the trail leading up to it is an access road, and its actually a bit harder to walk on the gravel instead of packed earth. it also doesn't have great shade because of it. 
the lake was a bit low by this time of the season we think. absolutely gorgeous spot.

Grace - Not super scenic, but fully groomed and a nice warm up workout. Snow was super crunchy when we were there so we just needed spikes and poles, but more snow is coming. You share the trail with downhill skiers for the first bit so watch out. Some areas were pretty steep and there were more route options than the maps show so a map is required. Route map linked below. 

Skyline - Great views on the way up and a cool rock garden beyond the lake. The lake itself is nothing. Snow was super crunchy so we just needed spikes and poles, but snowshoes are highly recommended if you want to go past the lake. Check avy conditions because this trail crosses avalanche terrain: https://nwac.us/avalanche-forecast/#/stevens-pass Route map linked below, but see notes. 

Road/Parking: We got up there a bit after 10 and there was plenty of parking in most of the lots and still plenty when we left. Not sure if that was normal or the skiers were waiting for powder, traffic on Stevens seemed a little light too. The parking lot was compact snow and a little disorderly due to the lack of lines, but the road was fine. You can find details on the parking here: https://www.parkstevenspass.com/ If you have a group of 4 you can make a free parking reservation. There are honey bucket toilets around or you can find a real bathroom with running water and hand dryers at the resort. 

Grace Lakes Trail: Not a ton of elevation gain but there were a lot of steep sections that felt harder than they looked on the map. You start out on a road that goes by the ski lodges and you get the watch the skiers and snow boarders whip around you, which is kind of fun, just make sure you stay to the side to give them room. Eventually you turn off onto a wide groomed trail and we only saw a couple people from that point on. There are a couple little views but nothing crazy. Mostly you just have a nice wide trail, easily 4 people across on the day we went, than weaves through the forest. You can turn around at the lake or continue to the "danger" signs, but you are not allowed to go all the way to the second lake. 

Grace Lakes Stats: 2.8 miles, 620 ft elevation gain/loss, 1.5 hours. We are moderate paced hiker who hike weekly. 

Skyline Lakes Trail: This one is steep, traction required! We saw some people attempting it with sneakers/boots and it looked a bit scary. The start of the trail is not super clear and the turn off for the lake is also easy to miss so I recommend a GPS map and keep an eye on it. The trail goes straight up so it doesn't take long to get above the trees and start getting some nice views of the ski area. This one gets a lot more sun than Grace Lakes. Eventually you will get to the turn off for the lakes, but the main road is more prominent so ti is very easy to miss and we did on the way up. There were a couple of paths broken getting to the lake but most of them seemed to go the same place. At the lake we found a pit that someone had dug a couple feet deep, but no ice or water! Pretty crazy how deep and solid the snow was.

You can see a bit of a rock crowning above the trees and that is the rock garden. There is not real trail, just tracks that people make. We made the mistake of following some track that went to the left, kept splitting, and disappeared on the way in. Stay to the right side of the lake and head up on the far side keeping right (south/the resort side) for the best way to the rock garden (what we did in the track below on the way back, not the way our). You will soon hit a viewpoint with a long drop. There is a nice view of the resort again and Stewart poking above the ridge. Continue a little more to reach the garden itself. Proceed very carefully here. It is different every time and can be dangerous with cornices, wind loaded snow on rocks, snow bridges, and pits. There are all kinds of cool rock formations that looks very alien and the snow buildup turns them into cool sculptures with waves and spirals. Depending upon conditions there is a rock that reminds me of Lion King's Pride Rock that is fun, but sometimes dangerous to get to. If you wander you also might be able to find a view of the north side of the ridge too. 

Skyline Stats: 3.7 miles, 1250 ft elevation gain/loss, 2.25 hrs moving, 2.5 hrs total. My stats/track includes walking across the road from the other parking lot. We are moderate paced hikers who hike weekly. 

This is an outing normally reserved for the winter and spring months given most of the reports I've seen. I thought I would try it on this glorious fall day and see how it went. 

I parked at the Valhalla Lake Trailhead and made my way up the steep service road toward Skyline Lake taking the short trail marked only with a couple of cairns. I had designs of making a loop down the ridge from Tye Peak to the PCT but ended up doing an in and out the same way. 

I attempted to scramble over the top of Heather Ridge but the rocky area wasn't much to my liking so I dropped a couple hundred feet to the west and traversed easy slopes until past this section.

Soon enough I was on the top of Sky Mountain which is a forested bump looking over to nearby Tye Mtn. The connecting ridgline looked super steep dropping off of Sky so I hiked the east slope a few hundred feet down and traversed over. No difficulties other than some minor brush. 

Once back on the ridge I meandered up easy slopes to the summit of Tye which has much better views than Sky. 

After deciding I wasn't going to do the loop down the east ridge I aimed directly toward the forested slope between two rocky areas on Heather Ridge back to Skyline Lake. There was some brush to contend with in the basin below but it wasn't too bad. I could see how having snow would make this section go easier though. 

Back at the lake I zipped down the trail and road for a 6.6 mile trip with 2866' gain. 

My son(10m) and I(35m) made this hike on a hot summer day with fishing gear. The beginning of the trail isn't very well labeled just look for the electrical equipment on the opposite side of the highway from the main lodge. It gets really steep really fast and maintains that throughout 75% of the hike. Thankfully, it's a shorter hike so just pace yourself. Hiking poles would make this easier for sure, but we didn't have extra hands for them and it was fine. Wear good shoes as some spots have bigger rocks you're walking over, and the incline can make slipping easy on the smaller stuff. After you make it to the split towards the lake, it's pretty easy going. Beautiful lake and surrounding area, highly recommend checking it out at least once.  

The first half is mostly clear gravel with some patches of snow. The second half of the trip up is all fully covered with snow. Snowshoes not necessary as we completed the hike with solid ankle support hiking boots and were just fine. The lake itself is still under about 2 feet of snow. W hiked with our mid sized dog who loved the snow but I did carry her about a quarter mile once the descent got a little steep. On the way up she was solid!