If you want to see peak larches now is the time to visit Copper Glance Lake!
The road is good and should be doable for any car. More washboarding than potholes. Parking is limited, space for maybe 5 - 7 cars in the "lot" and more space to park along the road. The lot was full when we got there at 11:30 AM so we parked along the road.
The incline starts immediately and the trail offers few reprieves. It's not horrendously steep but feels harder than the stats let on. Despite most of the trail being burned from previous fires there are some shady spots and a few flatter spots to give your legs a break.
There are two manageable creek crossings (three if you count the lake outlet) but it was nice to have trekking poles for stability both on these crossings and some of the steeper parts of trail.
The trail really begins climbing after you hit the old mine shaft and eventually opens up into fields to traverse. Then we reentered burn area and were treated to vibrant fall colors of the post-fire ground foliage as well as extensive fireweed stalks that were turning red with the fluffy seeds still on top. It was pretty in the fall, I can't imaging how spectacular the fireweed would have been in the summer. It's past season for most wildflowers but there is still plenty of pearly everlasting blooming along the trail.
Eventually we hit the pond which was quite pretty and then did our final steep climb up to the ridge that took us down to the lake. We arrived at the lake mid-afternoon and the sun was already low enough that the lake basin was in shadow. It got quite cold quite fast. Our hands were freezing by the time we were done taking pictures and eating. There were two parties camping by the lake and I saw maybe one other campsite?
The trail heads straight down to the lake shore but if you take a left there's a faint trail through the scree that will bring you to the other side of the lake where you'll have a better view of the peaks.
Larches are stunning right now and contrasted beautifully with the blue green tone of the lake. We also noticed that a lot of the rocks on the ground, as we got closer to the lake, had green tints from copper deposits.
We ran into some ptarmigans on our way back out of the lake basin but no other wildlife (other than the fish jumping in the lake). The way back down was uneventful and the parking lot had emptied by the time we got back. Everyone was friendly and respectful on the trail and it felt like we found a little bit of solitude during such a popular time of year in the North Cascades.
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