Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Minotaur Lake
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. Start beside Minotaur Creek and immediately begin the relentless climb up a steep rib-1000 feet worth in less than a mile. Upon entering the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness, the climb eases a bit as the way leaves the rib and heads to the right toward Minotaur Creek. After dropping about 100 feet, the trail swings back upward. Huckleberry patches and heather meadows begin to interrupt the hemlock. At 1.75 miles, which you'll swear is longer, reach the outlet of beautiful Minotaur Lake. You probably won't be greeted by seven Athenian lads and seven Athenian maidens, but scores of your fellow hikers will probably be at the lake. Despite the toughness of the hike, this is a popular place. The lake's shores have been badly trampled in spots, so take care when exploring the scenic shoreline.
Driving Directions:
From Everett head east on US 2 for 65 miles to Stevens Pass. Continue east for another 4 miles. Just after the highway divides, turn left (exercising caution crossing the westbound lanes) onto Smith Brook Road (Forest Road 67). (From Leavenworth reach the turnoff in 30 miles.) Follow FR 67 for 6.8 miles, turning left onto FR 6704. Proceed for 0.9 mile to the road's end and trailhead (elev. 3800 ft). Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Issues:
Mudholes | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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Snow again! Was at the lake about 5 weeks ago and hit snow, but hit even more this time....
Snow again! Was at the lake about 5 weeks ago and hit snow, but hit even more this time. No melt-out this year for this area. Beautiful weather and a few open rocks to sit on for lunch. Bring gators and poles, path is easily followable.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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This is the shortest hike in the Stevens Pass area to a beautiful alpine lake, 1.6 miles, trail head...
This is the shortest hike in the Stevens Pass area to a beautiful alpine lake, 1.6 miles, trail head to lunch at the lake. This also maybe one of the steepest hikes in an area known for plenty of fast elevation gain. Depending on the vintage, some of the older green trails maps mis-label elevation at the lake as 6600, it is actually 5700. This still makes for 1900 feet in a bit more then a mile and half and most of the gain is in the first mile+. Absolutely worth it.
Today we treated to many wildflowers and a bug free lunch. There were tons of black flies on the way up, only a bother if you need to stop and catch your breadth. Couldn't rally the kids to climb Labyrinth, see prior trip reports for directions, definitely worth the extra climb. No berries yet, they were flowering. Road to the trail head is fine. Overnight
Issues:
Water on trail | Snow on trail | Bugs
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What a great area! Have been hiking up the Little Wenatchee many times, but never stopped in at Minotaur...
What a great area! Have been hiking up the Little Wenatchee many times, but never stopped in at Minotaur and Theseus. Trail is straight up for roughly 2 miles, a significant deviation from the 3 miles listed in the 100 hikes book. A re-route perhaps? Snow about 1/3 mile from Minotaur, easily followable boot-path. Ditched the packs at the lake and scrambled up to the top of Labyrinth Mt. A few other people around to share the awesome views of Glacier, Baker, Rainier, Stuart...the list goes on. Tried some fishing, but not a lot of action. In the tent quickly as the bugs were UNHOLY! Bring lots of spray if you venture into the area, and I highly recommend it, in spite of the blood-suckers. Beautiful star show, very quiet and peaceful.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Snow on trail | Bugs
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Our Hike to Minotaur Lake was definitely not an easy task. The Trail was brutally steep, and took us about...
Our Hike to Minotaur Lake was definitely not an easy task. The Trail was brutally steep, and took us about 2 hrs to get to the Lake (not to mention we are both out of shape, not bad though! haha). No pain, no gain right? The grueling trip was well worth it, too bad Labrynth Mountain was hiding amidst the fog, but still a beautiful site to see. Near the top portion of the trail there is still some snow. Not too bad though, and pretty compact. No dangers of sinking in to unknown creeks running beneath or old fallen trees.
Here are some pictures, Enjoy!
Minotaur Lake
— Sep 14, 2010
— karyl15
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
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Before weather turned showery, we had to do a view hike, and this was spectacular. The steep 'trail' is...
Before weather turned showery, we had to do a view hike, and this was spectacular. The steep 'trail' is short but almost painful; too bad my companions forgot poles. Downhill on return is so swift compared with the uphill. Approaching the lake, some small but scattered ripe blueberries. Lovely color of foliage around the lake and the intense color of the lake. Trail to ascend Labyrinth Mt. to the north goes to the right, up the little ridge between Minotaur and Theseus way below. Route is fairly staightforward, ascending benches and soon reaching the fine 360 degree views. Glacier Peak appears to have fresh snow. Perfect temperatures on an early fall day.
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Minotaur Lake by David Hagen
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