Purple Creek Trail

Purple Creek Trail is a 16-mile out-and-back from Stehekin Landing to Juanita Lake, climbing about 5,800 feet before a gentler drop into the high basin. It is a very strenuous, mostly exposed day hike, not a casual lake stroll. Allow about 12 hours and make sure your arrival and return to Stehekin fit your boat or float-plane plans. The payoff is a high pass with Lake Chelan and Glacier Peak Wilderness views, followed by a remote lake between Purple and War Creek passes.

Start behind the Golden West Visitor Center on the Imus Creek Trail, then turn right for Purple Creek shortly after the first bridge. The route climbs steadily from the valley, traverses a dry south-facing slope, then works back into the Purple Creek drainage on long switchbacks. That sunny traverse can be dusty, brushy and loose underfoot. Purple Creek, about two miles from the start, is the only reliable water before Juanita Lake, so carry what you need for the exposed climb beyond it.

Above roughly 5,500 feet, the route reaches subalpine fir, larch, wildflowers and broader views. A final traverse across a granite face brings you to Purple Pass at about 6,900 feet. Lake Chelan sits far below, with ridges stretching west toward Glacier Peak Wilderness and peaks around Holden. This is the signature view; include some of the steep foreground with the lake in a wide photo.

A marked north spur shortly after the pass climbs about 0.5 mile and 450 feet to Boulder Butte, the site of an old fire lookout. Only scattered glass fragments remain, so leave them where they are. The 7,350-foot summit opens a 360-degree view up Stehekin Valley toward Cascade Pass and Mount Goode. It is an optional detour and is not part of the mapped route or 16-mile distance.

The main trail continues about half a mile beyond Purple Pass, descending gently to Juanita Lake at roughly 6,800 feet. The lake is shallow and reedy, in a meadow basin of larch and subalpine fir; separate hiker and stock camps sit on opposite sides, and the hiker camp looks down the Fourmile Creek drainage. Larch needles turn bright yellow in fall. Snow can cover the lake-area trails into early July and make the route harder to follow.

Stehekin has no road access: reach the landing by boat, float plane or on foot. The trail begins behind the visitor center, about a five-minute walk from the dock. Overnight stays require a limited backcountry permit; campfires are prohibited at Juanita Lake, and hunting is allowed in season, so wear bright colors then. Leashed pets are allowed in this Lake Chelan recreation area; keep them on a leash no longer than six feet.

If you are approaching from Twisp instead, the separate War Creek route reaches Juanita Lake in 9.3 miles one way with about 3,600 feet of gain. It is longer but less steep, and its trailhead requires a Northwest Forest or America the Beautiful pass.