If you've hiked the popular Rachel Lake Trail east of Snoqualmie Pass, you probably remember the last 1.5 miles before the lake; after all, this stretch of trail is hard to forget. The trail gains 1200' up a rooty, rocky boot path, at times itself a creek. Though the reward is a gorgeous lake on Rampart Ridge surrounded by a marvelous array of mountain scenery, the trail is in troublesome shape, prompting some of the tens of thousands of visitors who climb up to Rachel Lake each year to plead with Washington Trails Association to fix this trail.

Building a Trail Structure on a WTA Volunteer Vacation. Photo by Arlo Smith

Rachel Lake has been notorious for decades, warranting the following observation in the first edition of 102 Hikes in the Alpine Lakes, South Cascades, and Olympics (Ira Spring and Harvey Manning):

"Considering the tremendous amount of use, this trail should be one of the best, but isn’t. The tread was never built, but simply beaten into existence by thousands of feet.  The way goes around, up, or down to avoid obstacles, and hardly knows how to switchback."

Washington Trails Association recently received a grant from the Spring Family Trust for Trails to help the Rachel Lake Trail. For two weeks this September, WTA volunteers will answer the call to rehab this trail. Click here for more information on WTA's two newly-added Volunteer Vacations to Rachel Lake, Sept 8 - 15, and Sept 15 - 22, and to sign up to help with the trail work.