Diablo Lake Trail
in Washington · centroid 95 mi from Seattle
The trail rises and falls for 3.8 miles (6.1 km), then crosses Diablo Lake on a high bridge. Retrace your path, or time your hike for a ride back on the Diablo Lake Ferry (be at the ferry dock below Ross Dam a few minutes before 9 am or 3:30 pm). Road access and ferry service may be limited depending on the season - check at the visitor center for current status.
Difficulty: Moderate. Distance and elevation: 7.6 miles (12.2 km) roundtrip / 1,300 foot (120 m) elevation gain. Access: Look for signs along SR 20 to the road that crosses the top of Diablo Dam. Cross the dam and follow the access road to parking by the trailhead.
Leashed dogs allowed. The trail and parking area can be very crowded during summer months
- States
- Washington
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Seattle, WA · 95 mi · ~2.7 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 48.7196°, -121.1197°
About North Cascades National Park
This trail is inside North Cascades National Park, a national park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/diablo-lake-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/noca/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Diablo Lake Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Fourth of July Pass Trail
3 miles from this trail's centroid
Happy Panther Trail
7 miles from this trail's centroid
River Loop Trail
8 miles from this trail's centroid
Devils Dome Loop
9 miles from this trail's centroid
Thornton Lake Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
The Great North Cascades Traverse
11 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.