The Chain of Lakes trail is a long drive up to the Mount Baker ski area, but is ranked the number one hike in the area for good reason.
First – if you have time to spend in the North Cascades National Park area, the Maple Pass loop is way, way, way better than this.
Sure this is ranked “Moderate” and Maple Pass is “Hard”, but the rest of the stats aren’t too far off. What’s “Hard” is dealing with so. many. people. I think that too much time in the mountains might be turning us into mountain people, not people people.
And Maple Pass really just blows this away for views and lack of crowds.
Did I say crowds? The ants go marching one by one, hurrah hurrah. It’s a zoo from the drive up (on a weekday) to parking, to simple trail etiquette.
Uphill has right-of-way. Your boombox speaker means you’re a douchebag. Don’t stop in the middle of trail with your six besties. The list goes on and on.
There are beautiful views of Mt Shuksan and the occasional peek-a-boo from Mt Baker, but the crowds are horrendous.
If you end up here, we recommend doing the loop clockwise whether you start from the upper or lower trailheads, the trail and elevation profiles are better even if you have to do a long uphill at the end to the upper trailhead.
If you’re already in the Mt Baker ski area, the Chain of Lakes trail is a must do. If you have time to spend in the Cascades outside of this corridor, skip it and the crowds entirely and hit Maple Pass for better views and less people.
Follow The Leader
Sometimes Colette wonders why she follows my routes…
Peek-A-Boo
Mount Baker playing peek-a-boo
Wet and Waiting
A Golden Retriever waiting for the stick to be thrown
Hayes Lake
A nice ring reflection on Hayes Lake
Iceberg Lake
Mt Baker hiding high above Iceberg Lake
Wacky Weather
The mountains make their own weather!
Ice Spill
Mt Shuksan is covered with some very impressive glaciers
