Snow Lake (4,672') is located 1.2 miles from Bench Lake Trailhead in a large cirque under Unicorn Peak (6,971') in the Tatoosh Range. This short, undulating trail rises into a meadow and drops to a spur for Bench Lake. It steepens back to Snow Lake and ends in the open inlet area, where a way-trail continues up the cirque wall for a challenging Class IV-V scramble to Unicorn Peak.

Snow Lake lies in a steep-walled cirque topped by Unicorn Peak (6,971'), the highest peak in the Tatoosh Range

Bench Lake (4,556') is located .69 miles from the trailhead in a shallow depression created by glacial benching

Naturally occurring, low intensity fires help maintain a healthy subalpine ecosystem by clearing space for new growth and returning nutrients to the soil

An unmaintained climbers path scales the cirque wall to a saddle under Unicorn Peak, where a tough Class IV - V scramble leads to the summit

Though Unicorn Glacier is no longer a 'true' glacier, melt water retains glacial characteristics and gives Snow Lake a bright blue-green hue

The Tatoosh Traverse includes at least 13 peaks: Unicorn, Boundary, Pinnacle, Foss, Stevens, The Castle, Plummer, Tatoosh, Wahpenayo, Lane, Denman, Chutla and Eagle

The Snow Lake inlet spreads across a wide, marshy area

Snow Lake is slow to melt out, and portions of the basin can remain covered well into July

Blueberries are notably abundant in the meadows leading to Bench Lake

Little Tahoma Peak (11,138') from the south end of Snow Lake

Mount Rainier National Park covers 236,381 acres, of which 97% is designated wilderness