Snowshoeing at Scenic

Some recent images of the snow at Scenic.  Pictures courtesy of Joe O.



The snow berm alongside to highway to FS850



Just onto the trail, proper




Near Rock Alley, coming down off the steeper parts of the trail 

...  and his trip report (edited to germane info)





Temperature
was in the high 20’s and sunny.   There was a hard beaten down track on
the berm alongside the road.  If it get

Stevens Pass Closures

Note: In order to be able to park and be able to hike into Scenic Hot Springs you have to be able to drive to the base of the pass on the west side (around MP 58 - 59).  These current pass closures affect westbound traffic over the pass (Leavenworth, Wenatchee, etc. guests).  Since the pass is presently only accessible from the west side, the only other option is Hwy 97 (Blewett Pass, which is

Snowshoes are a must!

There is a lot of new snow on the way up to the hot springs.  Snowshoes are a must and mandatory for all members of the party before permission will be granted to visit.



To give you an idea of snow conditions, it took one of the stewards 3 1/2 hours to break trail through several feet of snow yesterday.  Please don't ask unless you are prepared for conditions and explicitly let us know you

Scenic Hot Springs Conditions

One of our volunteers was up there yesterday and reports "a ton of snow up there!"  Much more is expected today and snowshoes are definitely needed to deal with the snow.  Fortunately, a trail has been packed down . . . unfortunately, with continued snow falling that trail will soon be filled in.  Winter conditions, folks.



As of 3pm yesterday (Saturday) there was a four foot snow berm across

Pool Conditions and Snow

Lobster Pot (the normally hotter pool) is running cooler than normal due the the series of rain events that have been sweeping across the area.  This is fairly normal at this time of year as all that surface ground water mixes with Lobster Pot's shallow sources and dilutes them.  When we get freezing weather those surface waters will lock up and Lobster Pot will return to it's normal 'hot'

Snow Advisory & Conditions

As of today (November 18th) there is 3-4 inches of snow on the trail to the hot springs.  There are a series of active storm fronts due to move through the area in the next two weeks with predicted snow levels floating between 3,000 and 5,000 feet (check the advisories in the calendar to the right).  Because of the terrain near Scenic we always drop predicted snow levels another 500 ft so we

Season's First Snow is Here

2-4" forecast for this weekend so be prepared for cold weather.  Snowshoes are not needed just yet.  Warm, water-repellent clothing is needed.



Some good advice from Matt:




We
could have anywhere from no snow at all to 3-5 feet of snow [in the next month]. It's just very hard to say at this time. I have seen both (no snow
and lots of snow) types of weather at that time of year. Most

Scenic Hot Spring Conditions

Addendum:  Since this post conditions have changed drastically in the Cascades.  The predicted La Nina snow has arrived and we have had winter storm alerts for the Cascades for most of the past week and into this coming week (Feb-Mar).  


New snow of 12-15 inches, compacted to the ground.  Snowshoes are not necessary, even off trail.  There are some areas of melt and freezing producing ice

Expected Scenic Conditions

There have been a lot of questions posed about the conditions of Scenic Hot Springs.  I'd like to offer some clarification of what we expect the conditions to be, considering the unseasonable weather we have been having.



Scenic in Feb 2006 during the last La Nina 

What is happening is that the Northwest is in an unstable La Nina cycle.  As OnTheSnow.com reports:
It appears to be La Nina's

Winter Storm Damage at Scenic Hot Springs

Four feet of the road edge gone after slide from Honeymoon Creek from above
This winter turned out to be warmer than expected and we have received significant early rainfall that coupled with the snow on the ground as fully saturated the mountainside.  After the last major rainstorm at the beginning of this month, the hillside at Honeymoon Creek slid down across the BPA access road, taking out

Meager Creek HS: Landslide near B.C. hot spring traps people

Friday, August 6th, 2010 | 12:51 pmRating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)
A two-kilometre-wide landslide has been reported near Meager Creek Hot Spring, about 95 kilometres north of Pemberton, B.C.
Authorities say an unknown number of people are trapped in the area, which is popular with campers and swimmers, but there was no word on injuries by midday Friday.
“RCMP are saying that a side of the mountain

Seasonal Spring Switch has happened

Was up at the springs today . . . pleasantly surprised that everyone up there had read the Conditions of Access and requested permission.  A nice group all.  Thank you.

Lobster Springs has started going cold . . . as expected around this time of year as the snow finally melts.  The springs is still slightly hotter than body temp (Bear Den, the other spring decidedly warmer).  Expect the spring

Scenic is conditionally open

We've talked it over and have come to the conclusion that the worst of the vandalism has abated so, therefore, we are going to allow access to the hot springs on a permission-based reservation system . . . meaning, read the Conditions of Access in the sidebar and then ask for permission. Help cover the costs of controlling the vandalism, etc with a contribution via the PayPal icon.Conditions as

Peek-a-boo, I see you

Okay, so let's not totally embarrass the antics of some of the dozens of trespassers to the springs over the last week. I will share just one image of a curious dude intent on examining it where I thought the camera was well-hidden. I'll place it better the next time. And maybe the next time I will post those embarrassing photos as a trespasser has little reason to expect privacy while

Trip Report: Thursday, Nov 12th, 2009

Posted with permission:We did make it into Scenic on Thursday (yesterday). The trail in was hard-packed snow, a bit icy in places. Took us 1.5 hours in, from the parking area in the works yard. There's about 50 cm (20 inches) of snow on the ground at the springs. Good footwear (boots) is now essential. Running shoes, which some people were using, won't do now - too dangerous. I'd discourage

Updates

Snow is coming down. Especially from Wednesday through Friday there is a winter storm warning for the Cascades. There is an Owner's Event Thursday; accordingly access to the springs is not being given out. The springs will additionally be closed through Friday (or beyond) until we see how much snow has fallen in the area.Plows have already built up a snow berm across the entrance at Hwy 2.

Trip Report

The following is provided by a visitor to the springs who asked and was authorized to visit this past Saturday.Rick, we had a great time, the tubs and the site looked great. however a [eastern European ethnicity-deleted] dad and 5 teenagers showed up, without permission, I filled them in on the rules and how to get permission. but then on our walk down we saw raisin wrappers and empty water

First Snow at Scenic ...

... and a night of guard dutyHalf an inch and still falling at 2amJust a seasonal early dump as Tuesday's storm front piled up west of Stevens and was forced on high by the narrow pass. The snow evolved from some pretty heavy rainfall around 8pm as temps dropped below 40F, finally hovering around 37F when I left . . . still dusting snow lightly.The snow level was around 2,600ft . . . just at the

Vandalism at the springs again

Bear Den on first sight . . . draining faster than it can refillI received a text message from one of the regulars at Scenic letting me know that the hot springs had been vandalized. I really wanted to do the Johnson Ridge hike as I had planned but when I got up there there was already another vehicle. Well, not much of a problem usually. Johnson Ridge has become much more popular with the

Scenic Access

I do apologize to those who have requested access to Scenic Hot Springs and as yet have not received a reply from me. I have been basically away for the past several months while undergoing chemotherapy for mylogenous leukemia. It is only now . . . after this round . . . that I even feel like rejoining the world around me. I even feel good enough for a hike let alone going through months worth