Eaton Lake Trail Hike (partial)

1. To get to Eaton Lake Trail, drive on Highway 1 and take Exit 168. Follow signs to Skagit Valley, and you will end up on Silver Skagit Road.

Sign to Silver Lake and Skagit Valley near Hope BC Canada

2. Once on Silver Skagit Road, check your odometer - you would be at the turnoff to the trailhead about 16 kilometers later. Silver Skagit Road is all gravel after a very short stretch of asphalt, and your vehicle would likely get very dirty in short time.

Silver Skagit Road near Hope BC Canada

3. Here is your turnoff. It is better to park on Silver Skagit Road, as the short road to Eaton Lake Trail is steep and narrow, and parking space is very limited up there.

Silver Skagit Road near Eaton Lake Trail by Hope British Columbia Canada

4. If you have a small 4x4, you may try to proceed.

Eaton Lake Trail Entrance from Silver Skagit Road British Columbia Canada

5. Here is that steep and narrow road.

Road leading to Eaton Lake Trail from Silver Skagit Road

6. And about 200 meters later is the trailhead. A pit toilet is located nearby.

Eaton Lake Trail trailhead - BC Hiking

7. The trail starts nicely enough.

Eaton Lake Hiking Trail British Columbia Canada

8. And, then, Eaton Creek makes an appearance.

Eaton Creek BC Canada

9. In about 25 minutes, you reach a very good waterfall. This could be a final destination, if all you want is a short hike. In this photo you see a broken bridge and a log used as an alternative.

Eaton Trail bridge across Eaton Creek British Columbia Canada

10. There is no way to use the bridge on the right, so the log is the way to go, but it is slippery, though wide.

Broken bridge across Eaton Creek - Hiking in BC

11. Waterfall view from the middle of the log.

Eaton Lake Trail Waterfall British Columbia Canada

12. We have crossed the creek and are now looking back. As you can see, the bridge is way too broken to be of any use.

Photo of a broken Eaton Creek Bridge - Hiking in British Columbia Canada

13. If you manage to cross to the other side, this gorgeous stump view is your reward.

Eaton Lake Trail Stump near Silver Skagit Road by Hope British Columbia Canada

14. Falls lookout sounds promising. But, at first, a debris obstacle course needs to be taken care of.

Eaton Lake Trail near a waterfall - Hiking in Hope BC Area

15. Actually, it is not that bad, and, once you manage to climb over this very slippery and dangerous pile, there is a good path beyond it.

Waterfall seen from Eaton Creek Trail British Columbia Canada

16. And, then, you can get right to the waterfall.

Picture of waterfall on Eaton Lake trail near Hope BC Canada

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17. Time to move on. The fog was getting thicker the higher we climbed.

18. And another waterfall, though not as big as the first one.

19. Just after the 2 km mark, the snow became a permanent presence on the ground. And we started hearing remote avalanches quite well.

20. An interesting tree (what's left of it).

21. Finally, a clearing. The snow was so deep at this point that proceeding any further would have been complicated, though we tried.

23. But it was still possible to enjoy a fine winter view.

Eaton Lake Trail is a good hike, and would likely be even better when the snow is gone.

Other Trips in Hope BC Area:

Town of Hope BC Visit	Mount Hope Lookout Trail	Othello Tunnels Visit
Mount Outram Trail	Silver Skagit Road	Skyline II Trail Hike
Skagit River Trail	Zoa Peak Trail Hike	Sowaqua Creek FSR
HBC Heritage Trail	Yak Peak Trail Hike	Jones Lake FSR
Flat Iron Peak Hike	Dog Mountain Trail	Thacker Mtn Hike
Sowerby Creek FSR		Needle Peak Trail

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