Parking
Park on the north side of SR 20 near milepost 126.8; the signed trailhead is across the highway beside Pyramid Creek. No toilet or potable-water facility was identified at the start.
Overview
About Pyramid Lake Trail
Why go
- Floating logs, water lilies and sundew make the small lake distinctive.
- A streamside glade and old cedars break up the climb.
Heads up
- The sustained climb and loose-rock descent are harder than the short mileage suggests.
Pyramid Lake Trail is a 4.2-mile out-and-back from State Route 20 to a small forested lake, with about 1,500 feet of climbing. Allow 2.5 to 3 hours. Most of the work comes on the 2.1-mile climb in; you retrace the same steep trail on the way down. Come for the quiet lake, the old cedars and the unusual floating-log gardens, not for an easy stroll or a wide summit panorama.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the North Cascades map
Full mapElevation1,184–2,694 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
7 active North Cascades alerts
- ClosureWildfire closures and Stehekin fire advisoryWildfire-related closures remain in effect; stay out of all closed trails, camps, and areas.Official details
- CautionCampfires banned across the park complexCampfires and other ash-producing fires are banned throughout the North Cascades National Park Service Complex.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
North Cascades Tour Guide
Your drive to Pyramid Lake Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for North Cascades National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the North Cascades audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Pyramid Lake: Floating Gardens in the Forest0:00 / 0:27
“Pyramid Lake Trailhead is ahead, for a steep forest hike to a small lake dotted with floating logs.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf North Cascades Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Diablo and the Sourdough Mountain Climb
- Diablo Dam: Across the Crest
- Environmental Learning Center: A Planned Stay on Diablo Lake
- An Alder's Hidden Partners
- 83 audio storiesacross North Cascades’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Mountain Goat, Black Bear, Mule Deer, and 10 more
- Works offlinemaps, 88 trails, 76 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Pyramid Lake Trail
A climb through fire-shaped forestThe lower slope is open and sunny in places.
The lower slope is open and sunny in places. Blackened trunks from an earlier fire stand among young Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine. Lodgepole cones release seeds after intense heat, while some thick-barked Douglas-firs survive and help reseed a burned slope. Snags left standing provide homes and feeding spots for woodpeckers and other cavity users.
At about 0.9 mile, cross a stream and reach a small forest glade. It is a natural place to stop before the harder part. Some cedars here are more than 500 years old. Beyond the crossing, the forest turns greener, with hemlock and cedar, moss, deer fern and huckleberry.
The last climb and the lakeThe trail climbs again, switchbacks over a small ridge, then drops to the water.
The trail climbs again, switchbacks over a small ridge, then drops to the water. Loose rock makes the descent harder on the knees, so save some patience for the return climb. You get intermittent looks back toward Sourdough Mountain and Davis Peak, rather than a continuous panorama.
Just before shore, the path forks. The left branch reaches a few sitting rocks at the water; the right climbs to a large boulder overlooking the lake and marks the end of the maintained trail. A rough climbers' path continues beyond, but it is a different outing and is not part of this route.
Look closely at Pyramid LakeThis small, deep lake sits in a basin formed by an ancient landslide.
This small, deep lake sits in a basin formed by an ancient landslide. Silvered logs float across the water, gathering moss and plant mats; yellow water lilies and tiny roundleaf sundew add detail at the edges. Fish were never planted here. For a picture, frame the logs across the still water so the forest and the lake's scale stay in view.
The lake and surrounding land are protected as a Research Natural Area. This is a day hike: camping is prohibited at the lake and along the trail corridor. Overnight trips require an NPS backcountry permit, and the park directs climbers to continue at least half a mile beyond the lake before camping.
Is this the hike for you?Park on the north side of SR 20 near milepost 126.
Park on the north side of SR 20 near milepost 126.8, then cross the highway to the signed trailhead beside Pyramid Creek. No toilet or potable-water facility was identified at the start. National Park Service rules prohibit pets on this trail; service animals are allowed.
Wildlife
Wildlife in North Cascades
101 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
70 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
20 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
77 sightingsSooty GrouseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
23 sightingsWhite-tailed PtarmiganMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
75 sightingsWestern ToadMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across North Cascades. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
