Little Kid by Twin Peaks and McClain Peak nestles in the vast North Fork Snoqualmie River Valley. Nearby, the tranquil Sunday Creek at its forested foothills flows from the secluded Sunday Lake. Meanwhile, its southeast ridgeline extends through Big Kid to the summit of a lesser-known “Goat Mountain” in Washington State.
See more trip photos here.
Little Kid at a Glance
Access: Sunday Lake Trailhead
Round Trip: 8.5 miles
Elevation Range: 540′-4192′
Essential Gear: microspikes
Route Info: Monte VanderBilt
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: with guidance
Playlist: Ethereal
Unexpected Detour to a Backup Plan
The original plan involved climbing Kayak Peak until the road damage before the Bare Mountain Trailhead forced me to reroute. But before driving the long way out, we stopped by the gate that led to our backup plan, Little Kid. I was unsure why Campbell Global required a permit, since the national forest was only half a mile away. Soon, we bypassed some water pools by the marshy clearing from the east while avoiding using the frosted, slick logs.
SNOQUALMIE TREE FARM PERMITS
> Motorized Annual Permit
> Non-Motorized Annual Permit
> Non-Motorized One-Day PermitBeyond the fork at mile 0.75, the lower part of the abandoned road was our first dilemma—massive downed trees. Connor and I carefully picked our way through the chaotic roadway of old logging debris. Conditions soon began to look more promising once we pushed past the second switchback on the old road. Here, beautiful older aspen trees had remarkably remained intact, offering a more pleasant approach through the national forest.
Ascending Through Forest and Snow
Right before the third switchback around mile 1.8, the delightful Little Kid Falls appeared beside the road. We took a short break and enjoyed the refreshing splashes. Afterward, I decided to skip the next long switchback, opting for a direct scramble toward the upper roadway. During this steeper, off-trail portion, the first patches of snow appeared around 2800 feet. Here, the forest shifted to more young trees, particularly noticeable as we moved toward the west ridge. It was likely a result of past logging activities.
I glanced up from the following switchback and noticed massive logging debris fields. Since cutting up to the ridge was not an appealing option, I slipped on snowshoes, and we stuck to the road. But the path soon narrowed, with overhanging branches that formed a more enclosed, snowy pathway as we gained altitude. Just before the final push into the dense forest, we paused at the last clearing below the northwest ridge. It offered a decent angle to the Snoqualmie River Valley before diving back into the trees.
Little Kid Summit with a Brief Exploration
To my surprise, cairns and cut branches began to appear, guiding us through the dense growth along the ridgeline. It made the final stretch to the top of Little Kid much more straightforward than anticipated. The summit was entirely treed without views, which is common on these low-altitude peaks. But we explored below to the east and shortly stumbled on a small opening jutting east over an outcrop. It provided excellent views of eastern high points, including the originally planned Kayak Peak.
Unfortunately, the peacefulness we tried savoring was frequently disrupted by the unmistakable sounds of target shooting. They echoed directly from the quarry, sitting 2500 feet below the cliffs near the bridge over Lennox Creek. It’s hard to believe how eerily close the sounds carried, a somewhat unsettling reminder of human activities despite being remote. Meanwhile, the dog seemed unfazed, as he was more interested in the forest scents than the noises.
Side Trip to Sunday Lake via Sunday Creek
From Little Kid, we continued along the crest down toward the saddle with Big Kid. More cairns and some flagging appeared near the pass, where we briefly explored before deciding to drop elevation. We descended through a prominent ridge bump below the next ridge bump, turning south around 2400 feet toward Sunday Creek. Eventually, we crossed the water below 2000 feet on large rocks, managing to keep our feet (and paws) dry.
Sunday Lake Trail was in decent shape. There was only one significant pile of rubble near the lake, followed by two large downed trees across the path. The first one had a section cut to step over. But the second log required either a downhill bypass or a careful crawl through the space underneath. As the path continued slightly uphill by a third large trunk, we left the forest out onto a small peninsula. Despite the brush, the top of log debris offered a panoramic view of the lake, resting calmly below Peak 4651.
Crossing Sunday Creek and a Chance Encounter
On the return, we passed the spot where we joined the trail earlier and soon encountered a rocky path with running water. There, I noticed a somewhat hidden, beautiful waterfall to the east. Down by the old Sunday Creek crossing, we poked around the shore downstream to a fire pit. We crossed the calm water on rocks before bypassing a small island over the other outlet. After a brief scrambling to the main trail, we soon reached back the initial fork at mile 0.75.
As we approached the gate, a friendly hiker was loading their gear into a tent we’d passed earlier. Pete was ready to begin a four-day trip, aiming to clear out old trails around Sunday Lake. He shared some trail history and noted that one of the paths connected with a route between The Ark and Paperboy. Who knew trails existed deep beyond the old roads? Our previous visits to the area were always when snow was present to even realize the fact.
