Howard Lake Trail
in Washington · centroid 87 mi from Seattle
An uphill hike with good mountain views, through a mixed Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine forest. Howard Lake is a shallow forest lake where waterfowl and other animals frequent. Access the lake on the west side or continue a few minutes up the McGregor Mountain Trail for other lake views.
There is little lakeshore access. Return by the same trail or extend the trip into a loop with the Stehekin Valley Road. To loop, continue past the lake onto the Old Wagon Trail 1 mile to another junction and turn left (southwest) to connect with the Stehekin Valley Road.
Continue south on the road 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to end up back at High Bridge for a 3.5 mile (5.6 km) round-trip loop. The loop is pleasent in either direction with steeper sections on the trail than the road. Vault toilets and picnic tables available at High Bridge, High Bridge Camp, and Tumwater Camp along the Stehekin Valley Road.
- States
- Washington
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Seattle, WA · 87 mi · ~2.5 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 48.3803°, -120.8377°
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/howard-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 Howard 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
Old Wagon Trail to Bridge Creek
0 miles from this trail's centroid
Agnes Gorge Trail
0 miles from this trail's centroid
Stehekin River Trail
6 miles from this trail's centroid
Thunder-Park-Bridge Cross-Park Trek
6 miles from this trail's centroid
McKellar Cabin Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Imus Creek Trail
10 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.