Baker Lake - Maple Grove — Saturday, May. 13, 2023

Great beginner backpacking or warmup backpacking trail for the early season, with multiple campsite options depending how far you want to go and how many nights you want to stay. Campsites are all first come first serve. We decided to set up camp at Anderson Point and then day hike to Maple Grove. The views from Anderson Point are beautiful and the campsites come with bear lockers, picnic tables and fire pits. There are about 8 campsites, a few of them are bigger and could accommodate up to 3-4 tents. There’s also plenty of trees for hammocks. We arrived at Anderson Point around 10:30am and didn’t have trouble finding a spot, although there were still some people who didn’t pack up and leave until a bit later. This area seems to be popular for families with kids and dogs. During the day it’s quite noisy with the boat launch right across the water. We saw a few speed boats, some boats playing music, and several kayakers. In the evening there are a lot of bugs so bring bug spray!

The trail is mostly flat elevation and shaded. You don’t get clear views of Mt. Baker unless you go to Anderson Point or Maple Grove, since the view from the trail is covered by trees. If you are day hiking you should definitely check out both spots for a snack or lunch break. Although personally I think the view at Anderson Point is better with both Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan fully visible, so there’s no need to go all the way to Maple Grove unless you’re looking for an extra workout.

Maple Grove has a slightly nicer and bigger “beach” area for swimming or sun tanning, but bring a chair and sandals because it’s rocky. The water is still very cold but tolerable for a quick dip. We did not stay there long since it became windy in the afternoon, and returned to Anderson Point for the rest of the evening.