Chelan Lakeshore Trail — Monday, May. 6, 2019

It would have required early rising and a pretty long drive to make it to Fields Point Landing in time to catch the Lady of the Lake ferry at 9:30 AM, so we started our hike by car camping the night before at the  totally empty Snowberry Bowl campground, a 15-20 minute drive from the dock. This allowed us to get a pretty relaxed start to our day and make it to the trailhead fully rested. (This early in the season, camping is going to be easy at any campground in the area.)

We got to the ferry, paid for parking, and had an easy and beautiful ride up the lake, and were dropped off with about 15 other hikers above Prince Creek at around 11:30, and we set off immediately, headed for Moore point, and the various groups of hikers spread out right away.

The trail is clear and in good condition. I think I only saw one tree down on the whole thing, and there is a work group on the trail now, so that may get taken care of soon. It was sunny, and I imagine it gets very hot later in the summer, but this time of the year it was perfect, and there are streams every mile or so, so there's plenty of water.

The most difficult part of the trail is probably the first couple of miles, and I may have been the slowest hiker on trail that day, so by the the time we passed the campsite at Meadow Creek, we were concerned that we wouldn't make it to Moore Point by sunset. We pushed on anyway, and my partner got there around 7, with me taking it easy and arriving around 8, both still in the daylight, though the sun had gone behind the mountains.

Day 2,  we wanted to have a bit of time in Stehekin, so we left around 6, and arrived in Stehekin just before 11. It was a pleasant hike in the cool morning temperatures, and this section of the hike is probably the easiest.

The visitor center was still closed this early in the season, but there are burgers and beer and coffee at the Landing. This time of year the Stehekin bakery is only open on the weekends so we missed that, unfortunately, but we did take a little bus tour up the valley,and the guide was friendly and engaging, so that was fun. Caught the ferry home, and enjoyed seeing what the trail looked like from the lake.

I saw three rattlesnakes on the first day, right on the trail, and the other hikers said they were also seeing rattlesnakes. They are pretty well camouflaged, but they let you know with a hiss and a rattle, so keep an ear out in addition to watching your step. They seem to like hanging out near small rivulets, in direct sunshine. On the way back down the lake, the boat stopped at Prince Creek to pick up some hikers whose dog had been bitten. The captain radioed ahead to a vet in Chelan, and the dog seemed to be doing okayish when we arrived at Field's point, but something to keep in mind if you hike with dogs.

Overall, a beautiful hike, with gorgeous views of the lake and mountains, and lots of spring wildflowers. I liked the two day hike, but if you want a more relaxed hike, I'd recommend taking three days/two nights, particularly if you go later in the season when the temperatures are hotter.