Chain Lakes
Loop trip nirvana in the North Cascades! Picturesque alpine lakes, gorgeous open ridges, constantly changing views of Mount Baker and Shuksan and mountain wildlfowers dominate this hike.
You can do a loop trip described here, out-and-back, or short loops - choices abound (but do stay on established trails only). From the Bagley Lakes trailhead, follow the trail to the Bagley Lakes. Admire Table Mountain, and how it plunges straight into the lakes. Continue right for the Chain Lakes, climbing to Herman Saddle. The views here are stupendous! Now drop into the Chain Lakes. The first (and largest) is Iceberg Lake. You may encounter snowfields in this section well into late summer, and sometimes these never melt out. Be prepared. At Iceberg Lake, you can take a small side trail to Arbuthnet and Hayes Lakes, or you can continue on to picturesque little Mazama Lake. Climbing out of the Chain Lakes Basin, you will reach a pass between Table Mountain and Ptarmigan Ridge. Go to the left for about a mile until you reach the Artist Point parking lot (this is also a good place to start your hike). The Wild Goose Trail will take you back to your car without requiring you to walk the road (that is, if you're there after the snow melts).
Driving Directions:
Travel east on Mt. Baker Highway 542 to the road's end and the Mount Baker Ski area. Follow the signs to the upper parking lot and the Bagley Lakes trailhead. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Snow on trail | Road to trailhead inaccessible
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Started out at 10:30 from Heather Meadows and hiked the trail to Artist Point(road still closed). Co...
Started out at 10:30 from Heather Meadows and hiked the trail to Artist Point(road still closed). Couple of inches of fresh powder, but trekking poles worked fine. Very cold when I started out and a little icy on trail. Still last years snow at the parking lot at Artist Point. Hiked the ridge to the fork with Ptarmigan Ridge and Chain Lakes, but was as far as I went. Took in great views of Baker and Shuksan. If the weather holds is possible to hike the full loop and the Ptarmigan Ridge trail is easy to follow, even with the fresh powder. Just be prepared for the elements. Only ran into one hiker on the trail, but a lot of cars at the parking lot when I returned. Think people were hiking Tabletop Mountain. Was back at the car by 1:30.
Day hike
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Fresh snow.... none along the trail..... a little still lingering at the Artist Point parking lot.....
Fresh snow.... none along the trail..... a little still lingering at the Artist Point parking lot.....colors just beginning to turn... a peaceful hike ( we had the lakes mostly to ourselves) except for the last section from the artist's Point parking lot back down to the car. The Wild Goose trail is probably seeing more use this year than its seen in a long time.... Mt Shuksan and Baker hovering near ....and all those other mountains floating in the distance....Ruth.....Goat, Larrabee and the rest of the wild gang. The goats were off in the distance.... just white moving dots...
Some cold nights should bring out the colors .....
Chain Lakes
— Oct 08, 2011
— Nathan
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Fall foliage | Ripe berries
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Lucked out and had beautiful weather. A little overcast at the beginning, but became sunny about 1...
Lucked out and had beautiful weather. A little overcast at the beginning, but became sunny about 1/2 hour into the trip. Trails in good condition, if a little muddy coming down from Herman Saddle into the lakes. No bugs but an intermittent chilly wind so I'd recommend warm clothes when stopping for lunch. The views of Shuksan and Baker are incredible! Keep an eye out for icebergs and blueberries. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail | Snow on trail | Bugs
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We started our hike ~ 10 am to blue skies and warm sun. Fall colors and blueberries are not there ye...
We started our hike ~ 10 am to blue skies and warm sun. Fall colors and blueberries are not there yet.. so that was a bit of a let-down. Not surprising given the heavy snow and the weird non-summer we've had, but nevertheless this hike is very scenic.
There are some large patches of snow past Herman saddle and at the fork to Ptramigan ridge, and Artist point parking lot is still covered in a couple of feet of snow, and the road to this point is closed. It doesn't look like this snow will fully melt out this year. Bugs were not really a problem until we reached iceberg lake mostly because it was quite windy. The local airforce was out in full force once we sat down near the lake for lunch but using lots of bug repellent helped. Overall we had a great time as always on this hike. WTA volunteers were doing a great job on this trail.
Chain Lakes
— Sep 09, 2011
— ckennedy
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Snow on trail | Bugs
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I made it to the top without encountering too much snow. Once I got to the top there was still a sig...
I made it to the top without encountering too much snow. Once I got to the top there was still a significant amount of snow that stopped me from heading down towards iceburg lake. Awesome views. I did not meet a single soul headed up or down. I did run into a couple of people doing the bagley lakes trail. The berries aren't there yet and there's not many wildflowers but I suspect that will change quite soon.
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 Photo by CBig.
2010
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