Stats in Raw Text:
Difficulty: 7.3 (Intermediate)
Distance: 17km (10.6 miles)
Acsent: 840m (2760 feet)
Terrain Difficulty: 4.5
Class: 1
Path Finding: None
Snow Reports:
(2023) October 8th: None

Both Surprise and Glacier Lake are beautiful alpine lakes located over 1400 metres in altitude. Both lakes have their own charm, which is brought out by different seasons. The hike to them is in no way easy, but it’s do-able for most people. Although, the long hike is well worth it for the destination.
The hike is about 17 kilometres, with an 840-metre ascent. Its terrain is surprisingly easy, giving it only 4.5 out of 10 on my scale. Due to the easy terrain, I only gave it a 7.3 out of 10 difficulty. It took me about four and a half hours. It stays class 1 throughout the entire hike. You also won’t have to do any path finding.
The hike starts at the Surprise Creek Trailhead. To get to this trailhead, you will have to drive on a gravel road for a few minutes, which is not bad at all. The trail follows along Surprise Creek for most of the time. You will be on the PCT for some part of the trail, so you may encounter PCT hikers who are setting up camp at the lake. You will reach the first lake after about 7.5 kilometres or so. You can turn around at this lake if you want to, but the second lake is also very cool.

When making your way to the second lake, make sure to not turn on the PCT. The right trail is marked with signs, so make sure you read them. Glacier Lake is a popular camp site for PCT hikers, so you might see some tents there.

I went during the fall, and during this time Surprise Lake is much more impressive. Although, my hiking partner had done this hike during a different season, and said Glacier Lake was much more impressive then. The lakes vary a lot depending on the season. In any case, both are very beautiful alpine lakes. Surprise lake is probably the prettiest alpine lake I’ve ever seen.