Surprise Lake (King County)

This is a great day hike or a place to spend the night out underneath the stars with plenty of fishing opportunities and a pleasant walk through some of the finest old growth timber in the Skykomish River watershed. The Hike to Surprise and Glacier lakes starts on trail #1060 just east of the old railroad settlement of Scenic at 2200 feet of elevation. The trail quickly looses the old road it starts on and follows Surprise creek for nearly 5 miles until it reaches Surprise lake at 4509 feet. The 28 acre lake sits underneath Spark Plug mountain and has some great fishing opportunities for Eastern Brook Trout as well as scenic campsites. Anglers can make a quick side trip up to Glacier Lake which sits .5 miles further up the trail.

Getting here:

Drive US 2 10 miles east of Skykomish, turning right just past the old railroad community of Scenic. Cross the railroad tracks and turn right, following a narrow and bumpy dirt road 0.3 mile to the trailhead. Trail #1060.

Species you might catch

Lake information

County: King
Acreage: 22.60 ac.
Elevation: 4512 ft.
TRS: T25R13E SEC16
Center: 47.66798, -121.140727
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Fishing resources

Fish stocking info

Release Location: SURPRISE LK (KING)
Stock Date	Species	Number Released	Number of Fish Per Pound	Facility
Sep 16, 1996	Rainbow	30	140	TOKUL CR HATCHERY

Fishing prospects calendar

Rainbow trout

Fishing success for Rainbow Trout is generally best in the spring when thousands of fish are stocked statewide, but they can be caught year-round in most waters with a little patience and persistence. Success remains high into June and gradually declines as water temperatures increase and fish move offshore to stay cool. Fish that escaped the spring harvest return to the nearshore areas in the fall as waters cool off. Some waters may also be stocked again in the fall further boosting catch rates.

Photos

Photo by WDFW