The Enchantments
6 days ago
Fall colors starting to peak now
10 this month · 87 reports
Lake Stuart
Central Cascades
updated 2 months ago
The trail to Stuart Lake has several downed trees, some at mid-height, creating minor obstacles that require navigating around. As of July 10, the trail was snow-free, but there were sections that were overgrown, suggesting it may not be heavily maintained or used. The road leading to the trailhead was reported as rough but passable on July 10. Access to the lake itself was challenging due to occupied campsites, making it difficult to find a spot to access the water for fishing or recreation. The trout caught were described as small.
Generated from 19 trip reports. Trails change faster than reports do, so check anything you’d turn around for.
What hikers ask about Lake Stuart
Generated from the most recent trip reports, newest 2 months ago. Check anything you’d turn around for.
No trip reports on this trail in 2 months, so everything below is at least that old.
As of July 10, there were approximately 10 downed trees across the trail, with some at mid-body height. Paths had formed around them, indicating they had been there for some time.
Yes, the trail was reported as snow-free on July 10.
The road was described as rough but passable as of July 10.
Bugs were not considered a significant problem on July 10. No specific wildlife encounters were detailed beyond the mention of catching small trout.
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Trail notes generated from recent reports. Conditions change fast.
Sources
Older2 months ago
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
We hiked from our campsite at Colchuck to Stuart Lake. We saw others doing the reverse. This report will just cover the stretch from the split in the trail to Stuart.The trail to Stuart is a lot les...
Older3 months ago
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
Finally hiked to Stuart after years of hiking through the Enchantments and countless hikes to Colchuck, and I was blown away. The lake is beautiful and it's so nice to have a quiet spot mid-week after...
Older3 months ago
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
The original plan weeks ago was to through hike the Enchantments. But as time got closer, we decided on shorter day hikes for our weekend away. However, we weren't sure if it was a good idea to day hi...
Older3 months ago
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
Trip report, hiked in Wed May 27, hiked out Fri May 29 as part of first backpack adventure with 4 adults. Parked at 7am on Wed to plenty of overnight parking space.The blowdown situation is bad. Our g...
Older4 months ago
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
The trail to Stuart Lake is currently snow free, though snowpack remains up neighboring basins of the lake. Dozens of trees are down between the trailhead and the lake- make sure to have a map downloa...
Older5 months ago
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
Made it to the lake and it was well worth it - but not easy. The road is still closed so the journey starts from icicle road adding 8 miles (4 each way) to the route. Lots of trees down - probably 50 ...
Older10 months ago
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
Hiked today to Lake Stuart.We started at 9:30 am, there was a patch of fog on the icicle and FS road in the morning, but it cleared up as soon as we were near the Trailhead.The forest service road loo...
Older10 months ago
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
Day hike to Lake Stuart.The road to the trailhead is clear. It is rough and bumpy, but seems passable by any car.The toilet at the trailhead is open and was stocked with toilet paper in the morning, b...
Older12 months ago
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
If you haven't heard already, thanks to cuts to the Nation Forest Service (courtesy of DOGE), the number of rangers managing the entirety of the Enchantments has been reduced from 11 people to only on...
Older12 months ago
Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area
We camped at Lake Stuart and did a day hike to Colchuck Lake, up Asgard Pass to Lake Reginlief and Isolation Lake and back down.The trail to Colchuck is in great shape. We saw lots of traffic, from pe...