While planning our September 2022 visit to North Cascades National Park, we searched for easy hikes in the North Cascades area and the Rainy Lake Trail popped up near the top of the list. This is an ADA-compliant paved trail of 1.8 miles round trip in an out-and-back configuration. By my count, there are seven sturdy benches scattered along the 4800-foot elevation trail. While not in the park, this trail provided us with an opportunity to stretch our legs as we drove east to Winthrop.
The Rainy Lake Trail #310 trailhead and parking are located at mile marker 157.6 on the North Cascades Scenic Highway, also known as Washington Route 20. This is about 18.5 miles east of North Cascades National Park and Ross Lake National Recreation Area via the scenic highway. However, the road roughly parallels the park boundary and is less than two miles from the park at the Rainy Pass Picnic Area.
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| Trail specific information at the trailhead kiosk |
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| Crossing the driveway to the trail |
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| Rainy Lake Trail to the left |
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| Typical trail conditions |
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| Englemann Spruce |
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| Mountain Hemlock |
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| The only sunny part of the trail |
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| Back into the forest |
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| The bridge handrails have taken a treefall |
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| Mossy Lichens |
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| Second bridge |
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| Stream that drains Lake Ann |
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| Glimpse of Whistler Mountain (7790' 1.3 miles) |
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| Trail reopened after a tree fell |
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| Snow creep - not entirely resisting the downslope force of the snowpack |
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| Pacific Silver Fir |
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| Another bench |
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| Ferns carpet the forest |
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| End of the trail |
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| An unnamed peak towers over the lake |
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| Rainy Lake is a glacial cirque |
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| Remnants of last winter's snow |
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| Moraine dams up the lake |
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| Another look at the bowl that nearly encircles the lake |
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| The clear water suggests the lake is filled with snowmelt and not glacier fed |
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| A last look |
A recreation pass is required for parking. A five-dollar per vehicle per day Northwest Forest Pass can be purchased from a self-pay station provided at the trailhead. Any of the America the Beautiful passes may be used in lieu of payment.
The forest webpage for Rainy Lake is https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/okawen/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=59385.
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