Hidden Lake Lookout
North Cascades
As of April 25, 2026, the road to Hidden Lake Lookout remains washed out, requiring an immediate and somewhat tricky river crossing. A "winter route" is recommended, involving navigation off-trail through bushwhacking until consistent snow is encountered. A map is essential for this route, which follows a ridge. Snow conditions were good with no post-holing reported. Microspikes or crampons and poles are recommended gear; snowshoes were not needed. Cornices near the summit require caution. Parking is available at the washout.
generated from 32 reports
Conditions at a Glance
Trail
Trail difficult/impossible to navigate: Trees down across trail, Difficult stream crossing(s), Bridge out, Mud/Rock slide or washout.
1 of 1
Snow
Intermittent snow - not hard to cross
1 of 1
Road
Road impassable/closed
1 of 1
Bugs
No bugs
1 of 1
Sources
Started at 8am where road was washed out. River crossing right away is a little tricky but not bad. Headed up the road to the "winter route". Make sure to have a map - this is not a defined trail and ...
Started day at washout around 9am, tricky to cross, but a party we started with went up the creek and said it was easier. Winter trail was uneventful, snow started .5 miles below tree line. Our friend...
This is a road condition report for the gravel road towards the Hidden Lake Lookout trailhead. For the road condition of the Cascade River Road see my trip report from last weekend.The first half mile...
Overnight in Hidden Lake Lookout from 12.2-3 2025ROAD:Some rough, rutted and rocky areas. Would not recommend trying to take a sedan up here. We did fine in a Subaru Forester.We were able to drive to ...
Beautiful fall day for an epic hike. We arrived around 9 am, three other cars in the parking lot. The 4.5 mile road is tough, we made it over the giant potholes, 3 tricky areas, going slow in a Subaru...
This hike nearly killed me. In the end, I did 15.5 miles and 5500 elevation. In the end, I would absolutely not do this again.Let me start at the beginning.The directions are not helpful. The sign tha...
Last time I was here, July 21st 2019, I rolled my ankle BAD about 0.7 miles from the trailhead on the way down. I tore my ATFL completely and grade 1'd my CFL and PTFL. Ouch... I had to tape up my ank...
Bottom Line:A treat! The terrain on this one is pretty special - a granite wonderland once you are about 1/2 way to the lookout. The contrast of the white-washed granite and the colorful meadows was s...
The trail itself was fantastic. Begins nicely in the woods with some down trees then through a steep, loose dirt section and then into the high alpine with lots of rocks. Trail towards the top is hard...
This trail was amazing but hard to navigate where the trail was at the top because of the large granite car sized slabs. If you don’t like heights then this hike is not for you! It was absolutely beau...
Want to ask something specific about Hidden Lake Lookout?
Use AI-powered search to dig into trip reports for this trail.
Search Hidden Lake Lookout