Colchuck Lake — Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025

GATE IS STILL OPEN!! Arrived to the trailhead at 7:10 and only one other car was in the parking lot. Trail was a little wet in some spots but the only sketchy part was the second bridge because it was a little slick. 99% of the trail was snow free but won’t be for long. Only saw two hikers on the way to the lake and spent an hour and a half just relaxing and exploring around the lake and not a single other person we saw. The clouds were moving quick and the sun was trying to pop out. Had a little bit of snow right before we left and that was just beautiful. On the way back down we saw 13 other hikers and 1 dog….. hmmmmm. I’m too nice to say anything about no dogs but kind of annoying to see almost everytime I’m here. Also lots of peoples initials on trees which is pretty annoying. Overall a beautiful day and only ended up eating it once haha. Round trip today was 9.4 miles and 2,360 feet elevation gain. Hurry and get here before the gate closes for the winter.