LOST CREEK RIDGE
A tough hike up to a ridge with great views of the Mountain Loop area and a lake tucked below steep rock walls. The views from the ridge are great and the trail doesn’t see much traffic, but the effort to views ratio was a bit on the low side for my taste. Still, a fine choice for a day hike!
Quick Facts:
Distance: 8 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3900 feet
Location: Lost Creek Ridge, Mountain Loop Highway, Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
Season: Mid Summer-Fall
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Parking Pass: Northwest Forest Pass or American the Beautiful Pass
Check the weather: mountain-forecast, weather.gov
Check for recent trip reports: WTA, AllTrails
Getting there:
Click here for the TH location on Google Maps
Google Maps seems a little confused about where exactly the turnoff for NF-49 is from the Mountain Loop HIghway. Coming from Darrington, it told us it was about a mile further down the Mountain Loop Highway than it actually was. However, the road is well marked with a sign for the Lost Creek Ridge TH, so follow that and you will end up in the right place. NF-49 isn’t terrible as far as forest roads go. It has a good number of potholes, but they are generally easy to avoid. There is a small washout along the road as well. I wouldn’t necessarily want to try it in a sedan, but I saw several that had apparently made it over without incident. As always, be sure to check recent trip reports to find out the most recent road conditions as they can change from year to year.
View along the trail on the ridge, early July 2020
First view north of the ridge, early July 2020
Hike description:
This hike really makes you work for the views from the ridge. You’ll start off with a flat half mile that crosses several streams with a series of bridges. Be careful with your footing here – these bridges could use some repairs and not all the boards are secure. Soon the trail will start to switch back uphill, getting steeper as you gain 2700 feet in the next 2.5 miles. This portion of the trail goes through some beautiful forested areas but honestly there’s not much to look at in this section other than trees.
At about 3 miles you’ll reach the ridge, and gain views to the north. This is where you start to reap the reward of your climb, and the views really are quite nice! After taking them in, continue to hike uphill as you walk along the ridge. Most of your views along here are to the South, with Bedal and Sloan Peak dominating your view. As you get higher you can also down into the North Fork Sauk valley, and to nearly endless mountains beyond.
View of Round Lake from the ridge, early July 2020
As the trail crosses open slopes, it will mostly be wide enough to make most people feel safe, but there are a few small sections of a few feet that are banked to a steep dropoff where you really need to watch your footing. If you time your hike right, many of the open slopes here will be covered in beautiful wildflowers. If you’re a little bit too early, like we were, you’ll get a mix of wildflowers and steep snow covered slopes. Definitely keep an eye on the runout of all snowy slopes you cross as many of them have steep drop offs, and make sure you can safely do so with the equipment you’ve brought.
At 3.8 miles you’ll reach an intersection with the trail down to Round Lake, 600 feet below. Continue along the ridge just a bit longer to gain a great aerial view of this bright blue lake and Breccia Peak towering over it, as well as more views to the South and on a clear day Glacier Peak and Mount Baker (I haven’t actually seen this – it wasn’t quite clear enough on the day we visited). This is an excellent place to stop for lunch before turning around, but if your energy levels allow and the trail is clear of snow you can continue along the Lost Ridge trail for pretty much as long as you want – it technically is over 20 miles long although I can’t speak to the condition of the trail beyond Round Lake. However long you decide to hike along the ridge, be sure to enjoy the views – you worked hard for them!
Sloan Peak, Bedal Peak, and snow & glacier lillies along the trail, early July 2020
thanks for the report. we were thinking of shooting for Lake Byrne sometime soon, but it sounds like the ridge still has a lot of snow on it.
Definitely snowier than we were expecting! Hopefully it melts out quickly in the next few weeks.