We took the ferry from Chelan to Prince Creek to backpack the Chelan Lakeshore Trail, 18 miles with 3,100 ft of overall gain. Besides the work crews on the trail we saw 12 other backpackers the two days we were on the trail. View of Prince Creek landing from the ferry.
Looking across Lake Chenlan from the ferry dock at Prince Creek.
The trailhead is short ways up from the ferry dock. 18 miles to Stehekin. It was raining a bit for the first several hours of our first day's hike.
On the first day, from Prince Creek to Meadow Creek, to we had views of Lake Chelan the majority of the trail.
There was a nice log bridge over Prince Creek.
view upstream
view downstreamTrail is on the east shore of Lake Chelan, we saw lots of wildflowers in bloom along this trail.
Some of the time, the trail is close to shore, other times, the steep hillside requires the trail to go up and down along the way. Facing north on the trail
The trail soon enters the Lake Chelan Sawtooth Wilderness.
The lupine and balsamroot blossoms brought smiles and uplifted us on this drizzly day.
There were lots of balsamroot in bloom.
We also saw lots of death camas along the trail.Balsamroot is a reminder that summer will soon be here.
The combination of gorgeous views and wildflowers in bloom, make this trail a delight.
The wildflower combinations were varied and fun to spot. Here larkspur and balsamroot grow together.
We were glad that we had the time to hike at a slower pace and savor these gorgeous vistas!
Here we spotted the ferry returning from Stehekin back towards Chelan in the afternoon.
This is the largest plant of tiny monkeyflowers I have seen on a hike.
Even on this cloudy, rainy day, I frequently stopped to take in the beauty around us.
We saw many dogwood trees in bloom, here there was also red flowering current and serviceberry trees blooming.
This was one of the trickier water crossings, as some of the rocks wiggled as we stepped on them. We were fortunate to have many water crossings where we could stop and filter water as needed.
Here the paintbrush and balsamroot bloomed together.
We saw 2 WTA work parties clearing the trail, but there were still many downed trees to steep over, crawl under and work our way around.
A fallen tree created a large hole in the trail on the way down to one of the water crossings.
The smaller logs were a bit bouncy as we crossed.
After going into the woods to cross the creeks, the trail would resume to the wonderful lakeshore views.
View down lake from where we began.
Our final bridge of the day was over Meadow Creek.
Our campsite at Meadow Creek. This campsite is in the forest with limited lake views. There is a shelter, but I prefer to be out in the open.
Most of the trail for the next few miles had wonderful lake view.
Views and wildflowers, a taste of heaven!
The trail goes through several burned areas.
Hopefully, this tree will soon be removed. It was too high for us to climb over, so we had to crawl under it.
The lake was a deep blue color as the clouds began to come in.
Lots of serviceberry trees in bloom as we neared the bridge over Fish Creek.
Fish Creek looking downstream
Lots of paintbrush in bloom!
Fabulous views heading towards Hunts Bluff
View down lake from Hunts Bluff
view up lake from Hunts Bluff
We had a glimpse of the North Cascade Peaks beyond Stehekin at the north end of the lake, before the clouds descended.
At several of the creek crossings we could see waterfalls upstream, but they were mostly covered by brush.
Most of the lupine is yet to bloom, we saw several areas with lovely blooms!
About halfway between Moore Point and Flick Creek, the trail enters the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.
Our day continued with misty mountains and wildflowers. This trail was more beautiful than I had imagined.
I was always glad to see a sturdy bridge over the larger creeks.
Even when the weather turned gray and drizzly, the shallower shore sections of Lake Chelan were stunning shades of blue!
Some wildflower lined trail sections as we continue.
As beautiful as our trip had been, I was glad to see the north end of the lake getting closer.
When you see this bench along the side of the trail, you are very close to the north trailhead of the Lakeshore Trail
These deer welcomed us into Stehekin as we neared the lodge, where we had booked a room for the night. Hot shower and a soft bed out of the rain was a welcome end after 18 miles.
On our third morning, we left our backpacks at the lodge and walked the two miles up the road and back to the Stehekin Pasty Company. Glorious view to the north end of Lake Chelan.
Delicious pastries, quiche and more! Highly recommend!!!
View looking south towards Lake Chelan
view to the south from the north end of Lake Chelan
View to the south from south of the ferry landing
On the ferry ride back to Chelan, the boat stopped so we could have this close look at Domke Falls on the west side of Lake Chelan.some of the many wildflowers we saw in bloom along the trail:
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