Lake Lillian/Twin Lakes WA
June 29, 2025
Hi, We're the Mountain Goats (Terrence) and today we hiked Lake Lillian and Twin Lakes. We were on a bit of a time crunch today, so we decided to head up to the Alpine Lakes and knock off Lake Lillian.
We left the trailhead just after 7 AM and began heading up on an old logging road. Half a mile in we left the logging trail as the trail narrows and steepens, and we began to ascend the lower slopes of Mount Margret. We were rewarded for our efforts with brief views of the surrounding mountains and THE MOUNTAIN (Mount Ranier). At about 4,700 feet we shot up a series of short steep switchbacks onto the ridgeline under Mount Margret. Once on the ridgeline, we continued to ascend the ridgeline heading N. At 5,200 feet the trail flattened as we left the ridgeline and began to traverse the upper slopes of Mount Margret passing its cutoff.
Ranier
At this point, we began the descent down to Twin Lakes. We were greeted with great views of Hi-box Mountain and Rampart Ridge in the distance. We hit a few mini snowfields on the way down but even the most novice hiker would have no problem navigating them.
Blue chilling
Twin Lakes
Walking through the meadows
Twin Lakes and the meadows surrounding them were beyond beautiful and were glowing in the morning light. After hitting Twin Lakes (4,650 feet) we quickly gained 200 feet up to 4,850' before steeply dropping all the way down to 4,500' right under Lake Lillian. Before we knew it we had made it to Lake Lillian and its turquoise water. It took us just over 2 hours to get there. Point 5,870' definitely steels show as it looms over Lake Lillian to the N.
Lake Lillian
BLUEEEE
Overall, due to the recent weather, I'd consider this hike accessible for any level of hiker. There were like 4 spots where we hopped on the snow but the snow's soft and didn't pose any problems. Also, WTA update your info on Lake Lillian y'all aren't even close. Stay safe out there and Happy Hiking!
Final Stats: 8.4 Miles - 2,700 Elev Gain - 4:45 Car to Car
