Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Icicle Gorge
A delightful loop along a tight gorge carved by the Icicle River, this hike makes for a perfect early and late-season leg stretcher. Its good tread and gentle terrain also make it ideal for children, first-time hikers, and those trying to get back into the groove. Leisurely stroll along this major tributary of the Wenatchee River, watching for darting dippers and admiring raucous rapids and swirling pools.
From the trailhead kiosk, veer right. The trail left leads to the Icicle Gorge View Trail. In 0.1 mile you'll come to the Icicle Gorge River Trail. Left or right, it's your choice. I prefer heading downstream first. Turning left, follow the good trail through a diverse forest of conifers. Undulate between open pine and cool, dark fir stands. Take time to read the interpretive signs. After crossing Chatter Creek come to a junction with the Gorge View Trail. Continue straight, coming to nice viewing spots of the gorge below. Take a short diversion to check out the old Chatter Creek Guard Station, but respect the privacy of anyone who may be spending the evening there. The trail drops down to cross the creek (elev. 2650 ft) on a well-photographed bridge at a well-photographed section of the water-sculptured gorge. Now heading upriver, pass great viewpoints of rapids and cascades. Cross a cedar swamp, Trout Creek, and various outwashes and channels and tempting huckleberry patches. The creek mellows as the trail travels alongside it through open pine and fir forest. Cross Jack Creek and soon after come to FR 76 at the Rock Island Campground at 2.5 miles. Turn right, crossing Icicle Creek (elev. 2800 ft) on the road bridge, picking up the trail once again at the edge of the campground. Then travel downriver to more excellent gorge views. Pass the junction with the western terminus of the Gorge View Trail. Continue downstream through cedar groves and along scenic bluffs, occasionally brushing up against FR 76. At 3.9 miles arrive back to the spur trail leading to the trailhead. Not a bad little loop, huh?
Driving Directions:
From milepost 99 on US 2, at the western edge of Leavenworth, follow the Icicle Creek Road (Forest Road 76) for 15.3 miles (the pavement ends at 12.3 miles), passing the Chatter Creek Guard Station and reaching the trailhead on the left (south) side of the road (elev. 2700 ft). Privy available. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
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Wife & I took the advice of WTA & did this hike since we were on our way to Leavenworth for the nigh...
Wife & I took the advice of WTA & did this hike since we were on our way to Leavenworth for the night anyways. We drive Hwy 2 every October for the fall color, & this hike will be part of that tradition now. Colors were amazing, & anyone can do this hike. Its flat & the trail is simple. We spent a lot of time stopping to enjoy the colors & take pictures, & completed the 4 mile loop in about 2 hours. Kid friendly & worth every minute
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
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A trail normally overlooked became a great rainy-day choice. An easy 4-mile loop walk, it follows a...
A trail normally overlooked became a great rainy-day choice. An easy 4-mile loop walk, it follows and crosses Icicle Creek in and out of pine and cedar forest. Fall brightened this dark day in the form of luminous vine maple, cottonwood and devils club, complemented by the blue berries of Oregon grape.
While surveying nearby trailheads post mud-slide, we hit the Fall Color Jackpot at Chatter Creek. In-your-face bold colors could be enjoyed from the car, but the trail beckons for total immersion - just step around the elk droppings. Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Ripe berries
Issues:
Blowdowns | Overgrown | Water on trail | Bugs | Road to trailhead inaccessible
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Reached the end of the road (just past the Ida Creek campground) around noon. There was a turnaround...
Reached the end of the road (just past the Ida Creek campground) around noon. There was a turnaround area and space for perhaps 30 cars on the roadside; I managed to squeeze into an open space.
There was a (gated) 1 mile temp road around the washout, and another mile on the road brought us to the Chatter Creek "guard station". Just past that we connected to the Icicle Gorge trail, crossed the bridge above the gorge, and followed the trail to the Rock Island campground area. Rejoined the Icicle Creek road there and continued past the Black Pine (horse-only) campground to the Icicle Creek trailhead at the (definitive) end of the road. Set up camp at the French Creek campground, where there were several nice sites just above the river. Headed back out the following day; but instead of following the road, we took the Jack Pine trail from the Black Pine to the Rock Island campground, and we followed the other side of the Icicle Gorge trail. With the exception of the Jack Pine trail, which was in part overgrown, muddy, and had several blowdowns, all trails and roads were in excellent condition. Encountered lots of people on the road (quite a few on bikes), but not a single person past the Rock Island campground. Wildflowers: Yarrow, Fireweed, Pinedrops, and others. Lots and lots of ripe blueberries. Looked like Thimbleberries would be next... Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/eric.jain/IcicleCreekJuly2011 Tracklog: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/103272973 Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns
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This trail is in excellent shape. It is one of the few trails in the Icicle Canyon area that allows...
This trail is in excellent shape. It is one of the few trails in the Icicle Canyon area that allows dogs, which is why we diverted here after discovering that Eightmile Lake did not allow dogs. Due to the washout of the road approaching the trail head you can tack on an extra 2 miles in each direction to get from the temporary parking lot at the washout to the trail head.
The trail passes through some beautiful forests, has tons of wild flowers blooming still, and is nicely shaded for most of the hike. There was only one blowdown that we had to pass over. The bridge and river view at the most downstream end of the loop is quite a sight. The Rock Island Campground at the fall upstream end of the trail is quite possibly the most scenic car campground I have ever encountered and it feels cut off from humanity with the washout further down stream. Too bad. Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Road to trailhead inaccessible
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I joined my friends at Ida Creek on Icicle Creek for some over night camping and told them I was hik...
I joined my friends at Ida Creek on Icicle Creek for some over night camping and told them I was hiking to the trail as soon as I arrived. The road is washed out still of course just past Ida Creek so we would be walking around 2 miles to the trail head itself near Chatter Creek Campground. It was late in the afternoon when we started but figured we could get in at least some of the actual trail before a late dinner.
Four of us decided to make the trip and soon we came across the road washout. From washout there is a trail behind a gate that goes around the flooded area in the forest. The water was running fairly deep and swift between the trees. We found evidence of beavers in this area on the way back, several trees had been gnawed on. We also came across a couple muddy spots with water along the way. It wasn't long before we came back to the other side of the washed out road and turned uphill toward Chatter Creek. We walked along the road and almost missed the first access point on the gorge trail. It sits right across from the ranger station and drops down to a bridge over Icicle Creek. We made our way down to what is a massive torrent of white water flowing over the rock in the river bed. Soon after the bridge the trail climbed up to a nice viewpoint of the river below and we saw a raging creek coming out of the trees before dumping into Icicle Creek. We probably followed the gorge loop trail for a mile or so total. There were a few blowdowns that could be stepped over here and one we actually had to hop over along the way. We stopped after about an hour and took a break by the creek before turning back. I would like to come back and walk the full 3 1/2 miles of this trail when the road is rebuilt. |
 Icicle Creek at end of the loop near bridge near Rock Island campground. Photo by Bob and Barb.
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