Mileage: 14.5 miles trailhead to trailhead
Elevation Gain/Highest: 500ft/980ft
Map: Green Trails Lake Shannon 46, Mount Shuksan 14
Favorite Eats After Hike: 5 B’s Bakery, Bird’s View Brewing Company, Shambala Bistro & Bakery, Mirkwood Public House, Glorybucha Microbrewery, River Time Brewing, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike Details:
The Baker Lake Trail is a gentle walk through a Douglas Fir forest around the long eastern shore of its namesake lake, a slender body of water at the foot of Mount Baker and the North Cascades. What it lacks in elevation gain and loss it makes up for in rushing creek crossings and mossy branches overhead.
You can make a round trip from one end or the other or arrange a shuttle for a thru hike of the 29 mile length. There are multiple campgrounds at Maple Grove, Silver Creek, Noisy Creek and horse camps at the southern trailhead, the trail is also open to horses and llamas.
My Hike:
2/15/2016
We decided to brave the rain and high river warnings and set out for the Baker Lake Trail. We started at the lower end by the dam, and it wasn’t long before we passed a few hikers heading out who warned us about the water being too high at the log crossing before Anderson Point. We figured we just go as far as we could.
The trail did have some damage but nothing too bad, it’s a pretty well maintained trail. The log crossing did turn out to be too much bravery for us and we weren’t willing to go down stream to go around (another couple who had been out camping on the other side and had to come back said it took them an extra hour).
The Anderson Creek was raging an impressive water display and even though we couldn’t see Mt. Baker, the greenery and rushing streams were putting on a show! It was only 10:30am by the time we got back to the car, so we headed up to the upper end of the trail to see if we would get a longer hike in.
The rain never did let up and it was easy to see why the rivers and streams were overflowing. There is some branch debris on the trail as well as a few larger logs to vault over, but we mostly dealt with a wet muddy trail and rock hopping as the water was abundant. There were just a few cars at the trailhead, so we mostly had the trail to ourselves.
We didn’t quite make it as far as Noisy Creek Campground, deciding to turn round at 12:45pm. Baker River was the most gorgeous greenish blue which made up for no views of Mt. Baker today.
Directions: For the south trailhead turn north on Baker Lake Rd (FR 11) from State Route 20. After 14 miles turn right on Baker Dam Road, cross the dam and turn left on Forest Road 1107. The trailhead is on the left. For the north trailhead, follow Baker Lake Road (FS 11) all the way to the end (26.5 miles). There is a large parking lot with a vault toilet. A Northwest Forest Pass is needed.
Click here for more hikes on SR 20 (North Cascades Highway).
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