Tonga Ridge / Mount Sawyer
1 week ago
Snowfields to cross and icy sections
9 this month · 68 reports
Surprise Mountain
Central Cascades
updated 1 month ago
The trail to Surprise Mountain is in good condition, with no snow reported as of October 1. The road to the trailhead is rough but passable, with some deeper holes noted, though manageable in most vehicles. Fall colors are beginning to appear, particularly reds, oranges, and yellows above Surprise Gap and on the summit trail, as of September 28. There are no significant bug issues reported recently.
Generated from 14 trip reports. Trails change faster than reports do, so check anything you’d turn around for.
What hikers ask about Surprise Mountain
Generated from the most recent trip reports, newest 1 month ago. Check anything you’d turn around for.
No trip reports on this trail in 1 month, so everything below is at least that old.
The road is described as rough but passable, with some deeper holes that require careful navigation as of October 1. However, another report from September 28 states the road is suitable for all vehicles, indicating conditions may vary or have improved recently.
Reports from October 1 and September 28 indicate the trail is in good condition with no major obstacles mentioned. Earlier reports from August 12 did note some trees down across the trail and mud/rock slides, but these were not mentioned in more recent reports.
Fall colors are becoming visible, with muted colors until Surprise Gap where reds, oranges, and yellows are present, as of October 1. A report from September 28 also notes yellowing foliage below Surprise Lake and vibrant ground bush colors towards the summit.
Multiple recent reports from October 1, September 28, and September 1 all state that there are no bugs or bugs were not too bad.
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Trail notes generated from recent reports. Conditions change fast.
Sources
Older1 month ago
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
Soaring Eagle and I had a great day hiking up to Surprise Mountain off of Hwy 2. While it's a bit long at 14 miles, there's trail all the way to the summit and that makes for fast travel, if you're in...
Older1 month ago
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
Wonderful day!People. 5-6 cars in the lot. Meet maybe 6 altogether coming down from Surprise Lake, several (of course) on the PCT segment, nobody above the PCT segment.Fall Foliage. Yellowing the them...
Older2 months ago
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
Did a fun lollypop-esque trip through the surprise/thunder mountain area with some spontaneous off-trail travel. There hasn't been much written-up about the specific route we did that we could find, s...
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
Single overnight backpack to Glacier Lake with a summit of Surprise Mountain. Due to the PCT being closed at Deception pass and thru-hikers detouring over to Dorothy Lake, this usually very busy area ...
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
Through-hike the Alpine Lakes and Henry M. Jackson Wilderness, from Tucquala Meadows to Stevens Pass North. Planned as a 4-day trip but turned into 5 once we got a jump start the first evening; about ...
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
Day trip to Surprise Mountain via Tonga Ridge RoadDrive:*There is currently one berm that requires higher clearance, ideally shorter wheel base to clear it on Tonga. (Past the cutoff for Tonga ridge ...
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
Overnight trip with camp on the summit of Surprise Mountain from 1.19-20 2026.ROADto the trailhead was blocked by a giant snowpile about 0.3 miles from the regular trailhead, but there was a large par...
Older14 months ago
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
Hiked from Surprise Lake Trailhead to Surprise Gap and then up to the old lookout site on the top of Surprise Mountain. Great workout and good views for lunch. Trail is in good condition but has a l...
Older18 months ago
Central Cascades
For some reason, I decided to try for an early spring trip up to Surprise and Glacier Lake, and then Surprise Mountain. Even more amazing is that I tricked a solid group of friends into joining me!The...
Older21 months ago
Central Cascades
Beautiful blue bird day for a winter hike. We used snowshoes after reaching surprise lake. There were other tracks to follow until reaching glacier lake and then we made our own trail. After reaching ...