Lake Serene & Bridal Veil Falls Trailhead — Attraction in Monroe

I visited both Bridal Veil Falls (7 km or 4.4 miles total; car-falls-car) and Lake Serene (15 km or 9.4 miles total; car-lake-car), not on the same day, but a few weeks apart. For the first 2 km (1.25 miles) or so, the trail for both is the same (and quite flat and uninteresting). I did both trails on Friday afternoons, and still, the parking lot (Northwest Forest Pass required) was almost full; however, I got a spot for my car (weekend parking will be very difficult). While doing the initial stretch of the trail, I was wondering if the trail was going to get any better. But, at 2 km (1.25 miles) from the trailhead comes a bifurcation in the trail (sign board - note that actual distances are almost double) - one trail goes to Lake Serene, which is 3.25 miles or 5.5 km from this point, and the other goes to Bridal Veil Falls, which is 1 mile or 1.5 km from here. This is where the trails to the falls and to the lake suddenly become steep, beautiful, and interesting.

Bridal Veil Falls Trail: The falls trail is quite rocky and a little difficult. Do wear good hike shoes and be careful in this stretch, especially when with children. Nonetheless, I saw quite a few families with small kids and dogs here. On my way up, everybody coming down appeared to be very happy, and they all cheered me up! :) They all said the falls was near and that I wouldn’t be disappointed. And then came the falls, and I, honestly, wasn’t disappointed at all. What I saw was a spectacular falls, which was totally worth the effort. You are so close to the falls here (as opposed to, say, at Wallace Falls), and of course, you can touch the waters. It was a very refreshing sight and place, and up there, it was a little cooler as well. Now, I would say that this trail is difficult and a little steep; however, the short distance makes it manageable and not so painful. I would recommend not combining this trail with the lake trail on the same day; do them on separate days, otherwise, you are looking at an 18-km (or 11.25 miles total) hard hike that might eventually become unmanageable.

Lake Serene Trail: This trail is difficult, never-ending, time-consuming, and painful; however, the spectacular lake at the top will refresh you and make your hike totally worth it. It’s a straight-up hike, which will cause you 3-4 times the pain and sweat as the falls trail will. The trail gets quite narrow at several places and is very rocky. Do wear good hike shoes here and carry enough water and food - it’s more like a day-trip. I kept a slow pace and took quite a few breaks on the way, and it took me 3 hours to reach the lake, where I spent around 45 minutes before getting on my way back. Getting back from the lake to the trailhead took me 2 hours and 15 minutes (total hike - 6 hours); so, do plan accordingly. Lake Serene is serene indeed. Nestled high up in the mountains, this seemingly-shallow lake has a slight eerie feel to it and looks great to go swimming in. :) I wasn’t prepared for a swim, but I saw a few people swim in there; the water wasn’t that cold. You may check out the viewpoint a little higher up as well. The lake has crystal-clear waters and offers a very relaxing experience to everyone. I did see some snow in the mountains; however, the recent heat wave in WA had taken away almost all of the snow around the lake. I can imagine how beautiful this setting will be when there’s snow everywhere around the lake. Nonetheless, the lake, by itself, is very beautiful and a must-see. I would recommend doing this hike when the temperature is around 17-18 C (64-66 F). Apparently, I didn’t see many kids on the trail. And, it’s needless for me to mention that my knees were totally beat after this hike! ;)

The falls and the lake are a great spot and so close to the Greater Seattle Area. For the boring initial stretch, however, I am going to deduct a ⭐️; and just for what you get at the end, I would very much recommend both the trails. Lastly, a photo doesn’t do justice to the falls or to the lake; being physically present there offers quite a different...

This is a 7.2-mile out-and-back trail hike, and while the first 1.5 miles starts seemingly easy with a mostly level, dirt/gravel trail, the last 2 miles climb quickly with never ending switchbacks (specifically 23, quoted from the trail description), where you're climbing over rocks interspersed with stairs. Because of this, it took me nearly 3 hours to climb up and reach the lake---you'll know you're close when you see the scraggly peak of Mt. Index, but only 2 hours to climb back down. So my warning to you is, although the trail's toilets are closed due to COVID, use the restroom before you start the climb. This is a steep, narrow trail that lasts 2 hours going up, and you won't be able to find a pit stop once you start.

Also, once you get to the lake, there is pit toilet, but the area is also swarmed with flies and bugs (not many mosquitoes from what I can see), so it's not the most pleasant to use. The trail does continue part way down the lake, but only along the width, so expect maybe 60 more feet of trail to walk down. It ends at a rock lookout over the lake, where you can take some scenic photos. But, there's no picnic areas or large spaces. So don't expect a lot of space for a rest stop, and please expect any space to be filled quickly with other hikers.

A few other warnings to keep in mind. When I went, it's been rather dry the last couple of days, but there were still plenty of trickle, stream, and baby waterfall crossings. I imagine if it rains, it's going to get very muddy and very wet very quickly. So wear boots.

Also, when I used the trail, I arrived at 7:30 AM on a Thursday, and there were only 10 cars in the parking lot. And on the trail, I encountered groups of people every few minutes. Mostly as you passed the same groups back and forth as everyone took different breaks on the climb up. But, once I turned around from the lake around 11:00, on the way back down, I ran into people every few seconds. It got very crowded, very quickly. And this was on a weekday. By the time I made it to the parking lot, the main lot was full with 81 cars, and by the time I left, I noticed the overflow lot was filled as well. So...

I rated this hike a 5, because there was really nothing wrong with it, and the rewards were commensurate with the effort. The trail was well maintained and as safe as could be expected in this extremely rocky terrain. As hikes go, it is quite difficult. Most of the trail is very rocky and requires a lot of high steps. Also, a lot of "ladder stairs" must be climbed (4x6 stringers with 4x6 cross pieces with dirt fill in-between). The saving grace is that it isn't too long -- just long enough to make it a real challenge, and short enough not to scare you back before the end. In any case, at one's own pace, anyone in reasonable shape can do it. The first attraction is the falls, which consists of several cascades of water coursing down a bare rock face several hundred feet high. Worth the hike for sure. This is water from Lake Serene way above, which is the second phase of the hike. After another grueling series of switch backs and a lot of "up", one is finally rewarded by a beautiful mountain lake in a large cirque. We were there on a day when the favorable weather report got it wrong. No sunshine, but toward end of day, when we were there, the cloud layer lifted enough to reveal several hundred feet up the shoreline into snow fields and giant rock falls. The full grandeur of surrounding peaks, however, seen on a clear day, was denied to us. Going down was far simpler, but as always on rocky trails, demands that you pay attention to "rock navigation". A misstep can ruin your entire day. Definitely, I would recommend this hike, but do try to pick a weekday and get there early to be sure of a parking spot in the trailhead lot. There is no camping on this hike, so be sure to return...