The Prettiest, Easiest Hike | Silver Lake Loop Trail
I’m excited to share Silver Lake with you!
Silver Lake is a place you have to know about! It’s the place we go to when we need to get out of the house and into nature but aren’t quite up for ditching the stroller and dragging the kids up a mountain.
The Silver Lake trail might be the easiest hike you’ve ever been on. I can’t even bring myself to call it a hike, it’s more of a nature walk. BUT, it’s the prettiest nature walk you’ve ever been on. The path around Silver Lake is about ¾ mile long and mostly boardwalk (the other areas are gravel but well packed). It’s a great stroller/wheelchair accessible trail.
Walking ¾ a mile around a lake sounds kind of lame, am I right? But give this trail a chance, it has more than you’d think.
I’d suggest heading into the Solitude Nordic Center/Silver Lake Information Center before hitting the trail. It’s a cute little information center. It has educational displays that help you teach your kids about the wildlife they might see around the lake. We liked the beaver section best. It taught the kids about how beavers build dams and encouraged them to look for them while on the trail. There is also a ranger inside to answer any questions.


Once you start on the trail, you’ll notice the education doesn’t stop at the information center. You can find little educational stops all along the trail.
The kids laughed pretty hard while watching the ducks bob for food. They provided a solid 10 minutes of entertainment.
This grove of trees is the perfect place to stop for some water and snacks. It’s well shaded and a great place for the kids to run freely. My kids wanted to stay here all day.
Just beyond the grove of trees is an area that allows you to get right up next to the ducks.
I must admit, I’ve been the Silver Lake a few times and never noticed this awesome climbing rock. Some adventerous boys showed us this while we were there and I must say, it’s the highlight of the trail. My daughter is five and doesn’t have much climbing experience. She easily climbed half way up but then got too nervous to go any further. I saw kids as young as 7 scale this thing in 30 seconds. It was hard to get any pictures of the rock because so many kids were climbing all over it. Some serious fun was being had.
And no worries, it you can’t bring yourself to climb the rock there is a path just to the side that takes you to the top of the rock.
The view is breathtaking.
The cherry on top of the whole trail was this little guy. We sat and watched him nibble at his food for a good five minutes. He didn’t seem phased by his growing audience and just kept nibbling away.
Silver Lake is one of mother nature’s awesome playgrounds. Next time you want to do a playdate unlike any other, head to Silver Lake!
- There are bathrooms and drinking fountains at the start of the trail. Both outside and inside the information center.
- Bring some water
- Plan your trip around wildflower season! The wildflower displays begins in mid-July and continues beyond late August.
- There are picnic tables at the end of the trail
- There is a parking lot just outside the information center
- Trail is stroller/wheelchair accessible
- If you’re in the hiking mood, there are a few family friend hikes that start from the Silver Lake trail. They are about 1 ½ to 2 miles long and lead to some gorgeous lakes!