•HIKING TO COLCHUCK LAKE•

Hiking in the Alpine lakes wilderness in washington

02•02•2024

This alpine lake in the North Cascade Mountains in Washington is known for its Instagram-worthy scenery including crystal clear turquoise water and snow-capped mountain peaks that tower over the lake. The hike is also well-known as one leg of the ~20-mile Enchantments trail.

This is certainly one of the most iconic hikes in Washington, so expect crowds. In fact, this hike became so popular that sometimes people use the hashtag #notcolchuck when posting about other Washington hikes on social media in order to make the point that other great hikes do exist!

•the stats•

•8.5 miles round trip•

•2,300 feet elevation gain•

•Northwest Forest Pass (or America the Beautiful Pass) required•

•No dogs allowed•

•getting to colchuck lake•

The Colchuck Lake Trailhead, also known as the Stuart Lake Trailhead, is located about 3 hours from Seattle. The closest town is Leavenworth, a Bavarian themed mountain town located about 13 miles from the trailhead. If you’re able, the Leavenworth area is a great place to spend the night before your hike in order to minimize driving. We stayed at the Leavenworth Tiny House Village, a bit north of Leavenworth, before and after our hike!

Once you get close to the trailhead, the road is bumpy! Most cars can probably make it though if you drive slowly and carefully. There is a large parking lot but note that some of the lot is reserved for overnight campers and those campsites and the corresponding parking areas require a special permit. This hike is extremely popular, and the lot fills up quickly, so people will park along the roadway for quite some distance from the trailhead. You need to arrive very early (I’m talking like 5am on summer weekends) in order to get parking, particularly on weekends and when the weather is nice.

Note that in the winter, this area receives a ton of snow! The Forest Service Road, FR 7601, that leads to the trailhead does close for the winter, typically from November to May. You can still access the trail, but it will require an additional 3.5 miles each way to do so.

•the colchuck lake trail•

This out-and-back trail starts gradually along a creek through the forest. At about 1.5 miles in, you will come to the first wooden bridge and that bridge signals the steeper portion of the remaining trail is about to begin. Next, you will reach a junction at around 2.5 miles where you can choose to continue straight to Stuart Lake or bear left for Colchuck. Not long after that junction, you do cross over the creek again on a cool log bridge after which the trail becomes quite rocky as you traverse a boulder field. After the boulder field, it’s an uphill battle to the lake through switchbacks and over lots of rocks.

You’ll finally be able to see the turquoise waters through the trees and know you’ve made it! The lake sits at about 5500 feet of elevation with Dragontail Peak towering over the opposite side of the lake and Colchuck Peak immediately to its right/west. The infamous Aasgard Pass, which must be climbed in order to continue on the Enchantments, is to the left/east of Dragontail Peak. Once at the lake, you can traverse the west side of the lake as far as you’d like towards Aasgard Pass. The lake is very cold year-round, but some people will swim in the lake anyways!

As mentioned above, the hike to Colchuck Lake is one leg of the ~20 mile Enchantments Trail. Every February there is a lottery for overnight permits in the Enchantments. Those people that are lucky enough to secure a permit for camping do the Enchantments hike in a 2-3 day period. However, some people try for a permit for years unsuccessfully, which is one reason why some hikers do the “thru-hike” and do the entire Enchantments trail in one day. Doing the entire hike is a grueling point-to-point hike. It requires parking at either the Colchuck and Stuart Lake Trailhead or parking at the Snow Lakes Trailhead and hiking from one point to the other. Therefore, you can either leave a car at one trailhead before starting at the other, or pre-plan a ride back to the starting trailhead after you finish your hike.

There is a pit toilet available in the trailhead parking lot and there are outdoor “privies” (backcountry toilets without walls for privacy) near the lake.

As always, be sure to check trail conditions for this or any other hike before you set out! Because this trail is so heavily trafficked, it’s easy to find your way. But cell phone service is limited to zero, so download any maps you want ahead of time.

•my experience hiking to colchuck lake•

When I first moved to Washington, a hike like Colchuck seemed totally out of the realm of possibility for me. The distance and elevation gain combined with the location made it feel unattainable. However, about two years after moving here, my husband planned a trip to Leavenworth and Colchuck as a birthday present for me. I still joke with him about how he tortured me for my birthday!

We did our hike at the very end of October, which was a great time of year, in my opinion. There was no snow on the trail yet, but the trail was far less crowded than warmer months, and the cool weather was ideal for hiking.

We arrived at the Leavenworth tiny house village the night before our hike and made sure to turn in early in our tiny but adorable accommodations. We set out quite early as we had about an hour drive to the trailhead and wanted to arrive well before sunrise in order to secure parking in the lot. It felt like a long drive filled with anticipation! We arrived at the trailhead around 6:45am, about an hour before sunrise, and the lot was already buzzing with other hikers and filling up quickly. We donned head lamps and set off in the dark, which honestly made me a bit nervous as I had never hiked in the dark before!

We could hear the stream beside us as we made our way up the hill, but we weren’t able to take in much of the scenery for that first hour or so. But before long the horizon started to become lighter and we were able to ditch the headlamps.

The trail felt manageable for quite a while, and there are two river crossings with neat wooden bridges along the way, plus plenty of surrounding forest, river, and mountain scenery to admire. But once we hit the uphill after the boulder field, the switchbacks and rocks seemed endless! I think that was the most difficult part of this hike for me – just stepping up over and over again onto large rocks as you make your way uphill. It’s not a smoothly graded incline like some trails, and my legs hated this part of it!

Eventually though, the trail flattened out and I knew we were close to the lake. I was so excited to be there and kept expecting to see it around every turn! And eventually there it was with water that was so turquoise that it was unlike anything that I had ever seen before.

We made our way to a rocky overlook beside the lake and stayed for a bit taking pictures and enjoying the view. Our hike was perfectly timed because while we were there, the sun began to peak over the top of the surrounding mountains and shine on the trees beside the lake, and it was so beautiful! I was in awe looking across the lake at Aasgard Pass. My husband had previously done the Enchantments hike and standing there looking at that pass after the grueling hike that we had just done, I couldn’t even imagine trying to climb the pass and continue on.

We couldn’t stay at the lake nearly as long as I would have like because we started to get really cold! After hiking uphill and exerting ourselves and then stopping at the lake and letting our bodies cool in the winter-like temperatures, we didn’t even feel comfortable having the snacks we had packed. So, we started the long trudge down and eventually stopped for a snack after hiking down a bit and warming back up. The rest of the hike down was uneventful, and we were able to take in some of the scenery that we missed while it was dark earlier. The trip down did feel long, and my legs were worn out by the end.

We were so happy to have our tiny house to return to after the hike, rather than driving all the way home. Although, I will say that my legs felt like they were being punished when I had to climb the narrow wooden staircase to the lofted sleeping area that night! We cleaned up and enjoyed some down time at the tiny house before heading to Leavenworth to get dinner at Colchuck’s, which was delicious, and a perfect reward after that hike.

I think that this is the hardest hike that I have done. I have done hikes that are equally as long and have more elevation gain, but the part that I found difficult about this hike was the need to continually step up on rocks for such a large portion of the trail, and then later step back down all of them on the descent. This wore my legs out faster than a smoother but steeper graded trail. Completing this hike was such a huge accomplishment for me, and the views were absolutely spectacular and totally worth the hike. But honestly, I haven’t been clamoring to go back soon. 😊

•i made it, now what?•

If you’re looking forward to a reward after this hike, stop in the Bavarian town of Leavenworth! The Munchen Haus restaurant serves bratwurst sausages and warm pretzels with cheese, and they have a beer garden where you can relax. We got food from Colchuck’s Restaurant, which also offers German fare and burgers, because why not visit Colchuck twice in one day. 😊 And if you’re also looking for dessert, check out the Gingerbread Factory for delicious cookies in gingerbread and other varieties.

This hike certainly delivers on the views, making it one of the quintessential Pacific Northwest hikes. However, that also means that it is extremely heavily trafficked, so plan accordingly. And don’t let the popularity of the hike fool you, as it’s certainly not for the faint of heart! But if you do make it to the shores of the turquoise waters of Colchuck Lake, enjoy that accomplishment and those stunning views!

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