The Enchantments — Leavenworth, Washington
🚶12 mapped stops
A through-hike of Washington's alpine paradise — granite basins, turquoise tarns, golden larches, and mountain goats. Permit required through lottery.
이 투어의 정차 지점 (12)
- 1 Stuart Lake Trailhead The Enchantments permit lottery has a 3% acceptance rate — securing one is half the achievement. This 29-kilometre through-hike gains and loses over 2,000 metres of elevation. Start before dawn with headlamps. Carry at least three litres of water and a filter for the lakes. Cell signal is absent throughout.
- 2 Colchuck Lake Junction The trail splits — the through-hike route climbs toward Colchuck Lake. Ancient-growth forest transitions to open granite as elevation increases. Stuart Range peaks appear through the trees.
- 3 Colchuck Lake An impossibly turquoise lake beneath the granite fangs of Dragontail Peak. The colour comes from glacial flour suspended in snowmelt. The lake is at 2,350 metres and snow often lingers at its edges into August.
- 4 Aasgard Pass Base Aasgard Pass is the crux of the through-hike — 600 metres of elevation gain in just over a kilometre, over loose rock and occasional snow. There is no trail in the traditional sense. Follow cairns and boot-beaten paths up the granite slabs.
- 5 Aasgard Pass Summit Cresting Aasgard Pass, the Upper Enchantments basin opens before you — a moonscape of polished granite, turquoise tarns, and stubborn alpine larch. Mountain goats wander the basins with complete nonchalance. This is why people enter the lottery year after year.
- 6 Upper Enchantments Basin The upper basin holds a chain of tarns connected by cascading streams over bare granite. In late September, the alpine larches turn gold against grey stone and blue sky — one of the most photographed autumn scenes in the Pacific Northwest.
- 7 Core Enchantments Zone The heart of the Enchantments — Perfection Lake, Sprite Lake, and Gnome Tarn dot the granite benches. Marmots whistle from boulder piles. The silence is broken only by wind and water. Leave No Trace is critical here; this fragile alpine zone takes decades to recover from a single footprint off trail.
- 8 Prusik Peak Viewpoint Prusik Peak rises like a granite blade — one of the most recognisable climbing objectives in Washington. The surrounding peaks of the Stuart Range form a jagged amphitheatre of Cretaceous granite.
- 9 Lower Enchantments Basin The lower basin introduces scattered subalpine fir and more substantial streams. Nada Lake sits in a forested pocket below — the landscape transitions from alpine to montane as you descend.
- 10 Snow Lakes Twin lakes connected by a narrow channel. The trail follows the shoreline before beginning the long descent through forest. From here, the trailhead is still 10 kilometres and 1,800 metres of downhill away.
- 11 Snow Creek Wall The trail passes beneath Snow Creek Wall — a massive granite cliff popular with rock climbers. The descent through switchbacks is relentless on tired knees. Take your time.
- 12 Snow Lakes Trailhead The through-hike ends at the Snow Lakes trailhead near Leavenworth. Shuttle logistics matter — arrange vehicle placement or a pickup in advance. You have traversed one of the most beautiful alpine landscapes in North America.
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