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Hiker Mama
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Joined: 25 Jun 2006
Posts: 3451 | TRs | Pics
Location: Lynnwood |
Every winter I'm on a quest to find somewhere to snowshoe with my kids that isn't Gold Creek. I know there are lots of trails out there, but I'm having trouble finding maps. I have the snowshoe book by Dan Nelson, but honestly I read that thing and it feels so confusing to me. I'm aware of the snow park maps that the state puts out, but they only show snowmobile trails and groomed ski trails. I don't really want to share with snowmobilers or skiiers - maybe that's my problem? or maybe everyone just goes wherever they feel like in the snow?
Do you know of any resources that I'm missing that would show snowshoe trail maps and routes? Or something more descriptive than my guidebook? I'm not comfortable assessing avalanche danger, so I need places that aren't prone to avalanches. Easier is better for me and my kids. I just always feel like I'm missing something. (On a side note, I was super impressed and envious when we visited my brother in Central Oregon last winter - tons of marked snowshoe trails, acres of flat/rolling terrain to explore, and super cheap sno-park pass.)
So far we've gone to Gold Creek, Smithbrook Road, Kachess Dam Road (off to the side to Kachess Lake), Swauk Discovery Trail at Blewett, and Salmon Ridge Sno-Park/Nooksack River. It just seems like there should be more options.
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Get Out and Go
Member
Joined: 13 Nov 2004
Posts: 2128 | TRs | Pics
Location: Leavenworth |
Here's a link: Wenatchee Outdoors
Most of these are centered around Wenatchee. You can refine the location using the menu on the side. Lots of FS roads in the area, especially around Blewett. Happy tromping. 
"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go."
(Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart)
"Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry.
Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky."
(Thanks, Tom Petty)
"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go."
(Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart)
"Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry.
Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky."
(Thanks, Tom Petty)
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Hairy Chin
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Joined: 03 Sep 2011
Posts: 24 | TRs | Pics
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A map of ski, snowmobile, dog sled, and snowmobile trails associated with the Crystal Springs Sno-Park can be found at <http://www.youthbiathlon.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/crystal-springs.pdf>. Snowshoers are okay on most of the trails but should avoid walking on tracks groomed for skate skiing as well as laid ski tracks. Snowmobiles seldom use FS Rd 420 and the trails associated with it. A sno-park permit and a groomed trail sticker are required at this sno-park.
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boot up
Old Not Bold Hiker
Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 4745 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bend Oregon |
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boot up
Old Not Bold Hiker
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 Tue Jan 23, 2018 9:31 pm |
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| Hiker Mama wrote: | | (On a side note, I was super impressed and envious when we visited my brother in Central Oregon last winter - tons of marked snowshoe trails, acres of flat/rolling terrain to explore, and super cheap sno-park pass.) |
Funny, as I started reading your post, my thought was....
Yes, they have sort of pushed out safe, avalanche free, family snowshoeing and xc skiing areas in Western WA over the last few decades. (Wenatchee is east side and a long drive with a couple of small kids.)
I moved to Central Oregon and now find plenty of well mapped and marked snowshoe and XC ski options, without having to worry about avalanches, with a cheaper snow park pass. ("groomed" add-on cost is not even an option, although grooming is per location and each time, e.g. Meissner asks for a voluntary contribution for grooming)
When I moved to Western WA in 1985 there were a bunch of very nice options for XC skiing with kids at sno-parks within an hour drive of Seattle. My daughters were raised on XC skis without having to deal with lifts and snowmobiles. Then over the years, sno-park passes went up in price, while locations turned into condos, "shared" places with snowmobilers that hated sharing(and were scary to share with), and the ski resorts bought up the trails, then shut them down for not being profitable enough. I finally gave up on XC skiing as the remaining places were so crowded it just wasn't worth it.
I did continue to snowshoe at a few places, but I am not a fan of dodging avalanches.
Central Oregon sucks.... so don't move here. 
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iron
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Joined: 10 Aug 2008
Posts: 6392 | TRs | Pics
Location: southeast kootenays |
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iron
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Tue Jan 23, 2018 10:16 pm |
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Malachai Constant
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Joined: 13 Jan 2002
Posts: 16092 | TRs | Pics
Location: Back Again Like A Bad Penny |
There is a common use corridor from yak up over Nordic Pass and back don to windy acres and the John Wayne which is shown on several maps. One thing to bear in mind is that snow shoes are not confined by well defined trails. Routes vary as the season progresses and conditions change. Creek become bridged and melt out, avalanches change routes or make them dangerous, talus slopes become highways then melt out, tree wells form then disappear. Hewing to a line on a map can be dangerous. I for one would not publish a map for snowshoeing or skiing due to liability concerns, many authors agree. The books are vague for a reason.
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Hiker Mama
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Joined: 25 Jun 2006
Posts: 3451 | TRs | Pics
Location: Lynnwood |
Doesn't Kelcema Lake Road have avalanche chutes?
Those links look great, I'll check them out.
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treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
Joined: 25 Dec 2006
Posts: 11276 | TRs | Pics
Location: Don't move here |
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treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
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Wed Jan 24, 2018 7:30 am |
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Why trails?
When the snow is set up, snowshoes keepmyou on top for easy walking. That thick crust that makes for difficult skiing is excellent for snowshoes. All you should need is an avalanche safe area and access plus the usual stuff.
You'll see more tracks too.
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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ale_capone
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Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 720 | TRs | Pics
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
Joined: 20 Mar 2012
Posts: 7722 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle |
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
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Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:15 am |
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Annette Lake. Turn around at the top (about 1/2 to 1/4 mile before the lake), at the talus fields, to avoid avy potential.
The road to the Talapus/Olallie trailhead.
Artist Point on a no-avy day.
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