Sultan Basin road is fine for nearly any vehicle, just a bit potholed in places and with some slide-inducing tight turns once you leave the paved portion and end up on the gravel road. At the trailhead I counted four other vehicles.

If I were to compare this one to another hike it would definitely be Lake Serene. Like Lake Serene the first two or three miles are relatively flat and very easy. Like Lake Serene you pay for it by working your butt off to gain all the elevation in the next couple of miles. Like Lake Serene those next couple of miles are steep, rocky, root-strewn and comprised of an endless number of switchbacks. And like Lake Serene… well, there’s a lake at the end. Two of them, actually. Unlike Lake Serene however there are very few people on this trail. We encountered only two groups of people on the way up and only a modest number on our return.

Anyway, about the actual trail conditions. The 40+ switchbacks really aren't that bad overall. Yes that's a lot, but it's because most of them are only a few hundred feet long. Lake Serene has half as many switchbacks but they're over twice as long and tend to be steeper. The only issue with Greider's switchbacks is that they get progressively worse as you climb. The first dozen or so are mild and mostly dirt... basically a walk in the woods. But as you climb higher they get rougher, and 3/4 of the way up a small landslide forces a re-direct in the trail, making you to clamber up a rocky section. Further up you get to crawl under a couple of partial blowdowns. And finally as the switchbacks near their end the wood stairs are so busted up and crumbly that it's safer to walk around them than try and use them. At the lakes there are some wooden boardwalks, but many of the planks are loose or rotting and require careful footing.

That being said, I think this trail is still easier than Lake Serene although I don't think it's suitable for small kids due to the challenges. Once the trail flattens out past the switchbacks it's relatively easy and straightforward, if a bit overgrown in places. Both little and big Greider lakes have plenty of places to sit your butt down and enjoy the view, mostly in the form of conveniently-situated logs. The wildflowers are mostly done but there are lots of 'shrooms everywhere. The campsites at the lakes looked pretty inviting as well.

One other thing I'd like to point out is that the trail is actually much longer than the trailhead map or WTA's description indicates (I think they're only counting the distance to the first lake). We clocked it at nearly ten miles round trip to the big lake, which agrees with other hikers from previous reports. It took us three hours each way to reach the big lake and back, plus time spent at both lakes and a quick detour around Reflection Pond, and we didn't get back to our car until 3pm. BTW there were 10 other cars there by that time.