Lake 22
North Cascades
As of early March 2026, Lake 22 presents a mixed trail experience. Snow generally begins about a mile from the lake, becoming packed and icy, especially on stairs and bridges. Microspikes are highly recommended, and several reports from late January and February suggest they are nearly mandatory for safe passage, particularly on descents.
Obstacles include fallen trees, with sections cut out for passage, and significant snow accumulation around the lake, making a full circumnavigation difficult or impossible. One report from March 2 noted a small avalanche on the far side. While parking can fill up, especially mid-morning, road conditions to the trailhead are reported as generally good. The lake itself was frozen over in early March, but walking on it is not advised.
generated from 94 reports
Conditions at a Glance
Trail
Trail in good condition
1 of 1
Snow
Snowfields to cross - could be difficult
1 of 1
Road
Road suitable for all vehicles
1 of 1
Bugs
No bugs
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Sources
Trail is snow free until the last half mile or so. You can definitely get to the lake without spikes or poles but I would still recommend both, especially if you want to hike around the lake.If you do...
Beautiful hike up to lake 22 in the sun on Monday!Trail was snow free up until the last 1/2 mile before the lake. The last 1/2 mile of trail was icy and slippery, we were happy we brought our microspi...
I love this trail during the winter. One of the few trails I can do when the snow is here. Not much snow on this hike actually, usually the last third has snow. I put my micro spikes on so I can enjoy...
Snow becomes near-continuous from the third crossing of the talus field. Stairs are frequently icy from there, and the narrow trails at the lake can have two feet of packed down snow with drops on eac...
Hiked Lake 22 for the first time with a group of friends on Sunday. A very moderate well maintained trail! No major obstacles to navigate around. Snow/Ice is packed into some of the stairs and they ca...
Overall, it was a solid hike and the views at the top were spectacular. I hiked up with two of my friends, and we were able to get up to the top within 2 hours. It starts with an easy incline with lit...
Incredible repair work on display on this trail! Some huge old growth trees have come down on this and all the damage is repaired. Even saw that they are splitting planks out of one of the downed ce...
It was a beautiful day for a hike. We got to the trailhead around 8:30am and parking was mostly open, but it was full when we got back to the car at 11:30am.The trail was really slick and icy in many ...
Lake is completely frozen over. Amazing experience walking across it. Given the accessibility of this hike, good parking, fairly short, I think this is one of the best winter day hikes in the PNW. The...
Got to the parking lot at about 10am on a beautiful Friday to only a few cars in the parking lot. The bridge and steps right at the beginning of the trail are very slippery, so be careful on those, ot...
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