Heather - Maple Pass Loop Fall Hike

We drove up to the east side of Hwy 20 to do the Heather - Maple Pass Loop Hike, this lies just outside the boundary of North Cascades National Park. Two mountain passes, 3 beautiful lakes, gorgeous views that go on forever, fabulous fall colors and a few ripe huckleberries!

We did the main loop with side trails to Lewis Lake and Rainy Lake. Our hike was about 8 miles with 2,000+ ft of elevation gain.  

 We choose to hike the loop counter clockwise. The trail starts in the woods and begins a gentle ascent.












Soon the trail enters the open, we saw the peaks to the east and lots of fall color.

We crossed an avalanche chute and saw a marmot resting in the sun. There were also pikas scurrying across the field.

 The trail continues to climb up a cirque towards Heather Pass. (This loop hike follows the cirque.)

Nestled in this cirque is Ann Lake (to the west), to the far left is Maple Pass:

On the rocky ledges across Ann Lake, we could see alpine larches, some turning golden.

This is a great hike to take your time and enjoy the views.

View of Ann Lake from further up the trail looking south.

 More fall color, as the switchbacks climb toward Heather Pass.

 We took the side trail over Heather Pass, there were some ripe huckleberries among the red leaves.

We hiked out about 1/4 mile towards Lewis Lake and found a spot to take a snack break and enjoy the views!  View to the north from Heather Pass:

 Lewis Lake is to the left, nested near the tree line.

Used a zoom lens to see the waterfall coming down from the outlet off of Lewis Lake.

We returned to the main loop trail, soon we came to an overlook where we could see down to where we hiked on the north side of Heather Pass.  Golden Horn in the distance across from Hwy 20.

Panorama to the north from this spot on the trail. 

 The trail continued around to the south side of the cirque, beautiful panoramic view looking east across Ann Lake.

 This trail continues to climb up to a ridge line with fabulous views. Panorama to the north:

 Panorama to the south (Maple Pass to the far left, Corteo Mountain and Black Peak to the right:

 In the far distance, to the southwest, we could see Glacier Peak and other snow capped mountains.

 After soaking in the views, we continued up the trail to Maple Pass (up on the far left)

Panoramic views from Maple Pass :

 We went up towards a rocky ridge line above the pass to enjoy our lunch and the views .

Panoramic view from my lunch spot:

 We all agree, this is a fabulous hike!

Panoramic view looking east and the trail down from Maple Pass.

 Lots of fall color on the hillside, coming down from Maple Pass.













Soon the trail came to an overlook towards the north, Ann Lake below.

 Heading east on the trail.

 Further along on the trail, we go views that included Rainy Lake down below.

 As we continued down the trail on switchbacks we had another look at Ann Lake to the west. We also had great views of the trail on the other side. It was fun to see where we had been today.

 Lots more fall color.


















After descending from Maple Pass, we took the side trail to Rainy Lake.

Looking across Rainy Lake.  I was hoping to see Maple Pass, but it is to the right behind the trees.

Waterfall on the far side of Rainy Lake.

Some of the plants we saw along the trail today: