Blue Lake Trail and Cutthroat Lake

Blue Lake is located in the North Cascades at an elevation of 6,254 feet (1.9 km), a little over two trail miles from Highway 20 with just over 1,000 feet (300 meters) of elevation gain from the trailhead.  The lake is surrounded by towering granite peaks, forests, meadows, and (in spring and summer) wildflowers.

We park and start up the trail, passing the National Park sign-in and sign-out book for the trail.

Along the trail

Glimpses of surrounding peaks

Soon we reach Blue Lake and relax on the shore enjoying the scenery before starting back.

Blue Lake

The trail down

Views on the way down

Fields of color

Descending to the trailhead

The trail to Cutthroat Lake, a few miles further down the road, provides a pleasant hike to a grassy forested lake set in a rocky basin beneath Cutthroat Peak, a rugged tower near Washington Pass.  We park and start up along Cutthroat Creek to the lake.

Up the trail

Views along the way

Crossing the creek

We reach the lake, which, while not as impressive as Blue Lake, is a pretty destination, surrounded by mountains.

Cutthroat Lake

All too soon, we're heading back down,admiring the fields of wildflowers along the trail.

Wildflowers

The trail back down

View from the trail

These two lake hikes make a great combination to fill the day.