Starting Point: Guide Marker 27
Distances: Terrace Lake, 0.5 mile; Shadow Lake, 0.8 mile; Cliff
Lake, 1.5 miles. Round trip 3 miles
Topography: Downhill, 300 feet to Terrace Lake, 350 to Shadow
Lake, and 650 to Cliff Lake, uphill on return
Time: Terrace Lake, 1 hour; Shadow Lake, 1½ hours, Cliff
Lake, 3 hours, all round trip times
Features: Forests, lakes, flowers
[Illustration: Trail map]
These three jewels lie in cirques under the north base of Reading Peak,
and are not difficult to reach. For the photographer they present plenty
of contrasting colors, for the naturalist a variety of trees, flowers,
birds, and animal life.
From the sign at the highway the trail descends rapidly. The trail forks
after 0.2 of a mile, the left fork going to Hat Lake and the right fork
to Terrace Lake. After Terrace Lake it passes along the shore of Shadow
Lake, and then through open woods and meadows for over a half mile to
the Cliff Lake junction. An animal trail goes towards Reading Peak
through a meadow and over a low moraine to Cliff Lake.
Because this trail starts at a high elevation and is largely on north
slopes it is not free from snow as early as many trails of the park.