Ptarmigan Ridge
North Cascades
As of July 31, 2026, Ptarmigan Ridge is experiencing generally good trail conditions with numerous wildflowers. Several reports from late July indicate that while snowfields remain, they are mostly manageable with poles, though some require careful footing and can be slick. No ice axes or spikes are currently needed.
The Artist Point parking lot can become full, especially by late morning. Reports from July 30 and 29 noted it was full by 11:30 AM. The trail offers fantastic views of Mount Baker, which can be intermittently obscured by clouds. Some reports mention shallow water crossings and muddy sections.
generated from 59 reports
Sources
With sunny weather in the forecast, headed out Ptarmigan Ridge to the East Portal. It was worrisome to see quite a few clouds on arrival, however the clouds were quite intermittent, moving inwards and...
I left the Artist Point parking lot at 2:50am for a full moon hike to Goat Lake. A faint fog patch at the parking lot was glowing bluish from the full moon. It was much cooler than expected, even on t...
Arrived at Artist Point a little after 11am, there were no parking spots open so I had to park in the gravel lot just down the road. The first section of trail was busy with lots of people hiking the ...
There was lots of room at the Artist Point parking lot when we arrived shortly before 7am. Toilets were open and stocked but in rough shape. Only saw a couple other hikers on our way toward the mounta...
Confirmed! The trail is open all the way, basically. Only a few small waning snowfields are left. None of them are in treacherous locations and nobody seemed to have trouble crossing them. Of course, ...
Stunningly beautiful scenery all along a fantastically well-maintained and graded trail, photo opportunities at every step or just stay still and let the light and clouds shift the landscape - this tr...
Was very windy and foggy when we started out but that just made everything look more vibrant and colorful especially the wildflowers. There were a couple of snowfields to cross and some were a little ...
Took brother and nephews for an (intended) one night overnight with the goal of camping near goat lake. Trail was generally in good shape with some areas of social trails/water from snow melt making i...
I left Artist Point at 3:45am to catch the sunrise show at a spot I call the Ptarmigan Amphitheatre (below the Coleman Pinnacle) and then continued to the East Portal, skipping the still mostly frozen...
Hiked out on Ptarmigan Ridge late Sunday evening. The Artist Point lot was pretty full when I headed out around 5:30pm. Encountered very few people after splitting off from the Chain Lakes trail, but ...
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