JADE LAKE
A hike to the bluest lake I have ever seen! This is definitely on the long side for a day hike, but it’s worth it to visit this beautiful lake and not have to worry about trying to snag one of the limited campsites at this popular destination. Try to go on a weekday if you can to avoid the crowds.
Quick Facts:
Distance: 20 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4700 feet
Location: Tucquala Meadows Trailhead, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
Season: Late Summer-Fall
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Parking Pass: Northwest Forest Pass or America the Beautiful Pass
Check the weather: mountain-forecast, weather.gov
Check for recent trip reports: WTA, AllTrails
Notes: This is an incredibly popular area for backpacking, and if you do decide to backpack at Jade Lake, know that there may not be any open spots when you arrive, in which case you should hike back to Marmot Lake and camp there. Please make sure to pack out all trash, and use the backcountry toilets at Hyas Lake, Marmot Lake, and Jade Lake if needed (if you aren’t able to use the backcountry toilets make sure to pack out your toilet paper!).
Getting there:
Click here for the TH location on Google Maps
The directions for the trailhead linked above are accurate. The last 12 miles to the trailhead are on an unpaved forest road, but it’s overall in pretty good shape with just a few areas of potholes and washboarding. However, there is a section of the road that requires you to drive through a creek. When I’ve gone in mid-August, this has been passable by any car, but you should definitely check recent trip reports to see how high the water has been recently. Other than the creek ford, any car should be able to make it to this trailhead.
Marmot Lake, August 2020
Steep area of loose rocks up to Jade Lakes, August 2020
View of Jade from the end of the trail around the lake, August 2020
Hike description:
Doing this hike is one day makes for a pretty long trip, but thankfully it starts out quite mellow. You’ll take the Deception Pass trail out of the north side of the parking lot, and hike an easy, flat 3 miles through the woods. To your left you’ll first see some grassy marshes, which will then turn into Hyas Lake. There are some nice views of Cathedral Rock across Hyas, but otherwise not much to look at along this part of the hike.
At just after 3 miles the trail begins to switchback uphill as you gain about 1300 feet in the next 1.5 miles. Partway through this uphill section, around 4 miles from the trailhead, you’ll pass by the signed turnoff for Tuck & Robin Lakes, another great hike in this area. In another half mile you’ll come to a signed intersection with the PCT. Take a right to hike the PCT north for about 30 feet, where you’ll come to another signed intersection and take a left to follow trail #1066 toward Marmot Lake.
The trail continues gently uphill for the next mile passing by some pretty tarns and meadows before topping out at Deception Pass. There are some beautiful open views here of dramatic cliffs and open meadows, and in fact Jade Lake lies just on the other side of the huge cliffs in front of you, less than 1.5 miles away! But there’s no path to take you directly there, so instead follow the trail downhill for the next mile, crossing over some nice creeks and through brushy meadows.
Jade Lake from the trail around the lake, August 2020
The tough trail between Marmot and Jade Lake, Aug 2020
Jade Lake, August 2020
At around 6.8 miles the trail begins climbing once again. Although there are some views across the valley here, they’re really not terribly exciting except for some glimpses of Glacier Peak in the distance. My favorite part of this section was a pretty waterfall you pass by, but otherwise there’s not much to distract you from the uphill. Power through this uphill part, staying left at the fork (there is a sign, but it’s down the path to the right), and at 8.5 you’ll reach the gorgeous Marmot Lake! Even though this isn’t the prettiest lake you’ll encounter today it’s still quite beautiful and this can be a nice place to stop for a rest and a snack before the final push up to Jade. There are a couple of spots where you can take a path down to the shore and sit on some logs to take in the clear, blue waters and impressive mountains that surround it.
While the trail has been nicely maintained and easy to hike up until now, the final push to Jade Lake is quite a different story. You’ll continue to follow the trail as it skirts round the east side of Marmot Lake, quickly deteriorating into a trail that is narrow, has lots of exposed roots and is quite brushy in places. There are also some pretty steep sections along here, and some areas where you’ll have to climb over some large fallen trees. When you’re at the south end of the lake you’ll cross some boulder fields before coming to the bottom of a rocky gully with a number of cairns sprinkled up it. You’ll need to carefully climb this gully, taking great care as many of these rocks are extremely loose. We hiked this with our dog, and this is the only part of the hike that really posed a problem for us as she could easily knock loose rocks down on us if we weren’t careful. I imagine you’d run into the same problem if this part of the trail is crowded.
After the first section of scrambling up the loose rocks, you’ll emerge from the first part of the gully into a more open section. At this point, you want to work your way over to you left where there is a pretty well defined path. Although the rest of the climb to Jade Lake is steep, sticking to this path will make it much easier than trying to climb up loose rocks the entire way! 800 feet and half a mile after leaving Marmot Lake, you’ll finish your climb in the beautiful meadows right before Jade Lake, with clear No Name lake to your left. Hike the short remaining section of the trail to get to the edge of Jade Lake – truly the bluest lake I have ever seen! It almost doesn’t seem real how bright it is! You can hike straight ahead to make your way through some campsites to get the “classic” view of Jade Lake framed by Lynch and Dip Top Peaks and find your way down to the lake’s edge, or you can continue hiking the trail to your left to hike above the lake and get more of an aerial view (this trail is also how you would get to Dip Top Gap – we didn’t make it on this trip but hope to next time!). Wherever you end up, it is sure to be beautiful! Rest up and eat a snack – you still have a long hike back to the car, including some uphill hiking, but it sure is worth it to see this amazing lake.