Nice trail! Not crowded at all, plenty of parking when I arrived around 7:30am on Sunday and when I left around 10:30am. Fairly rocky, some big steps for my chiweenie, but not bad. Foggy on the way in, clouds opened up on the way out and got a cool view of the mountains while walking along the ski field. Very narrow offshoot to the lake, but worth getting down level with it - very peaceful and cool clouds rolling across the surface. Some bugs, but didn’t have any problems. Overall a great hike not too far from Seattle!

Nice and relaxed easy+ hike, wildflowers, berries and views. Half of the elevation is on way to lodge lake and the other half on return. Rocky and rooty sections. Sun exposed and shady sections. Lodge lake is beautiful with several areas to sit. Several day hikers and several NOBO and SOBO PCT-ers.
One large fallen tree within 50 feet of trailhead and one midway to Lodge Lake.

Came on a Thursday at around 1pm and parked to a mostly empty lot at Summit West. Pretty easy trail and was out and back in about 2 hours with some water breaks. I got slightly lost as you pass over a few access roads with some turns. Just stay mostly straight and cross over each one without veering off and you should be good. I’d recommend downloading an offline map on Google to just make sure you stay the path. Lodge Lake is kind of underwhelming but I’m spoiled by alpine lakes. I couldn’t find a way to walk up to the lake so that wasn’t great either. It’s still a great and beautiful hike with fantastic views of the mountains and some really cool and breezy dips through the forest. Still loved it! Happy hiking!

I’ve been excited to try this little hike on the PCT for a while and it did not disappoint. We actually hiked past the lake to the sign for Rockdale Creek a total of 3.25 miles along the PCT. After the lake is when some of the mountain views open up. The scree field before the creek is actually a neat place to stop and take it all in. We started from the trailhead around 1045, there are no facilities at the trailhead. The hike was beautiful and a bit hot in places. The shady areas were welcome, heading up the exposed ski slopes was very hot. Pack plenty of water. Right at the start of the trail there is a wide tree down which shouldn’t be too much trouble but I have a torn meniscus so hoisting myself up and over was a challenge. Other than that it was just the loose rock in places that had me taking my time choosing my footing. All in all it was a great day on the trail, we saw just a handful of other hikers.

Parking was very easy in a generous lot right off the highway. The first leg of the hike is quite exposed but full of wildflowers as you hike under the ski lifts. Most of the trail is otherwise undercover with salonberries and huckleberries (not ripe yet) along the way. Not great access at the lake itself, a bit mucky, but nice with some wildlife (like a cascade frog). Not very busy. Gentle slope but lots of rocks and roots. Nice short morning hike just an hour out of the city.