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Lake 22 is an extremely popular hike just past the Verlot Ranger Station on the Mountain Loop Highway that runs from Granite Falls to Darrington. It’s easy to see why it’s so popular. The trailhead is right off the highway, it’s a decent distance (but not too far) at ~5 miles round trip and it’s not a lot of elevation gain (for a North Cascades hike) at 1,400 feet.
On a weekend day you want to be there by 8am as the smallish parking lot fills quickly and cars will park for a mile up and down the main road. That said, arriving early on a Tuesday morning I was the third vehicle there and saw maybe six or so parties during my hike, most of whom were going up as I was coming down.
It’s a fairly rocky hike so it’s not like it’s easy but I’d rate it as very doable for anyone in decent shape. On the day I did it there was no snow until ~1/2 mile before the lake but it builds quickly and there was at least a couple of feet at the lake. During the summer you can hike all the way around the lake but right now it looks like pretty much everyone is just going to the lake and turning around, which is what I did. Still, very worthwhile. Currently there is water running everywhere you look which makes it even better.
Sounds like a good day, Dan.
[…] Lake is right next door to Lake 22 in that if you were to go up and over the ridge, a very steep ridge requiring the proper gear and […]