Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Blue Lake
Featured In:
Day Hiking: North Cascades,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. An uninspiring name for a pretty tarn tucked beneath the impressive Early Winters Spires. Short and sweet, this trail will leave you sitting by Blue's shimmering waters in no time. From a shoreline resting post marvel at the surrounding soaring walls of granite. Listen for clambering climbers scaling them. Despite the occasional clanking of carabiners, Blue Lake is a peaceful place above the busy state highway.
Driving Directions:
From Marblemount follow the North Cascades Highway (State Route 20) east for 51 miles to Rainy Pass. Continue east for 3 more miles to the trailhead located on your right, between mileposts 161 and 162. Privy available. Recent Trip Reports
Hiked here recently?
Submit a trip report!
There are
50
trip reports for this hike.
See all trip reports for this hike.
Blue Lake
— Oct 16, 2011
— Kelly B.
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
This hike was really beautiful, but for the last 1/2 mile at the highest altitude, the trail was covered in...
This hike was really beautiful, but for the last 1/2 mile at the highest altitude, the trail was covered in packed snow and ice. It was really slick and treacherous at points. If you go at this point forward, it would be helpful to have at least a walking stick, at best, yaktrax or crampons for your shoes. Worth it, though.
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
I decided to head back to Washington Pass to hike Blue Lake and see the Fall Colors. Blue Lake Trailhead...
I decided to head back to Washington Pass to hike Blue Lake and see the Fall Colors. Blue Lake Trailhead is just off Highway 20 near Washington Pass which is the highest point on Highway 20. The weather turned out pretty good. I waited until 9:00 am to leave the house. It took about 3 hours to get there. I did not want to get there too early because I was afraid of missing the sun.
This was hike 41 of 50 planned at age 50. The Larch Trees are showing their colors so get up there soon if you want to see them. Blue Lake is at elevation 6,300 feet. Trail is 4.4 miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of 1100 feet from trailhead to the lake. Trail is in great shape. One tree across the trail that was easy to step over. Mud in spots but no bugs this late in the season which made it nice. I saw numerous Marmots running across the boulders. Do not miss this hike either in summer or fall but it is much more beautiful with the fall colors. Check out videos of this hike or other ones I have done here in Washington State on my youtube channel at lmm3181 or click on this direct link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-oOWMgKR-I Enjoy your hiking and get out there and see this beautiful state!!! Take Care Mike Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Water on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
After setting up camp at Lone Fir CG, we drove to the Blue Lake TH. We had light drizzle which...
After setting up camp at Lone Fir CG, we drove to the Blue Lake TH. We had light drizzle which turned to snow as we reached the lake. The larch were in various shades of lime green to golden and should be at their peak by next week-end. The fog added to the beauty of the area. We made our usual loop to the tarns above the lake. This is a beautiful fall hike.
Day hike
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
Approaching the trailhead about 7:30 AM, I encountered a contractor excavating the road to install culverts. He had me...
Approaching the trailhead about 7:30 AM, I encountered a contractor excavating the road to install culverts. He had me park about one half mile from the trailhead. It was foggy and cloudy on the drive to the hike, but Mt. Baker was clear when seen from the trailhead road (first photo). I hiked up the Dock Butte trail and was able to see partial views of Baker and Shuksan (second photo), but by the time I reached the summit of Dock Butte the fog was dense in every direction. I took a photo of the survey marker because that was all I could see! Hiking back down from the Butte, I took the trail to Blue Lake; which is quite pretty with cascading waterfalls. There were no other hikers on either trail. I saw at least a dozen Ptarmigans. There are no fall colors, no berries, and no bugs. It was 40 degrees F. on the trail this morning with ice on the trail above 5,000'. I skirted a couple of icepacks, but the trail is clear. My hike was 6.5 miles RT with almost 2,000' of elevation gain. Subtract a mile if you start at the trailhead. The contractor said he would be finished with the project by the weekend. I'll return on a clear day to see the views at the top.
Blue Lake
— Sep 27, 2011
— Dominic
Day hike
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
The first snow of the season hit us at around 10pm where the road starts to climb from Rainy Pass...
The first snow of the season hit us at around 10pm where the road starts to climb from Rainy Pass to Washington Pass. Due to the extremely slippery road, we hunkered down at the pass for the night. To warm up the next moring we went up the easy short hike to Blue Lake. The snow was already melting. This trail is so nicely built and graded that it could be done in any weather conditions. The reward is the view of the lake that is genuinely blue even under grey cloudy skies with Liberty Bell and one of the Early Winters Spires in the background. With the fresh snow on the ground, this was a particularly pretty view and noone asked where the spires got their name from. (There were no wildflowers, no edible berries, no golden larches but no mosquitoes either.)
|
Blue Lake. Photo by Inge Johnsson.
|
Document Actions
- Email this page
- Print this
- Share
Forgot your
New user?
