Gold Creek Pond: Family Snowshoe & Winter Alpine Nature Loop

About this adventure

Gold Creek Pond is widely celebrated as western Washington's most scenic, accessible winter snowshoe trail for families with young children. Located just two miles east of Snoqualmie Summit off I-90, the paved summer trail transforms into a flat, well-trodden 1-mile snowshoe circuit around a crystal-clear mountain pond ringed by frosted willows and towering snowy peaks including Rampart Ridge. Because the trail is virtually flat with negligible elevation gain, parents can easily tow toddlers in plastic sleds or introduce preschoolers to their very first pair of snowshoes. Wooden benches and open gravel beaches along the pond shore provide breathtaking picnic spots for hot thermos cocoa while taking in reflections of snowy crags in the icy water. In winter, visitors walk an extra 0.3 miles along the plowed access road from the Forest Service gate.