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The Enchantments
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Scenery: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mileage: 22 mi
Region: Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Elev. Gain: 4,836 ft
When to Go: Jul—Oct
Avg. Time: 12-15 hr
Parking: Large unpaved lot
Type: Point to point
Pass: NW Forest, America the Beautiful or $5
Know Before You Go:
Purchase your pass/day-use fee ahead of time.
We recommend starting this hike on the Colchuck Lake side and ending at Snow Lakes to avoiding having to descend Aasgard Pass, the steepest section.
Bring two cars so you can leave one at your finish point or hitch a ride back to your start point to retrieve your vehicle. There are sometimes shuttle buses available to the trailheads.
DO NOT confuse Snow Lakes near Leavenworth with the Snow Lake trail off Highway 90.
Start as early as possible, no later than 5:30am if you don’t want to finish in the dark.
Take your time through the core section, the most beautiful and scenic portion, and pick up the pace once you begin the descent past Snow Lakes.
Make sure to bring lots of snacks and water.
This trail is an amazing place for larch peeping in the fall season - peak foliage can be hard to time so watch blogs and AllTrails reviews for up-to-date conditions.
Larch season often overlaps with early snowfalls so be sure to check the weather before heading out.
If you would like to take more time and turn this into a multi-day trip you will need to win a highly coveted backcountry permit from recreation.gov