Trip Report: Colchuck Lake Trail
When: 9/07/2019
Location: Colchuck Lake near Leavenworth, WA.
Conditions: Perfect end of summer trip. Weather was fantastic.
Duration: 5 hours.
Difficulty: Difficult. 10 Miles round trip witl lots of elevation gain.
Full Report:
Colchuck lake is an amazing glacier-fed lake with fantastic water quality and a great place to take a dip on a hot summer day. The trailhead is located only 20 minutes from Leavenworth, WA. I’ll start by saying this is a legit 10 miles hike that takes some folks all day. It’s pretty steep at some points on the way there, but for those willing to push through the views at the end are well worth it! We had some fast hikers in the group, and it took us about 5 hours round trip. There’s a lovely trickling creek the entire way up, but if you don’t have something to filter or purify water, I recommend you bring a lot of liquids. The trail was well mixed with being deep in the woods and being on exposed rocks with views of the surrounding mountain ridges.
The lake itself was some of the clearest water I’ve ever seen! The water is chilly year-round but a quick dip in that water will cleanse the soul. The lake is a great spot to hang out for a while and enjoy the view. We were there on a weekend day in the summer and it was pretty busy on the trail. Luckily there is no beachfront on the lake, so everyone disperses to different places around the perimeter. I would recommend going on a weekday if you can though. All in all, this was an unforgettable hike that I would absolutely do again if I had the chance. Go check it out!!
Full Report:
Colchuck lake is an amazing glacier-fed lake with fantastic water quality and a great place to take a dip on a hot summer day. The trailhead is located only 20 minutes from Leavenworth, WA. I’ll start by saying this is a legit 10 miles hike that takes some folks all day. It’s pretty steep at some points on the way there, but for those willing to push through the views at the end are well worth it! We had some fast hikers in the group, and it took us about 5 hours round trip. There’s a lovely trickling creek the entire way up, but if you don’t have something to filter or purify water, I recommend you bring a lot of liquids. The trail was well mixed with being deep in the woods and being on exposed rocks with views of the surrounding mountain ridges.
The lake itself was some of the clearest water I’ve ever seen! The water is chilly year-round but a quick dip in that water will cleanse the soul. The lake is a great spot to hang out for a while and enjoy the view. We were there on a weekend day in the summer and it was pretty busy on the trail. Luckily there is no beachfront on the lake, so everyone disperses to different places around the perimeter. I would recommend going on a weekday if you can though. All in all, this was an unforgettable hike that I would absolutely do again if I had the chance. Go check it out!!