Chain Lakes Loop Fall Hike

The first weekend of November usually means it’s rain season here in the PNW. We got lucky with this weekend and decided to head up north to explore more in the Mt. Baker Wilderness area. I have done many hikes in the area, but had not done the Chain Lakes Loop yet. Earlier in the year you can park at Artist Point to do this hike cutting off a mile, but the road is closed going up there now. We had to park at the main parking lot near the ski resort.

I wanted to catch the good morning light so we hit the trail at 7:00 AM. All reports I read said doing the loop counter clockwise is best and I would agree. The only downside for doing this for sunrise is we didn’t really get high enough above a ridge to enjoy a lot of light. We also had to dip into the shade for quite some time with going early.

We hit the trail with headlamps on. There was ice on the trail right away, but with careful footing we were able to mostly avoid it. We brought microspikes with for the ice and compact snow. It wasn’t long until we wandered upon the first lake.

With going so early we didn’t see anyone until 11:00 AM. We were able to have our dog off leash with no other people or dogs around. He thoroughly enjoyed romping in the snow! After the first couple of lakes, there is a climb up a hillside that switchbacks up. As the climb gets higher, greater views of Mt. Shuksan and Mt. Baker come into view.

After cresting the ridge, the trail drops down into another basin with more lakes. It looks like there are backpacking camping options down here. This section was very cold in the shade! You then meander between lakes and eventually come out on a ridge on the further end.

We reached the ridge and finally got the sun again to warm us up. The trail splits up here either going back to Artist Point or going to Ptarmigan Ridge. We went back to Artist Point and walked the long traverse over. With more snow, I would be concerned about avalanche slides in this area.

We got to Artist Point and finally saw the first people of the day. I have snowshoed this many times in the winter, but had not seen it with so little snow in the fall. We were still able to take the Chain Lakes Loop route back, although I did see many people hiking up the closed road.

There are many trails through the area, so having a downloaded map to follow helped us navigate.

We made it back to a full parking lot at 12:00.

This hike gives you a lot of bang for your buck. Lakes, mountains and beautiful views all around. I can’t wait to return to the area to do more snow camping this winter!