Colchuck Lake

I found this hike in Craig Romano's "Day Hiking Central Cascades". Being in the area, I thought it would be a good opportunity to check out this hike for suitability for the troop. These are by lottery. The trail to Colchuck Lake begins at an elevation of 3400 feet. Follow US Forest Service trail #1599. At 2.5 miles you come to a Y in the trail. The right path leads to Lake Stuart, keep left for Colchuck. From this point the elevation gain will climb 1100 feet in just 1.6 miles to reach the north shore of the lake at a final elevation of 5600 feet.

On the way up we ran into a Boy Scout troop coming out - they said that there are a limited number of sites but well worth the hike. There are several places you can camp overnight around the lake, but you must first have a permit - and no camp fires allowed. The total hike is 4.2 miles in. This is by no means an easy hike and would be a challenge for anyone not in good physical shape. We only had day packs to contend with and it still took us 3 hours to arrive at the lake. The majority of the elevation gain is towards the last 2 miles.

This hike was well worth it. The views are spectacular. But even at the beginning of September it was chilly - there are glaciers here year round.



GPS Coordinates:
47° 31' 40.65'' N
120° 49' 14.61'' W


Contact Information:
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
Wenatchee River Ranger District
600 Sherbourne
Leavenworth, Wa 98826
Tel: 509.458.2550
Fax: 509.548.5817
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/


Driving Directions:
From Leavenworth, drive south on Icicle Creek Rd (Forest Service Road 7600) 8.5 miles. Turn left on Forest Service Road 7601 and drive 4 miles to the trailhead at the end of the road.