Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Chelan Lakeshore Trail
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Central Cascades,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. Mile per mile, this is the most scenic hike radiating from Stehekin, and it's the only trail that embraces the dramatic shoreline of 50-mile-long Lake Chelan. Hot in summer, the Lakeshore Trail makes a wonderful destination in fall and spring-especially the latter, when a mosaic of wildflowers including chocolate lilies, balsamroot, and death camas splash the shoreline ledges and grassy slopes in an array of brilliant colors. Starting from the Golden West Visitor Center, the trail passes park buildings, an overflow camping area, and a handful of private cabins before settling into a more natural setting. After immediately sampling high-ledge scenery, drop down closer to lake level and enter a recent burn zone. The trail undulates between patches of greenery and ghost forests created by the Rex Creek Fire of 2001 and the Flick Creek Fire of 2006. Be particularly careful while hiking in windy and rainy conditions, as the potential exists for falling snags and landslides. At 0.75 mile cross Hazard Creek and skirt some more cabins. The trail winds through and around pockets of private property. Many of the structures are simple and blend in well with the surroundings. Unfortunately, new money has found its way to these shores, with new ostentatious "cabins" sprouting up and clashing with this natural landscape and environmental sensibilities. At just over 1 mile come to a shoreline ledge granting an excellent view down the lake to Moore Point and Domke Mountain. Continue along the scenic shoreline a short way before once again climbing above and away from it. After passing an old rock wall and compound, cross cottonwood-lined Fourmile Creek on a bridge at 2.5 miles. Drop back to lake level, passing boulders and a big "cabin," and then following cascading Flick Creek into a little chasm. Leave the creek behind and emerge on a high bluff that grants an excellent view back to Stehekin, with 7161-foot Purple Mountain rising above it. At 3.6 miles pass the Flick Creek campground and shelter, a nice spot for a break. More fine shoreline walking follows, and then start a long ascent. Cross Hunts Creek in a deep ravine before more climbing, emerging onto a series of ledges before topping out at 1700 feet on Hunts Bluff. Here, 5 miles from Stehekin, is a good turnaround point. Enjoy the spectacular view up the lake to Stehekin and McGregor Mountain and down the lake to Moore Point. This is quite a different Lake Chelan than 40 miles to the south, where jet skis whine in circles and condos ravenously consume the hillsides.
Driving Directions:
Travel north from Wenatchee on US 97A for 38 miles to the Lake Chelan Boat Company in Chelan, located about 1 mile west of the city center. Or drive to Field's Point Landing, located about 17 miles northwest of Chelan via State Route 971 and the South Lakeshore Road. Take the Lady of the Lake to Stehekin. Disembark at Stehekin Landing and walk 0.25 mile to the Golden West Visitor Center. The trail begins just to the right of the center (elev. 1150 ft). Privy available. Recent Trip Reports
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Chelan Lakeshore Trail
— Jul 08, 2011
— rbt76
Multi-night backpack
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Ripe berries
Issues:
Blowdowns | Bridge out | Clogged drainage | Overgrown | Mud/Rockslide | Washouts
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Bear? Check. Rattlesnake? Check. Delicious sticky bun? Check.
In search of a snow-free, warm-weather hike, we headed to the famous...
Bear? Check. Rattlesnake? Check. Delicious sticky bun? Check.
In search of a snow-free, warm-weather hike, we headed to the famous Lakeshore Trail. Most people do this one in one or two nights, but we chose to take it slow, overnighting at Cascade Creek, Moore Point and Purple Point campground in Stehekin before catching the ferry out on Monday. This allowed plenty of time to take in the amazing diversity of habitats along the trail, and spend the morning exploring Stehekin on Monday since the ferry doesn't arrive until 2 pm. Wildlife sightings included ptarmigan, quail, cedar waxwings, red-winged blackbird, western tanager, and countless lizards and chipmunks (aka snake snacks). Plenty of blackberries and service berries made morning oatmeal much more exciting. Two major washouts and some overgrown trail but despite these the trail was relatively easy going overall. At the first washout, head about 200 yards down towards the lake and you will find a way across. Exposed hillsides make this a good choice for spring or fall... I'm guessing summer on this trail is scorching hot. Stehekin Pastry Company and Rainbow Falls are well worth the side trip if you have extra time in Stehekin. Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Washouts
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My son and I took the Lady of the Lake up to Prince Creek and hiked to Moore Point for...
My son and I took the Lady of the Lake up to Prince Creek and hiked to Moore Point for the night. We then hiked the rest of the way to Stehekin in plenty of time to catch the Lady back to Chelan. We spotted a bear, two rattlesnakes, one skunk, several chipmunks, and lots of lizards. The weather and hike were perfect. I brought a tent, but decided not to pitch it. There were a few washouts on the way that could easily be crossed. We did run into a crew working at one of the washouts at four mile creek. There is lots cold water available along the trail. We met a couple of others who were going to do the trail in 2 nights.
Multi-night backpack
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Bridge out | Washouts
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One of the best early season hikes due to the low elevation on Lake Chelan, it's a bit of a...
One of the best early season hikes due to the low elevation on Lake Chelan, it's a bit of a challenge this year due to massive washouts at some of the creek crossings. Luckily, the critical, large volume creeks still have intact bridges or new replacements. However, Meadow Creek between Prince Creek and Moore Pt. has an unbelievably huge washout and you must work your way 200 meters or so below the shelter cabin towards the lake until you can find a place that you can safely ford across. Wildflowers are at their peak with lots of blue lupine, tiger lilies, yellow salsify and indian paintbrush blooming all at once. Work done by the WTA work parties recently was visible along the middle section. Thanks WTA!
Multi-night backpack
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Bridge out | Washouts
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I headed over to Chelan with some friends to hike from Prince Creek to Stehekin over the Memorial Day Weekend....
I headed over to Chelan with some friends to hike from Prince Creek to Stehekin over the Memorial Day Weekend. There were several creeks washed out, but we were able to get across them on rocks or fallen logs without much of a problem.
Beautiful hike! The only drawback was the hoards of people on the trail with us. It was impossible to camp at any of the designated camp areas. Also, there were several groups of boy scouts and the ferry was filled to capacity without enough ventilation. I wouldn't do this again on a holiday weekend, but highly recommend it otherwise. Multi-night backpack
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Bridge out | Washouts | Water on trail
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The Chelan Lakeshore Trail (CLT) is a great early-season backpacking trip! Snow-free, sunnier (usually) than the west side of the...
The Chelan Lakeshore Trail (CLT) is a great early-season backpacking trip! Snow-free, sunnier (usually) than the west side of the Cascades, long enough to stretch into a two-night trip, challenging enough to feel like you’re working for your meals, but forgiving enough to allow you to ease into the routine of backpacking before tackling longer/harder summer trips (where did I put the moleskin?).
With puppy in tow, we headed to Field’s landing early Friday morning – about a 3.5- hour drive from Seattle. Along with about 15-20 other hikers and a handful of dogs, we disembarked the Lady of the Lake at Prince Creek - a little more than an hour after departing Field’s landing. With our backpacks in need of some reorganization, we took our time at Prince Creek, which had the added benefit of letting most of the other hikers start out ahead of us. (NB: there’s a very nice pit toilet at Prince Creek – if you are so inclined.) We hit the trail at noon headed for Cascade Creek Camp, approximately 6 miles from Prince Creek. The trail is easy to follow with key intersections well signed. And we soon found that, contrary to what we expected from the name of the trail, we only infrequently trekked along the lakeshore. Instead, the trail winds up and over bluffs, through meadows, in and out of drainages and over several creeks (expect to get your feet wet on some of these crossings). We arrived at Cascade Creek Camp about four hours later and were delighted to find a cozy (comfortable fit for 2-3 tents) and quiet campsite along the lake with a nice fire ring, picnic table and a toilet. We were joined by another family of campers that night and they showed off some great photos of a bear they spotted earlier along the trail. On Saturday we headed out for the leisurely 4-5 mile hike to Moore Point where we planned to spend our second night. Our progress was slowed by a huge washout near the Meadow Creek shelter. There wasn't an obvious reroute (I later learned that the washout had occurred just a week earlier - a reroute will hopefully be in the works soon), so we scrambled down a steep slope, up and over the broken trees along the outer edge of the washout and then spent some time finding a safe place to cross Meadow Creek (we went downstream, though we heard from other hikers that there was a place to cross closer to the shelter). Then up and over more broken trees and a winding uphill hike back to the trail. We arrived at the spur trail to Moore Point about 4 hours later, and found that the campground was filled with other hikers and a group of boy scouts. We persisted and walked along the water down lake of the main camping area until we found a secluded spot to camp and take a quick dip in the lake (thanks for the tip, Tim). On Sunday we headed out for the 7-mile hike to Stehekin. Some guidebooks say that this is the most scenic stretch of the trail, but we found that although the way was indeed scenic, we preferred the more frequent views of the lake found on the section of trail we had already hiked. And, as you get closer to Stehekin the size and frequency of private homes along the way (some quite close to the trail) increases, which detracts a bit from the backcountry experience. We encountered one other washout on this stretch where it was easy to cross the creek, but difficult (steep, loose dirt) to get down to it and up the other side. We rolled into Stehekin about an hour before the scheduled departure of our ride back to Field's Landing. Perfect timing for a quick stop at the NPS visitor center and for a sandwich and beverage from a restaurant along the waterfront. The three-hour boat ride back to the car was well spent sharing stories with other hikers and plotting our next backpacking adventure. After the blisters heal. |
Spring wildflowers are a highlight on the Chelan Lakeshore Trail. Photo by Randy and Sharon.
2010, 2011
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