Lake Colchuck

We left the Redmond area at around 8:30 and we were on the trail shortly before 11. It took us roughly 2 hours to get to the lake, as we arrived at around 1pm. About 2 1/4 miles into the hike, there is an important left turn that takes you off the Stuart Lake Trail and onto the Colchuck Lake Trail. Before getting to the lake, the trail breaks out into the open and a set of rocks to the right offer a wonderful view to the north, west, and south. The lake itself was jaw dropping, a wonderful jade color completely different from all the alpine lakes in the I-90 corridor. We jumped in for a brief swim to cool off, and then enjoyed a lazy lunch break. There were no mosquitos!! We left the lake around 2pm to head back to the car, and we were in the parking lot shortly before 4pm.

The hike is 8 miles round trip with 2300 feet of elevation gain.

Highway 2 was moving pretty quickly, so we made good time driving in both directions. The road leading to the trailhead parking lot goes from paved, to gravel, to dirt. There are some pretty serious potholes, so it would be best to travel in a car with 4wheel or all wheel drive.

The only wildlife we saw were a few chipmunks, and some fish in the lake.

It was a beautiful and warm day in the enchantments! The first part of the trail does not offer much shade, so I recommend wearing a hat. I did the hike in running shoes, but if I do the hike again, it will be in hiking boots due to the rocky nature of the trail.