We hiked out to Goat Lake after staying the night at Bedal Campground. There are a ton of dispersed sites along the road out to the trailhead if that’s more your style, as it’s a little far for a day hike if you’re starting from Seattle. We made it to the trailhead around 10:30a and parked about 200m from the lot which was already full.
We took the lower trail out, which was amazing and very well maintained. Goat Lake is the objective but the progressively more impressive falls really steal the show. About half a mile after the upper and lower trails merge up, there’s a chance to step off the main route and explore the falls, which reach all the way down from the lake. I have never seen so many impressive falls stacked one on top of the other like they are here. We stopped for a snack, anticipating that Goat Lake would be more crowded.
From here, the trail gets much rockier and steeper. There are a few stretches that are pretty overgrown on the last stretch to the lake. The lake itself is amazing, one of the more impressive alpine lakes out there. Not much privacy though! There were several large parties and it was hard to find a place to hang out. It was nice to take a dip before heading back down. Note that you will likely add another mile to your roundtrip just trying to find somewhere to set up at the lake.
On the way back we took the upper trail. This was a mistake. The bugs were worse and the trail is not nearly as well maintained. Plus it adds an additional mile and 500’ of elevation. The peek-a-boo views of the mountains are not really worth it. I would avoid if going back again.
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