According to the mountain forecast, the best weather window was between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM, with mostly cloudy skies but plenty of sunshine breaking through. My friend and I left home at 5:10 AM and reached the trailhead around 8:00 AM.

We began our hike at 8:15 AM and arrived at Clara Lake by 9:00 AM. The lake was mostly covered with ice, giving it a quiet, wintery charm. We spent over half an hour walking around the shoreline, taking photos and enjoying the stunning mix of frozen reflections and golden larches. The sky stayed mostly clear, with fast-moving clouds adding dramatic contrast without blocking the sunlight.

By 10:00 AM, we reached Marion Lake. The lake was almost entirely frozen, with only a small patch of open water thinly covered by ice. Despite that, the surrounding scenery — larch trees glowing under the sun — made the effort well worth it.

Beautiful afternoon at Clara and Marion.  As of today no snow on road and intermittent on trail.  Was slushy and muddy in places and full snow in others.  Carried microspikes but didn’t use.  Poles were helpful.  Larches at peak. Both lakes had frozen layer.

The trailhead shares the parking lot with the Mission Ridge ski resort so you'll be on a nice paved road the entire way (read --> all cars welcome!).  We purposely got a late start (on the trail at 2pm), to maximize the afternoon sunlight on the larches which was our purpose in selecting this hike.  Most of the trail was covered with loose / wet snow and other parts were either mildly icy or muddy. Gaitors might be useful if you plan to go off trail where the snow is thicker, but we didn't use them.  Similarly, we didn't use Micro-spikes either which were probably of little use in these conditions but I do highly recommend trekking poles. This was one of the very few hikes I can honestly say trekking poles (with snow baskets), made a huge difference.  I used them the entire way up and down and I almost never use them on hikes. Although mostly snow covered, the trail is still very easy to follow. 

The larches didn't disappoint and seemed to be in their full glory, which come into full view just about the time you reach the first (frozen over) lake in about 45 minutes.  In another 15-20 minutes you'll reach the second lake (also frozen over) where you can relax nestled in a thicket of larches.  After enjoying the view, we decided to carefully head back before the sun set beyond the hills and we still had amazing sunlight.  Roundtrip including a 15 min break for a snack was about 2.25 hours which I'm sure could be done quicker without the snow factor.

Tom

Had a lovely morning hike up to both lakes today. The road all the way up is clear of snow, though if you go early, there is black ice in spots. The parking lot was a sheet of ice from the snow on Sunday night that then froze overnight last night. 

The trail is completely snow covered from the start, but it is pretty well packed down from other hikers. It was very icy though so I do recommend microspikes, we put them on immediately and they helped a ton. Snow is covering the trail the entire way to both lakes and there are a few down trees that you have to step over. Gaiters were not needed at all unless you go off trail or past Marion where the trail became a single boot path and not packed down. 

Both lakes are already frozen over, but definitely not solid, so don't try to walk to close to them. Larches are actually not quite prime yet. They are mostly yellow but some are still green or have greenish yellow sections. I would call them almost prime, but it's also hard to see the true color with all the snow. 

Lots of snow! The roads were clear but wet. I didn't have any trouble in the parking lot with a rear-wheel drive car, but was out of the parking lot before dark so it wasn't freezing temps. 

There's some trees down on the trail and places where it was slushy or washed out from snow dropping from the trees. I slipped a few times coming down the trail even with poles with some of the snow melting. There are places that it’s a few feet deep and places near the trail entrance it was melted. There's not room for passing since the trial is only cleared shoulder-width in most places. 

Some larches are changing color. It was definitely colder around the lakes than it was at the lower elevation. There's some pristine snow near the lakes and some confusing parts of the trail but I stuck to the main trail.