Miles: .68 (1.1 miles to complete the loop through town)
Elevation Gain/Highest: 150ft/1340ft
Map: Green Trails Stehekin No82, My GAIA
Favorite Eats After Hike: Stehekin Pastry Company and Pack A Backpack.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike Details:
Imus Creek is a short loop trail above the Stehekin Landing, perfect for stretching the legs before or after the long boat ride up or downlake. Starting behind the Golden West visitor center and ending next to the Purple Point campground, the quick climb offers to creek crossings and a resting bench with views of the Stehekin Valley. You can read the longer description I wrote up on Washington Trails Association along with current conditions.
My hikes:
10/12/2020
It was my last day in Stehekin and between the rain letting up in the morning and the ferry arriving to take us downlake, I took some time to hike the Imus Creek Trail and up the Lakeshore Trail a short distance.
Both trails were in great shape and despite the rain of the last few days, they did little to soak the shoes. The skies above were blue, fall colors in stark contrast. Over the weekend, there were more than a handful of hikers coming in from the Lakeshore having hiked in from Prince Creek but I had the trail to myself this morning.
Sitting on the bench at the highpoint of Imus, I could see both up and down the valley at the snow studded peaks accented with lemony larches dotted across their scree fields. It offered a quiet perch away from the bustle of the landing below.
Both the Imus and Purple Creeks were running heavier than earlier in the weekend, no surprise after all the rain. The golden maples along the Lakeshore were a predictable reminder that winter is on its way.
6/3/2018
After spending the weekend hiking the Lakeshore Trail and Rainbow Loop/Creek Trails, we found ourselves in town with a few extra hours waiting for the ferry. Although I had every intention of sitting and taking in the tranquil setting, our restless feet had us up and exploring one more trail. I had actually hiked it two years before while here replacing PCT signage in the national park but wanted to show my husband just a bit more around the beautiful area.
The Imus Trail is a .68 mile self-guided nature loop you can start either at Purple Point campground or up behind the national park visitor center (a little over a mile to complete the entire loop on the road). That is what we did today, turning at the sign marked Purple and Imus Trails on the southside of the visitors center and following an old road into the trees behind the landing area. There were a few more markers to guide us past an old water storage tank, over a small footbridge crossing Purple Creek and to a junction with the Purple Creek Trail at .27 miles and 130ft.
From here the trail gains about 60 more feet as it follows the contour around to a viewpoint on a rock outcropping at .44 miles with the perfect little wooden bench placed to take in the surrounding peaks and peek through the trees below at the lake.
We could still hear the faint bustle of town below as they prepared for the ferry to dock and hikers came in on the Lakeshore Trail to catch it downlake. We sat for a few minutes and gazed at Castle Rock and Tupshin Peak before finishing the loop down over Imus Creek (whose bridge was out last time I was here), ending at the campground at .68 miles. We saw the markers for the guided nature trail but no brochures in the boxes at the trailheads meant we weren’t sure what they marked. We completed a total of a mile walking back down the road to the landing for lunch ourselves!
Directions: The trail is accessible via the Lady of The Lake boat service. You can board the boat in Chelan or further uplake at Field’s Point. For more information, visit the Lady of The Lake and Washington State Parks website for the most up-to-date information. One of your other options is to hike in, say on the Pacific Crest Trail from either Rainy Pass (SR 20) or Stevens Pass (SR 2). No pass needed.
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