Travel

Heather Lake Hike

Painful ascent but spectacular payoff.

Jul 15, 2020 2 min read
Generic blog post cover image

The Heather Lake trail is located in the North Cascades’ Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, one of the most visited forests in the country. The trail itself goes over ancestral lands of the Stillaguamish people, and climbs along and across the hill, mostly along the Heather creek. The trail features old-growth forest, waterfalls, a few streams along, across, and on the trail, and finally a fairly nice lake in a quite spectacular setting.

Heather Lake — Washington Trails Association

Ancient tree stomp provides the foundation for a young forest

The trail itself is rough

Most of the trail is a mix of roots and rocks

Some nicer parts of the trail still require constant attentionWith a few streams along the trail, water is abundant. A nice spot to refill your camelback and refresh your face.

Some segments are covered with these weird stairs-like paths.

The lake is fairly small. It's nice and clean, the water is fresh and tasty. I'd say that the lake is somewhat secondary to the surrounding setting, though.

Obligatory lunch. It's funny, this time I forgot my silverware (spork) and my fine china (stove cap which doubles as a bowl). As a result, I used the pouch as a bowl and my knife as a spork. Don't try this at home, kids!

This is the view from my lunch spot. Like, literally, you eat hot lunch while enjoying this view 😍

Heather Lake is not the most beautiful body of water, but given its location, it's well worth the hike!