Miles: 17.4 miles (more if walking down to campgrounds)
Elevation Gain/Highest: 540ft/1690ft (2500ft overall gain)
Map: Green Trails Prince Creek No 115, Lucerne No 114 and 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: The Lakeshore Trail is cut into the slopes of the Lake Chelan Valley starting at Prince Creek and ending in the idyllic town of Stehekin, WA. The trail undulates for 17 miles with a few steep climbs. The trail can become dry later in the season but water can be had by venturing down into campgrounds near the lake’s surface. Permits are not needed but you do need a boat ride, more information below. The boat will drop off at various campgrounds along the way.
Because the Lakeshore Trail is mostly cut into the slope, there are very few places to set up a tent other than the official campgrounds. Cowboy camping may be possible but expect a dry camp. Expect ticks and bears, along with people as the trail is a popular spring backpacking trip. It is possible to hike up into the Lake Chelan Sawtooth Wilderness from Prince Creek and Moore Point for added miles.
Campgrounds along the Lakeshore Trail:
Prince Creek
Cascade Creek @5.6 miles
Meadow Creek @6.8 miles
Moore Point @10 miles
Flick Creek @13.75 miles
Stehekin (Lakeshore and Purple Point) @17.4 miles
My hikes:
8/10/2018
Yes, I hiked the Lakeshore Trail twice this summer. We had planned to hike into Stehekin from Cascade Pass but with some new backpackers joining us and only 4 days, we opted to hop on the Lady of The Lake and take the easy way in.
The wildfires had been raging for awhile by the time our weekend rolled around but we decided to head in anyway and if it was bad we would just cut the trip short. The ride up the lake was eerie and a sharp contrast to my last ride. We could barely make out the surrounding hills.
We dropped at Moore Point and guess what, we had it to ourselves. Actually, there was a boat moored at the dock but they were gone before nightfall. After setting up camp, I opted for a short hike up Fish Creek but then the wind picked up and I decided to turn back around 1.3 miles in before the junction with Round Lake. I was lucky enough to see a bear on the way down and that let me know we needed to be extra diligent with the bear boxes at camp tonight.
Our evening was quite stormy and the waves crashed against the shore relentlessly. Smoke plumes grew off in the distance and we could see lightening striking. Not good. It took awhile to fall asleep, thank goodness for earplugs! We never had rain, fortunately.
In the morning we packed up to hike the 7 miles into Stehekin but the skies were still threatening with lightening and rain over the ridge. After a small debate, we opted to get going rather than be stuck at camp and that being in town would be safer.
It turned out to be a good decision as the storm kept its distance and our walk into Stehekin was uneventful. Unless you count seeing a MOOSE! The skies had cleared allowing those of us who hadn’t visited before to see what they had been missing on the boat ride up! We spent the rest of the weekend at Harlequin and Tumwater, Rainbow Falls and Agnes Gorge. A great weekend over all! For a more detailed story telling, visit That Weekend We Backpacked Into Stehekin On The Lakeshore During Wildfire Season And Saw Two Bears and A Moose!
6/1/2018
I took my husband to Stehekin for the second time for his birthday but this time we hiked in on the Lakeshore Trail! Hopping off at Prince Creek after getting on at Field’s Point, we scrambled up onto the shore with about 75 other people. I was a little worried at the numbers but it was clear that a good portion of them weren’t traveling far with the huge duffle bags they were sporting off the boat.
Normally there is a dock at Prince Creek but a bridge was out so we were dropped off a bit uplake of the campground and had to wander about 100 yards or so to connect up with the trail. We were soon passing the trailhead and sign marking the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness boundary and on our way around the shore of the lake about 11:30 am and .2 miles into our trip.
The first 3 miles had wide views of the lake and undulated up and down with a few switchbacks thrown in for good measure to put us up about 350 ft above the shoreline. We even saw a young bear about an hour into the day, tucked in some trees about 20 feet below the trail. He wasn’t too concerned and just watched us wander by talking loudly in case any family was nearby!
The Arrowleaf Balsamwood was past its time but there were Columbia Lilies tucked in where streams crossed the trail and paintbrush and thimbleberry were just starting to blossom. The first stream was 3.4 miles in and we filled our bottles, with little shade the trail was warming up fast.
There was another stream at 3.9 miles in that was culverted under the trail and Cascade Creek at 5.6 miles that needed a balancing act on logs across. There is a log lying parallel on the trail on the approach, it appears some folks head up and dig into the backslope with others stepping close to the waterline to circumnavigate.
We hit the junction for the Cascade Creek campground just up from here about .3 miles at 2pm and decided that was a bit early so we continued on. The trail stayed 300-400ft above the shoreline here more consistently and offered a small amount of shade until we reached Meadow Creek and campground at 6.8 miles and 3pm.
There was a nice footbridge across the creek and then the trail continued up to the right to several campsites and a shelter along the forested ridge above the creek. There was a privy and we stopped for a moment to rest before hiking on.
Round Mountain came into view on our right as we approached Moore Point and we talked about possibly heading up there after dinner. The trail is inland here and more evidence of the past fire with black snags spiking up from bright green underbrush and pink fireweed dotted along the path. After a stretch of level trail, we headed down on several steep switchbacks to drop a few hundred feet closer to the lake, arriving at the junction for Moore Point at 4:30pm and 10.65 miles and decided to call it a day.
It was almost another .5 miles down to the campground which already had quite a few folks set up for the night. There was a big open area with several picnic tables and shelter similar to the one at High Bridge if you have been there. We wandered over to the left a bit and found a small site close to the water big enough for our 2 person tent. We settled in and washed our feet from the dusty trail.
Talking with another hiker that, the hike to Round Mountain and Lake was not worth it and longer than the map shows, so we decided to eat dinner in camp and wander up to the Old Orchard camp as the sun went down. There was no evidence of an actual camp but the remnants of the area’s agricultural history were piles of lime green lichen spotted rocks plucked long ago from the orchard fields lining the edge of the forest and a few aged grey fruit trees against the backdrop of Round Mountain. The wind whistled through the dead trees like a reed instrument and it was easy to imagine a few ghosts inhabiting this beautiful place. It was tranquil and a nice way to end the day.
We were up bright and early the next day to avoid the heat we suffered yesterday and to give us more options when we got to Stehekin (we might even make the 9am shuttle!). We were up and on trail a few minutes before 6am as the sun lit up the mountains around us. We crossed over on the sturdy orange patinated iron bridge of Fish Creek and began our ascent to the highpoint of the entire trail at 1690ft about 1.4 miles from the Moore Point junction.
This next section of the Lakeshore Trail is a bit more rugged than the first, making its way up and around cliff bands but a lack of trees meant more panoramic views like the one at this spot. Although the trail is well designed, if you have a thing about heights and drop off, this section might get your heart racing and not just from the outstanding viewpoints.
There was a stream another .6 miles from here on the descent down to Flick Creek which sat 500 feet below the highpoint. We passed the boundary marker for Lake Chelan-Sawtooth (again) and spotted salmon and yellow Columbine nestled into green pockets where the trail made its way around gulleys in the slope.
The Flick Creek campground was occupied with folks enjoying breakfast about 7:30am and 13.75 miles into the Lakeshore Trail reminding us we were on a mission for the Stehekin Pastry Company!
Another significant creek crossing over Fourmile 1.3 miles later and we were on the home stretch. The trail here had more of the old orchard stone fencing running parallel as we walked along and we wondered at the lives of the people who once worked so hard to make a living from the land here. Now this section is populated by vacation homes with solar panels.
Our last stream crossing was at 16.75 miles in and a lovely waterfall over layered rock greeted us on the right. It was familiar as I had walked a bit up the Lakeshore Trail from Stehekin two years ago after helping replace signage on the PCT. I knew we were close!
We soon passed the viewing bench that overlooks the lake and it was down to the trailhead and towards town at 9:03am. My fault for stopping to take so many pictures. No chance of making the shuttle but we had plenty of time to pick up a permit for our next night and head back out on trail further uplake. All in all a great beginning to our trip, only one tick my hubby pulled off his leg and our first bear sighting of the season!
Directions: The Lakeshore 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.
You will find more of my latest trip reports by clicking here. For more hikes in this area, visit my Eastern Washington page.
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