Video of this hike included. 

The trail was in great shape. Lots of parking near the trailhead. No facilities, so plan accordingly. The trail initially gains half the elevation the first 1/3 and final 1/3 of the trail. The central portion is level and pleasant. There was a short section of trail with mud and water flowing across the trail, but it was nothing concerning. I observed a plethora of Yellow Amanita, and a couple Elvin Saddles along the trail. There is a log crossing Lanham Creek at the lake outlook, but I did not cross it to explore. Access to the lake from my stopping point was limited, as were the views of the lake, but the small window of accessibility was very pretty. 

This was a beautiful early March Saturday morning snowshoe! We had just had a week of heavy precipitation across the northwest, so we decided to embrace it and get our hill climbing in on snow.

People/Parking/Privies:
About a dozen cars when we arrived around 10am, with the lot maybe 2/3 full when we left around 2pm. The vast majority of cars were there for cross country skiing at the Nordic Center, as we only saw a handful of other parties on the Lanham Lake trail and spent most of the time--including our time at the lake--in solitude. Two port-a-potties in the parking lot were a little beat up and scant on supplies inside. The restroom inside the rental center was the nicer choice.

Trail/snow:
It's not the longest trail out there but we got our workout in! The trail starts with some uphill, levels down for a while, then becomes steep again in the final half mile. Snow is sufficient for assistive gear from the start of the trail, growing from a foot or two at the trailhead to at least a meter or so closer to the lake. A packed down trail is pretty easily followable, especially beyond the power lines. The snowy woods were very pretty and gave several open opportunities for off-trail snow frolicking. Some spots are simultaneously steep and narrow, making it best to keep to the trail.

Lanham Lake:
The lake itself was frozen over and covered in snow still. We watched one skier cross it without issue and saw some tracks from others who had as well.

Flora/fauna/fungi:
The woods were cozily quiet under their snow blanket. As we got higher up the trail, I appreciated the coarseness, even a kind of warmth, of the thick tree trunks standing just trailside. Not a crocus or a rosebud in sight--we are in winter wonderland still! My dad did catch one tree covered in a stack of conks, each wearing a tall snow hat.

As we sat by the lake for lunch we witnessed a single mosquito drift lazily by--a harbinger of dooms to come. Otherwise we heard a couple songbirds at the lake and a raven by the parking lot, but did not see much of any other forest residents.

Views:
As most of the hike is forested, views were near-to-moderate range: a snowy stand of trees. The creek that meanders here closer, here farther from the trail. The shape of the snow drift in a meadow. The first exception is at the clearing for the power lines, which afford views out to Nason Ridge beyond the highway and in the foreground...I believe this would be Welldigger's Ass??? Wow. Anyways, the other exception and the biggest view was of Jim Hill Mountain towering over Lanham Lake. We got to enjoy its dramatic, snowy, rocky face for just a little while with our lunch before heavy snowfall rolled in and followed us all the way back down the mountain.

Would love to come back in summer and see this whole hike in its greenery.

We were supposed to go to Skyline Lake and Ridge today but lot C and D were full just before 9 AM and our group decided to change the destination last minute to Lanham Lake.

The drive to Stevens Pass was definitely not my favorite. There were slushy ice and thin snow on the hwy. Traction tires were advised.  The traffic was crazy. I should have known that weekend mornings were the busiest with lots of resort skiers/snowboarders.

We were able to find parking at the Nordic Center, even though there were only very few empty spots left. 

I happened to start earlier than the rest of the group and only met 2 groups of backcountry skiers on the way up and 1 group of snowshoers at the lake. It was pretty nice and quiet although it's not really my favorite area to snowshoe (unless the group was planning to go up to Sam Hill or even Jim Hill) 😀.

There's an established bootpath (more like ski tracks) from the trailhead all the way to the lake, so I did not need to do any routefinding. This trail was a bit steep at the beginning and then it steadily gained elevation. The trail also crossed the power line area, and I wasn't a fan of the buzzing sound. Other than that, the trail was mostly in the woods.

Overall, It was a short and sweet snowshoe to the lake, less than 2 miles one way, just perfect for beginners. We got a decent view of the lake but not the mountains.

Third time the charm as I got to the summit of Jim Hill Mountain on my 3rd try, taking the Lanham Lake approach. The trail to Lanham Lake is overgrown in spots, and even has some encroaching devils club. The funny thing is this was the most devils club I experienced all day, as I was expecting tons of it on the way up to the ridge from the lake.

The trip up to the ridge ended up being easier that I expected, once I found a climbers/hunters/skiers trail with flagging. This trail is faint as it zig zags up the super steep slope. The way to find it is to 1) take the trail past the outflow all the way around to the eastside of the lake.2) When you encounter a large 100ft tree blocking the trail, get on the tree, and walk it all the way to the end. It will be pointing toward the ridge 3) Head straight up the ridge for maybe 50 vertical feet, and look for flagging. This faint trail will take you all the way up to the ridge, with little to no bushwacking.

Once on the ridge it is fairly straight forward getting up to below the summit block. Lots of wildflowers on this section. When you get to the base of the summit block, there are two options. The standard way that most people take, is left up to the notch. Here it is a class 3 scramble, with bits of exposure thrown in. The alternative way, which I took, involves traversing the slope below the cliffs of the summit block all the way over to the westside, and come up that way. It worked by wrapping around and coming up from the SW. There is a little route finding thru some drop offs, but is mostly a stiff class 2 scramble up to the summit. There are a few sections with some loose rock and dirts, that care needs to be taken.

Views are awesome from the summit of Jim Hill Mountain, It was a bit hazy today, so the only volcano I saw today was Glacier Peak, and even that was not crystal clear.

I took the same way back down. Microspikes worked well on the steep duff on the descent back down to the lake. Started at 7:15am and finished at 1:45pm. 8.2 miles with 3944 ft gain. Good to get this one done!!!Didn't see anyone all day!

Note: Somewhere along the way, my Garmin 64s fell off. I didn't notice it missing until I checked at the summit. I have no idea where it might have fell off. If anyone finds it, let me know. Thanks!

Went to this lake on an overcast,foggy day.saw TWO people,sawed four blowdowns across trail,which are now step overs. Trail is snow free and not muddy,except near a couple of small streams.lake is very full,so fisher people need to wait for a couple of weeks for better access to the lake.as usual the trail distance is off a bit,as it is almost exactly 2 miles one way.there are two VERY steep parts,each measuring about 1/4 mile each.nice hike,quiet peaceful and few people on this overcast saturday.you walk up the road from the parking lot ,about 100 yards to access the trail ( has reader board ),do not take the trail along the creek at the edge of the parking lot.