Hike to Colchuck Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Beautiful lake views worth the hard hike. Parking fills up fast! We got there around 7am, and got a decent spot. Walked about 0.4 miles to the trail start. I'm not an avid hiker and this took me 2.5 hours to the lake, spent 2 hours on the lake, and about 2 hours back to the car. Pack plenty of water, protein snacks as its a fairly difficult hike up. The elevation gain. Hiking poles would have been great on the way down. Highly recommend hiking boots/shoes.

Parking is hard to find because people are camping nearby. Besides that, the hiking trail is clean and safe, with many people on the trail. My advice is to go early, around 4 or 5 in the morning, during spring and summer. It's better to find parking on the street if you arrive early. The hike is pretty hard, especially for beginners, but if you have some experience, you'll find it a little challenging but doable. It's a 5-mile hike to get to the mountain lake at the top, which takes about 3 to 3.5 hours for an intermediate hiker. You can swim and relax at the lake; it's beautiful and serene. The overall hike is a 10-mile round trip. To avoid parking issues, try to get there early. Otherwise, you'll have to park a mile down and add an extra mile to your walk to reach the trailhead.

The hike was well worth it and beautiful at the end. We had two deer cross our path and one mountain goat at the top. The hike is pretty flat until you take the left to Colchuck where it begins to get more difficult. We were fine with good hiking boots, but poles would have been nice. Highly recommend!

This one is definitely going in the books! One of the BEST hikes I have done so far. AllTrails is misleading with mere 8.6miles. It ended up being a good 10.72miles atleast for us. We did start at 8am and were down by 5pm! We spent a good amount of time at different spots by the lake. Throughout the trail, you see the creek at several spots, so it’s very pleasant and shaded all the way. A few passages through the creek so you’ll definitely wet your shoes! A couple different terrain changes and also a couple of bridges. Overall, a MUST do hike if you’re into nature and love hiking. Would recommend starting early since the parking lot is small and usually gets full quickly. The last 3 miles to reach the trailhead are rough roads with pebbles and unpaved paths.

Pro tip... do ya business in Leavenworth. This is probably the most visited toilet in the American backcountry. Other than that, this trail gives access to Colchuck Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in Washington. And if you are blessed with a pass to camp, or strong enough to thru hike, it is the gateway to the Core Enchantments. Come very early to park or later in the day to get a spot. Otherwise, plan to hike a bit of road. Speaking of which, the road is a bit rough to get there. I've seen more than one Prius there, but 4x4 is preferred. Why 5 stars. Because the hike is hard, but so worth it.