Colchuck Lake

I absolutely loved this hike! It’s not “easy” by any means, and the 9 miles round trip (including hiking around a portion of the lake) took me about 4.5 hours. It’s completely worth the elevation gains though! I arrived at the trailhead at 6am on a weekday, and that was such a good idea because by the time I got back to the parking lot it was packed and cars were parked for almost two miles down the road. Definitely go early and bring cash for parking fees - it’s $5, but the machine was broken and luckily I had $5 in cash for the forest pass envelopes.

We arrived at the trailhead at 11.30am and saw cars parked on the right side of the road 0.5 miles before the parking lot. We drove all the way and luckily got a spot near trailhead as some cars were leaving after the hike. Finding a parking spot is challenging Parking and it is recommended to arrive before 7am. There is a $5 fees for parking or a valid recreation pass is required.

Carrying a bug spray is a must, we couldn’t have done it without the bug spray. Hiking poles are critical and wear comfortable hiking boots. Carry plenty of water and some fruits/energy bars. Trust me you will need it.

It says 8.7 miles but it’s definitely more than that. We reached the lake after 5 miles of hike, the first 2 miles are easy and and then it starts getting challenging. Last 3 miles felt like a never ending climb.

The last 2 miles are very steep mostly rocks and roots. We had to stop frequently to catch our breath. It started raining when we reached the top, beautiful view! You get a stunning view of the mountains.

They don’t have any directions or clear marking to climb down to the lake. By the time we reached the lake the rain stopped. We took a quick dip into the lake, it was cold but not freezing. The water was crystal clear and turquoise blue even with overcast and cloudy sky!

Heading back took us 3 hours. There were people climbing up even at 6pm when we were climbing down! This is one of the most popular hikes in the area so it’s always busy.

Whoever says this hike is short is painfully wrong!!! Im 24 in decent shape, and this is the longest and hardest hike Ive done. It took me and my sister 3 hours up to the lake, and about 2 hours down. Keep in mind we were going fairly fast both ways (especially down, we were passing everyone--I do not recommend, so bad for your legs and we had knee pain for days after). A middle aged lady using hiking poles was going downward as we were going up, and she said it took her 5 hours just to go up. So leave EARLY, and bring headlamps just in case. Anyway, besides the difficulty, it was a beautiful hike. We went in late September during cold-ish weather and it was also raining a little during the hike. So luckily we didn't get stung by mosquitos although we did see a good amount, and we were wearing long sleeves and pants. The trees were green but some were turning red. At the top, there was snow on the mountains behind the lake. Lots of chipmunks! I felt safe on this hike as there were a lot of people hiking too. The trail is fairly easy to see and keep track of and it is a super steep hike.