Colchuck Lake

Leavenworth, WA

Colchuck Lake is a stunning alpine lake at 5,570 feet elevation in the Enchantments area, surrounded by granite peaks including Dragontail Peak and Colchuck Peak. The lake's intense blue-green color is the result of glacial meltwater. The hike to the lake is approximately 8 miles round trip with 2,200 feet of elevation gain.

Photography Guide

Best Time: golden hour
Crowds: Moderate
Shot Types: widelandscapereflection
Best Seasons: summerfall

Practical Tips

A permit is required for overnight stays in the Enchantments zone. Day hikers do not need a permit but should start very early as the trailhead parking fills by 6 AM on weekends.

Is it a good day to go?

7-day outlook

Mild, dry days with light winds are the most comfortable for a visit.

Forecast by Open-Meteo. Verdicts weigh the forecast against the conditions that suit this spot.

Author's Comments

Four miles up and twenty-two hundred feet of climb, and then the trees thin and the lake appears all at once. The color does not photograph the way it looks. I have tried. The turquoise of glacial meltwater sits in a register that digital sensors render as either too saturated or too cool, and the only way I have found to do it any justice is to stop trying and let the granite do the work instead. Dragontail rises directly from the far shore. In late September the larches on its lower flanks turn gold for about ten days, and that is the window I plan around. Earlier in summer the light is harder and the lake is more crowded with day hikers who arrived in the same pre-dawn wave you did. By late September the trailhead parking is still full by six but the energy has shifted - cooler air, fewer voices, the season turning. The photograph most people come for is the wide reflection from the northeast shore, peaks doubled in still water. It is worth making and it requires absolute calm, which usually means the first hour after sunrise before the thermals start moving across the surface. After that the wind picks up and the mirror is gone until evening. I prefer to walk further around the lake than most people do. The boulder field on the west side takes effort to cross and it puts you in a position where the peaks stack differently and the foreground has scale. Golden hour up here does not last long. The peaks block the sun earlier than you expect, and the light goes from warm to cold to gone in about twenty minutes. Be ready before you think you need to be.

Gallery

Wide view of Colchuck Lake glowing turquoise beneath steep granite peaks, with the still water reflecting the mountains and a pale sky above. Pine trees and rocky foreground frame the scene, while a hiker in a bright orange jacket stands on the right slope near golden fall foliage. Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Rough gray boulders fill the foreground, leading to Colchuck Lake’s still blue-green water, which reflects the steep granite wall and dark treeline along the shore. High, streaked clouds stretch across the sky, with a few golden larch trees adding warm color on the mountainside. Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Colchuck Lake sits still and dark green in the foreground, reflecting a band of golden larches, evergreen trees, and jagged granite peaks under a partly cloudy blue sky. Large boulders frame the shore, while the steep gray face of Dragontail Peak rises dramatically on the left. Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Still water in Colchuck Lake mirrors the dark evergreen shoreline and golden autumn larches beneath steep granite peaks, with patches of snow clinging to the cliffs. The foreground is lined with boulders and driftwood, while soft clouds hang over the rugged alpine basin. Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Granite boulders and tall evergreens frame Colchuck Lake, where the calm turquoise water mirrors the surrounding forest and jagged alpine peaks. Soft late-day light and a pale blue sky give the wide mountain landscape a clear, still feel. Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Wide view from a rocky alpine shoreline, looking across Colchuck Lake’s glassy blue-green water to granite peaks and their nearly perfect reflection. Golden larch trees and dark evergreens ring the basin beneath a pale, cloud-streaked sky. Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Wide view of Colchuck Lake from a rocky slope, with the glassy turquoise water reflecting the surrounding granite peaks and tree-lined shoreline. Golden larch trees and dark evergreens frame the basin beneath a bright blue sky with thin clouds. Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Wide view of Colchuck Lake at golden hour, with calm turquoise water reflecting the steep granite walls and snow-dusted peaks around the basin. Large boulders and rocky shoreline fill the foreground, while dark evergreens and a few golden autumn trees frame the lake. Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Wide view across Colchuck Lake with calm turquoise water reflecting jagged granite peaks and a streaked blue sky, framed by boulders in the foreground. Golden larch trees glow on the slopes beside dark evergreens, with Dragontail Peak and the surrounding Enchantments rising above the lake. Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

From the journal

A day spent here

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A rocky alpine trail winds through dense evergreens and scattered deadfall beneath steep granite slopes, with jagged mountain peaks rising in the distance under a clear blue sky. The scene feels like an early morning approach into the Enchantments, with no lake visible yet.

Contemplative

Jul 16, 20267 min read

The Day the Sky Changed Its Mind

A forecast of ten percent rain and a summer sky that decided otherwise, up at Colchuck Lake on a Thursday in July.

Read the entry

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