It was a bit late to go to Blanca Lake at this time of the year but we decided to go since the first snow was mostly gone due to the warm weather for the last two weeks and the weather forecast was sunny. Even though the forecast was sunny in Seattle and Leavenworth area, the weather in the Cascades was quite different. The fog came into the mountains continuously and produced snow on FR 65 and 63 occasionally. The restroom and trashcans were closed at the trailhead with signs saying season closed. There was no snow at the trailhead. As we go up, we could see patches of snow in open areas. There was about an inch of snow at the open forest before the virgin lake. Due to the snow, some of us had to crawl over the rocks just before the open forest. We could occasionally see Columbia peak through the cloud. Virgin lake was frozen. The trail from the Virgin lake to Blanca Lake was a bit challenging due to snow and ice on the trail. However it was much safer than before thanks to the work done by WTA volunteers. The lake was as beautiful as I saw 6 years ago. Snow covered trees added beauty to the lake. Even though we could not see the turquoises color due to the cloud, we were more than happy to enjoy the snow.

Yesterday morning we set out to find Blanca Lake. As mentioned in a few other posts, the main road to get to Blanca Lake is washed out from a past wash out that was never fixed. We drove up to Skykomish and took the Beckler Road following FR 65 to FR 63 and found our way. It was a long drive following the gravel road but it was well worth it.

We hike very often in Washington and I must say this is my second favorite hike in Washington which I think is funny because it not very well known. There were about 15 to 20 people on the trail and it was a beautiful sunny clear day.

While hiking you will come to a few grassy meadows where you can camp if you choose or where you can throw the stick for your dog which is what we did. Before reaching Blanca Lake, you will come to Virgin Lake which is much smaller than Blanca Lake and not nearly as pretty. It doesn't have the moving water like Blanca Lake to keep it fresh and clear.

Once you get to Virgin Lake you have a little further to go until you reach the most stunning Lake in all of Washington! You will come to an opening in the trail where you can overlook the lake but if you continue on the trail you will make it all the way down to the lake where you can see where the water flows out and you can make your way around the lake. Bring bug spray! If you bring a raft you can access more of the lake than with out one. This is a MUST DO hike but I do not recommend you take children on it as it is more difficult than your average hike. Our two year old lab did fabulous on the hike and there was also another 4 month old puppy up there that seemed to be doing fine. Being up there this time of the year was even more stunning than normal due to the beautiful fall colors coming in. As you glance across the lake you can see reds, yellows, oranges and the left over green. Simply stunning!

Blanc Lake is the most underrated short day hikes near Seattle, and a photographer's dream come true! It definitely reminds me of Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada.

The hike itself is short and difficult due to the constant elevation gain, but thankfully the trail is very shaded and comfortable to hike. We didn't encounter a lot of people on the trail for a Sunday hike.

It took us ~2 hours to get to Blanca lake from the trailhead. There is no shortage of sitting spots as the beach area is basically a log flow. You can practice a lot of log balancing here and take in the spectacular colours of the lake.

To make this a longer hike, I would recommend going around the lake to the base of the glacier across the lake. That trail begins on the left-hand-side (when facing the lake) by the small waterfall where Blanca flows out and winds through a few campsites, through a small cove, up a steep hill with lots of young spruce trees and small berry bushes. The trail is very overgrown, so I would recommend pants for those prone to scratch scars.

You will then reach a huge field of boulders. At this point, keep to the lakefront and hop through the mossy rocks. There were visible glacier chunks and flowing rivers during early Fall, but I would guess that in the spring, the whole area could be a flowing river. There are a few markers that people have constructed, to indicate the small animal trail that winds through the rocks to reach the ridge under the Columbia glacier. This is also a great spot to fill up on water as the glacier melt was incredibly refreshing.

Once at the base of the glacier, there is really not a lot of safe trailblazing ways to get up to the peaks, or around the glacier, without actually going on it. This additional excursion was ~4 hours round trip and definitely physically exhausting. It took us another hour to get down from Blanca, though running down the trail through limited visibility. I would recommend bringing a headlamp if you are ever going to be hiking down from Blanca past 6pm, as the trail is so shaded it blocks out the waning sun.

This was one of the best hike I been to. Blanca Lake is just breathtaking and so worth the 7 miles roundtrip. My friend and I went to Mailbox Peak several weeks before this hike and agreed that Mailbox was way harder. Don't understand why people say this hike was difficult especially the last 0.5 mile down, I think it wasn't that bad when comparing to Mailbox. Mailbox was a killer and don't think we will ever do it again. We didn't use a walk stick and don't think you will need one as long as you have hiking shoes. We are not advance hikers and this is our third hiking trip for the year so we are not the most physical fit girls. It took us 5.5 hrs to hike the trail with 1/2 hr spent @ the lake for lunch and taking pix. Don't been discourage that this hike is rated as difficult, go slow and steady on the 3 miles up and 0.5 mile down is not bad once you see the lake. The trip back should be easy and fast since is all downhill for the last 3 miles :)