Big Four Ice Caves (without the ice caves)

After being away for 6 days in San Antonio and the family stuck with a rainy week in Seattle, we took advantage of a beautiful Saturday to hike the Big Four Ice Caves Trail on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. After a couple months of anticipation on our part, the trail just opened up for the season this past week. I’m thankful we hit the trails early because when we arrived around 9am there were only 3 cars in the parking lot, but when we returned we saw well over 50 cars. This is a popular trail due to it’s 1-mile length, 200 ft. elevation gain, and great views.

We visited this area in the fall of 2010 but experienced cooler weather, fewer people, and we actually saw the ice caves. Today, the snow was still on the top of the trail and the caves are covered. We did hear a couple avalanches in the upper reaches of the mountain (and others viewed them) but there was no danger to us. Nonetheless, it was a great hike that offered plenty of family time!