EIGHTMILE LAKE TRAIL
What a great surprise this trip turned out to be! My roomies and I have all been quarantining in separate states the last 3 months. This trip was the first time we’ve all been able to spend some quality time together #separationanxiety.
Eightmile Lake Trail is located 2.5 hours from Seattle in the Cascade mountains. If you’re staying in downtown Leavenworth, the trailhead is only 30 minutes away. We were shocked to realize the parking lot is shared with Colchuck (a very popular hike in WA) so make sure to get there early. The NW Parking pass is also required, only $5 you can get it at the 76 gas station you’ll see when you first arrive to Leavenworth.
The trail is out and back featuring two lakes, great views, and wild flowers. It’s about 6.3 miles to the main lake, and you can make this longer if you choose to walk around it (we did 7 miles.) The elevation gain is about 1400 ft, but it’s steady aside from the first mile, which is fairly steep, and one last push at the end with less than 10 minutes to hit the top of the lake.
The scenery always changed on this hike making the time pass quickly on the way up. You go through lush green meadows, burnt but beautiful forests, walk over several streams, climb up some boulders, pass one amazing lake just to realize the views at the top are going to be even better. I would highly recommend you wear hiking boots going on this trail. There are parts where you are crossing water or walking through deep mud.
Once we reached the top all we could say was “wow.” We couldn’t believe how great the hike was, and how we had never heard of the trail despite it being right next to the famous Colchuck. One of my roomates surprised us with a picnic spread fit for hiking queens. We enjoyed the wonderful views while we feasted. Beware at the lake of the Chipmunks who were ready to swipe our snacks any time we weren’t looking. I’d also recommend bringing a jacket because it’s significantly colder at the lake than any other part of the trail. We sat and enjoyed the views for about an hour and then headed back down. Our total time to do this hike was 4.5 hours, which included our many stops along the trail to take pictures and our picnic at the top. I would definitely recommend doing this trail. It was an easily accessible trail with great views that you can do in a day from Seattle!
