Beginner Snowshoe - Methow Valley Winter Trails

9:30 AM in Public Parking off of Twin Lakes Rd/White Ave just south of the Winthrop Ice and Sports Rink.

This trip is part of the "Celebrate Winter Trails in the Methow" Jan. 6 - 8, 2017 event. Visit the event listing for full details.

The primary objective of WTW is to introduce folks to outdoor winter sports. A secondary objective is to provide you with an opportunity to explore the scenic and historic Methow (MET-how) Valley.

Winthrop is located in Okanogan County, North Central Washington, a 240 mile, four-and-a-half hour drive from Puget Sound, with probably half of it on snow-covered roads. THESE ARE NOT DAY TRIPS. Plan on making a weekend of it, and if you don't have a camper or snow cave desires, book your lodging reservations ASAP. You can find available lodging here. For an idea of what WTW is like, see my article Snowshoeing in the Methow in the Winter 2017 edition of the Mountaineer magazine, beginning on page 21.

Saturday's snowshoe trip will begin west of Winthrop on the Chicadee Trailhead at Sun Mountain. We'll travel SW on the Magpie Trail to intersect Rader Creek, then follow the creek down to the southern end of Patterson Lake. The Patterson Lake Trail follows the western shoreline to the Sun Mountain rental cabins near the north end before climbing back up to the trailhead on Magpie again. The total distance is about four miles and 500' of elevation loss/gain on the loop. If that’s not enough we can do the 1.3 mile Red Tail loop on the way back to town. Please refer to this map.

This trip is part of the Methow Trails system, and requires a $5 one-day snowshoe pass. You can pick up your pass and rent snowshoes at Winthrop Mountain Sports, 257 Riverside Avenue. The store is open Saturdays 9AM-6PM and 9AM-5PM on Sundays.

Not a yet member of The Mountaineers? Guests as well as members are invited to sign up in advance for this trip. You can either call the Mountaineers Member Services at 206-521-6001 or visit https://www.mountaineers.org/membership/join-the-mountaineers, click on "GUEST ADULT - JOIN" and follow the steps.

If you're new to The Mountaineers, please review our How-to on Carpooling.

Hope to see you there!