The Enchantments

The Enchantments are perfect lakes in a stunning alpine setting: a harshly beautiful high (2,400m at its head) long, broad valley within the Stuart Range, a sub-range of the Cascades, in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness southwest of Leavenworth, Washington. It comprises rocky upper and lower basins sprinkled with lakes, tarns and thin larch forest and is surrounded by jagged peaks. It even has the remains of a glacier (Snow Creek Glacier).

This is gorgeous wilderness, but it was not always thus; its now-good state is due to the need to walk in and to have permits (see below).

There are two main approaches to the main Enchantments Basin, both accessed from Icicle Creek Road. The two routes should be combined to form a loop (said to be 19 miles (31km)) if you have transport between the trail heads. Both are steep and demanding and involve a lot of ascent/descent. Other walks include the 5 day Enchantment Traverse and nearby 4 day Icicle Ridge.

It is normal to spend at least one night in the area, indeed it would be a tough option to walk in and out in one day.

The Snow Lake trail from the east climbs 10.5 km to Snow Lake, gaining 1,200 m. From Snow Lake it climbs over sloping granite rock to the Lower Enchantments Lake. This route is 14 km one-way, with 1,800m of elevation gain. It is then a long walk up the Enchantment valley.

 The Stuart Lake trail from the west begins a couple of miles up Eight Mile road off Icicle Creek Road. The trail up to Colchuck Lake  is 7.64 km and gains 640 m; another 2.82km brings hikers to the south end of the lake and the Aasgard Pass (7,800ft, 2,377m), which climbs 670 m in 1.3 km. Aasgard Pass is a steep scramble which is dangerous to descend in snow.

There are 5 zones in the Enchantments for permit purposes. (Further areas may be/have been added.) A maximum of 60 people at one time are allowed into the Core Enchantment Zone, so it can be very difficult to get permits. See here for more detail on permits.

A limited walking window – late July to early October – Sept/October for larch colours.

This is demanding walking in remote mountains with uncertain weather - conditions can be difficult. Beware bears. Come fully prepared.

Find relevant books on Amazon. Helpful info here: https://www.rei.com/blog/hike/alpine-lakes-wilderness-enchantments

This page is at an early stage of development. Please help us by recommending your best walks/making suggestions and sending photos! Thank you!