Road to the trailhead is rutted so can be pretty jarring in places but should be passable in any vehicle.  Fortunately, the unpaved section of the journey is relatively short.  The forest road number signs, if they exist at all, are very well hidden.  There are two very credible looking side roads along the unpaved section that could easily tempt you into going the wrong way.  I've made that mistake on both of them over the years.  The way I remember the correct route is, "don't go left" at the first junction and then at the second one, which follows shortly, "don't go right."  After you "don't go right," the signed parking area is very close by.  Since you will be going the opposite direction on the way out, follow the same advice:  first, "don't go left," then next, "don't go right" and you will be back to the paved road leading to I-90 quickly.  

Parking lot was half full when I arrive at 8:00 on a sunny Sunday morning and was full with cars parked down the road when I returned.  However, the trail never really felt busy.  I encountered most people as I was climbing out of the Margaret Lake basin.  Only a couple folks were at the lake when I arrived there.  They were jumping into the lake from a large rock on the south end, probably at least a 15 foot plunge.  I didn't go in, but heard them say the water wasn't too cold.  After climbing back up the ridge from Margaret Lake I decided to push on to Twin Lakes.  I only say a couple groups of hikers along this section and there was no one at Twin Lakes when I was there.  

The trail is overall in good condition but there are a number of fallen trees over the trail and some of them appear to have been there quite a while.  None are difficult to get over, and one, under.  Trail is narrow and overgrown in places with vegetation encroaching from the side, especially on the descent to Twin Lakes.  The descent to Twin Lakes is probably about 100' more in elevation than the descent to Lake Margaret and the trail a bit rougher.

Sunscreen is a good idea on this one as there are a number of exposed areas with little to no shade, including the road walk up from the parking lot to the trailhead, the initial hike through the old clear cut and good sections of the descent to Twin Lakes.  I indicated that bugs "were not too bad," and for me, they weren't.  However, I did apply bug spray in the parking lot before setting out and again at both Lake Margaret and Twin Lakes.  Had I not had this, I'm certain my rating would not have been as generous.  

Just under 8 1/2 miles round trip and 2,500' elevation gain on this route.

What a gorgeous day to be in the mountains! I only had about three and a half hours today for hiking, and the Rampart Ridge Backdoor fit the bill! I originally planned to take the backdoor trail up past Twin Lakes and then summit Mount Margaret, but the deep snow and difficulty following the trail made progress slow. Consequently, I ended up just visiting the three closest lakes instead.

ROAD: There is no snow on the road to the backdoor trailhead. The potholes are getting pretty deep in places, along with a few big ruts. I didn't have any problem with my Subaru, but this road is pretty quickly becoming impassable to normal vehicles. The brush on the sides is getting a bit bad, so as usual this isn't a road to drive if you care about your car's paint job. There was only one other car at the TH when I arrived at 8:30, and four other cars when I returned just after noon. The main road (4832) is in excellent shape, though it's getting a lot of washboard.

PEOPLE: I was surprised how many people were hiking this trail today. I saw four groups of two, plus one solo hiker who started before I did. I did see several other cars on the main road before and after my hike, so I'd imagine the regular Mount Margaret Trail saw some activity today too.

BACKDOOR TRAIL: The brush tunnel at the bottom is getting pretty low after the recent snowstorm, but it was better later in the day after drying off a bit. I keep forgetting to bring pruning tools here - they would really help on the lower part. The trail up to Lake Laura is mostly snow-free right now, except for. Past the Lake Laura turnoff, the snow gets deeper, but isn't really a problem except in the more open areas. I'd definitely recommend spikes, but if you have decent boots, you can probably make it up to Lillian in the current snow conditions.

TWIN LAKES: Upon reaching the main Lake Lillian trail, I took a right to head over to Twin Lakes. I was the only person that had been this way since the snows - the only tracks I saw were animal tracks. Crossing the talus field was slightly annoying and it was hard to find the trail, but I eventually figured it out. You have to sort of contour down to the right before heading back up a bit on the other side. The trail wasn't too hard to follow in most places, but I lost it once and wasted about 15 minutes. There is a spot where the trail appears to continue straight between some small fir trees, but it actually takes a sharp right turn here. If you go straight you end up in some very steep sidehilling terrain, when in fact you want to descend about 100' down to the area of a small pond. Anyway, I put a few sticks across the wrong path - be on the lookout! 

Once you're down in the meadowy areas near Twin Lakes, you can see the trail as an indentation in the snow. On the way to the lakes, I went through the avalanche debris from a couple years ago, but it was hard to tell if I was on the trail as I still had to climb over a few logs. On the way back I took the easier route past the small pond and down a gully. Twin Lakes is very pretty right now, especially in the sunshine. The lakes are mostly covered by slushy snow but you can certainly get water there if you need to. I didn't go past Twin Lakes toward Mount Margaret, as I am not as familiar with the trail in that area.

LAKE LILLIAN: The trail from the backdoor junction up to Lake Lillian has some snow in the open areas, but it's not too bad in general. The lake itself is snow-free, but there is a layer of about 6-8" of snow all around the lake. If you want to carry on to Rampart Ridge, I'd suggest taking the alternate trail that goes around the right side of the cliffs south of the lake, rather than the normal rock scramble right next to the lake. I did actually make it across the rock scramble using my spikes and poles, but it was pretty dicey. The snow and the lake is soft, but with a somewhat firm crust on top. Fortunately, this provided pretty good traction on top of the rock. I got some nice views on the hill above the lake, and took the alternate trail back down. I heard some voices up toward Rampart, and saw some tracks leading that way, so some brave souls were heading up there. I would have liked to head up myself, but didn't have time. I would probably recommend an ice axe at this point if you choose to go that way.

LAKE LAURA: I visited Lake Laura on the way out. The snow is somewhat deep all along the trail to the lake, about 6-8". The lake is very pretty right now with a layer of slushy snow covering about half of it. It's a bit wet getting down there, but only takes a few minutes each way off the main trail. If you haven't been there before, you might have a hard time following the snow-covered trail. You want to take a sharp left when you get through the small trees about 100' down the trail. After that you're following an obvious gully down to the lake.

GEAR: I'd recommend spikes and gaiters for these areas right now. I used my spikes, but was lazy and didn't put my gaiters on. As a result, my socks and boots were pretty soaked by the time I finished my hike. 

This was my first time to hike Lake Lillian, and I managed to also do a side trip to Margaret Lake. Along the way to Margaret Lake, you get to also see the tiny Lake Yvonne and before reaching Lake Lillian there are Twin Lakes and some unnamed lake as well. It was the first time for me on this trail, so I got to see 4 new lakes today (counting only the named ones). I really liked the trail and I will probably repeat variations of it in the near future.

First things first. The road is in a great condition, a pothole or two and a bit of rougher surface here and there, but any car can make it. I parked in the parking lot about 100 feet from the trail. At around 8:25am I was the first car. On the way back, there were 3 more cars at the parking lot and one by the trail. I met 5 people on the way back in the afternoon.

The trail starts with the old logging road, and after about 15 minutes it turns left on a fork (one could also continue along the logging road but going left and cutting through the forest is certainly faster). There is a small, brown metal sign pointing to the left where the split is (walk only). The ascent gets a bit steeper then, with switchbacks along new tree growth, lot of blueberry bushes (but no blueberries anymore), it's very pretty this time of the year. Views on the left of the Silver Peak, Mount Catherine, Hayak, and a few others. The trail then crosses the logging road again and continues up, eventually going through a much older growth forest. 

Before coming to the split to Margaret Lake (after the views of Silver Peak etc on the left), there are some views with Mount Rainier in the back (looking kind of backwards). I was happy to see it today, though it shows quite faint on the photos. With all the smoke these months it's hard to get a good view of Rainier, today was probably the clearest day I've had for a while.

The trail splits to Margaret Lake on a clearing, and there is a nice wooden sign on the right side so it's easy to spot. I also use GPS though because otherwise I tend to miss splits as I am focusing on the views. It's about 30 minutes return trip (about 1km) to Margaret Lake, down on the way there, and up on the way back. Super worth it though in my opinion, because you get to see Hibox Mountain, Mount Daniel and a few more on the right near the split, and then get great views of Mount Margaret a number of times and from the lake as well. Lake Yvonne is tiny, more of a puddle, but my dog loved refreshing there after the long ascent and then swam some in Lake Margaret. We took a short break there but had limited time and were not tired at all yet, so we moved on quickly. 

On the way to Lake Lillian, there are some more great views on the left, including Granite Mountain, Bandera, Mount Kent, and then a bunch you would have been able to see earlier.

Next are Twin Lakes, which are both quite shallow. There were a few puddles around the lakes. Twin lakes look very pretty with the fall foliage (mostly blueberry bushes). Another opportunity for the dog to drink (other than the lakes, there were no good streams really, except for a muddy one I recall somewhere). 

After the Twin Lakes, there is an unnamed pond on the left. Lot of ascents and descents, some of them relatively steep, but my dog had no big issues making them. We both got quite a workout though, up and down and then again. And then some more on the way back. Few logs to cross, but all except for one were low enough for the dog (big dog) to jump over (and easy for me). I was a bit concerned about the dog because there were very few reports with dogs and it wasn't clear what was the exact trail taken in those reports. No problem though (but some parts were non-trivial). Few fake trails to avoid, but most are pretty obvious.

After the workout, Lillian Lake showed up. It's beautiful, red and yellow leaves around, not a soul. The dog took another swim (he got to swim in 4 lakes today though it wasn't for free), and we turned around to go back.

On the way back, we got pretty tired eventually and I had to take a few breaks to let my dog drink and rest a little, but it was doable. Lot of dust, must be pretty mushy when it rains.

Overall, my GPS says it was 9.41 miles and 2,848 feet total ascent; my watch again overestimated the distance as 10.65 miles and 3,368 feet ascent. About 5:35 moving, and about 45 mins of breaks overall, so about 6:20 with all the breaks. I wish I had more time for the breaks but I had to be back by a specific time.

A beautiful day and a beautiful hike, loved the lakes and all the views, and I didn't see much smoke all day long (bit more in lower elevations as I was going back, morning was better than afternoon). I'll probably do two more variations of this trail in the near future: (1) A shorter version to Margaret Lake only and (2) Margaret Lake and Mount Margaret only. Must be tons of berries here in the season (too late now).

What a wonderful adventure to witness the transition from summer to fall in the mountains! I hiked from the Lake Lillian / Margaret Lake trailhead to Twin Lakes and Lake Lillian, then took the bootpath up to Rampart Ridge and did the loop of the ridge, including the west peak and a visit to Rampart Lakes.

This was one of my first solo hikes and it was an epic one! The lakes are all lovely, Rampart Ridge has wonderful views, and the fall colors are already beautiful on the berry bushes. I saw marmots (one absolutely stuffing its face with sedges), pika, chipmunks, and a variety of birds including a raven cruising in circles up on the ridge. There were heaps and heaps of berries around the Twin Lakes area and a good amount on the east side of the ridge loop.

I recommend being comfortable with route-finding for this trail, as there are numerous side trails / social trails both on the way up to Lake Lillian and especially up on the ridge. I never usually use my GPS map on my phone and just load it as a backup, but I consulted it multiple times on this trip. I counted 25 people and 8 dogs on my way up to Lake Lillian, at least 5-10 people and a couple dogs at Lake Lillian each time I went by, 9 people on the Rampart Ridge bootpaths, and at least a dozen people at Rampart Lakes. The trail was in pretty good condition, although after you start descending toward Twin Lakes it becomes more rooty/rocky and the bootpath around Rampart Ridge is more technical. The road had washboards but was totally fine to drive in my Honda Fit.

I think the camping was pretty full at both Lake Lillian and Rampart Lakes, so I was surprised that no one was camping at Twin Lakes at all when I returned back by it around 5:30pm. Especially considering that you could eat SO many berries if you camped here. Another nice surprise on this hike was beautiful, full views of Mt Rainier at multiple points on the hike. If you are just hiking to Lake Lillian, you can go up the Rampart Ridge spur for just a couple minutes to get a cool view of Rainier with the lakes behind. There is not too much water in between the lakes, though there are a couple small ponds/trickles up on the ridge. I carried my filter and drank about 4L of water even though the weather was pretty cool.

CalTopo says 12 miles, 2300 ft net elevation gain and 4500 ft total elevation gain. I started around 11am and returned to my car at 7:20pm. Feel free to comment with any questions, happy trails.

Road: Wow! Graveled and somewhat steep but no potholes! Be sure to take the left fork (see directions).

Trail condition: Main trails mostly well-maintained but there were a few trees over trail that had to be walked around or stepped/climbed over. Some portions of the descents to the lakes were slippery with dry loose soil / gravel and relatively steep grades, especially at some switchbacks. One slippery steep muddy spot near Margaret Lake. Poles were appreciated and likely saved me a twisted ankle or two.

1st stop: Mount Margaret

Took the left fork at the signed Lake Lillian/Margaret Lake trail junction then continued the approximately 1/2 mile to the two small cairns marking the turnoff (on right) for Mount Margaret. They're "obvious" as long as you're looking out for them. Boot path steep but well-defined. Poles highly recommended. Be sure to go all the way to the top with awesome views to the north.

2nd stop: Twin Lakes

NOTE: There are TWO Twin Lakes trails near Snoqualmie Pass! This is the one on the way to Lake Lillian. After descending the boot path from Mount Margaret, we took a right on the Lake Lillian trail and about continued another mile (and 600' LOSS) to the lovely Twin Lakes. Enjoyed the peaceful location but chose not to continue to Lake Lillian as we wanted to be sure to have time (and energy) for Margaret Lake. 

3rd stop: Margaret Lake

Retraced our steps back UP to the previously passed Lake Lillian/Margaret Lake trail junction and this time went left (DOWN) to Margaret Lake. Enjoyed a fabulous swim in the lake! Was not nearly as cold as I'd expected and I swam around a bit before reluctantly coming back to shore. Could have floated in there for an hour!

Alas, all good trails must come to an end and too soon we headed back UP to the junction and then DOWN to the cars. A fabulous day!

Other notes:
*nice views of Rainier start surprisingly early along the trail.
*got extra "exercise" with all the moving around at "stops" attempting to ward off the mosquitoes & flies. Surprisingly, I don't seem to have too many bites.
*Started at 7:30am. Had great shade all the way up and for most of the trail. The last (first) section was more in the sun by time we headed down. We were glad not to be ascending that section in the heat of the afternoon.
*If my calculations are correct, this itinerary makes for approximately 9 miles and 3000' overall elevation gain/loss.