Snow Lakes Trail #1553 to Enchantment Lakes
This is the classic approach to the Enchantments Basin and Snow Lakes are popular stopover point for those backpacking up to the basin.
Total Distance: 13.6 miles
Total Ascent: 4200ft
Highest Point: 5500ft
Total Ascent: 4200ft
Highest Point: 5500ft
To get there, take US 2 to Leavenworth. Just before you enter town, take a right onto Icicle Creek Road (FR 76). Follow Icicle Creek Road for 4.2 miles to a large parking lot on your left. Park and find the trailhead at the far end of the lot. View Google Directions >>
The Snow Lakes Trail #1553 begins from the parking lot by following a maintenance road over Icicle Creek. Begin a slow switchback up into the sloping canyon through areas ravaged by fire in 1994. After more than 20 years, the underbrush has yet to grow up enough to provide much in the way of shade, so this first section of the hike hot and dusty in the summer.
Eventually leave the burn area and enter forest as you move closer to Snow Creek. Around the two mile mark the trail meanders past large cliff faces that are frequented by rock climbers. Continue another two miles to the sturdy footbridge crossing Snow Creek.
Continuing onward, the trail quickly and steeply rises up the slopes above Nada Lake. Push upward through rocky terrain to the relief of the forests that surround Snow Lakes. The trail leads across the small dam that controls the water level between the lakes. Depending on the time of year, Upper Snow Lake may be quite low, exposing sandy shores covered in the bleached wood of fallen trees. The craggy heights of The Temple rise dramatically above Upper Snow Lake creating a scene that epitomizes the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. There's a lot more to Snow Lakes, and you can learn all about it in Alpine Lakes Wilderness: The Complete Hiking Guide. You'll find a trail map, route descriptions, history, and more for this and many other hikes throughout the State. Help support hikingwithmybrother.com and the work we do by picking up a copy!
Eventually leave the burn area and enter forest as you move closer to Snow Creek. Around the two mile mark the trail meanders past large cliff faces that are frequented by rock climbers. Continue another two miles to the sturdy footbridge crossing Snow Creek.
Continuing onward, the trail quickly and steeply rises up the slopes above Nada Lake. Push upward through rocky terrain to the relief of the forests that surround Snow Lakes. The trail leads across the small dam that controls the water level between the lakes. Depending on the time of year, Upper Snow Lake may be quite low, exposing sandy shores covered in the bleached wood of fallen trees. The craggy heights of The Temple rise dramatically above Upper Snow Lake creating a scene that epitomizes the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. There's a lot more to Snow Lakes, and you can learn all about it in Alpine Lakes Wilderness: The Complete Hiking Guide. You'll find a trail map, route descriptions, history, and more for this and many other hikes throughout the State. Help support hikingwithmybrother.com and the work we do by picking up a copy!
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