John Guilford's Hikes

Chain Lakes on 2026-09-22

Date: 2026-09-22

Location: Chain Lakes

People: (including myself): Happy Hikers

			  	Alt.	Miles
Heather Meadows:	9:15	4440	0
Artist Point:		9:45	5070	0.8
Start Ptarmigan Ridge:	10:00
Chain Lakes Trail:	10:30	5220	2.0
Iceberg Lake:		11:10	4820	3.0
Hayes Lake/Lunch:	11:20	4840	3.2
Leave:			12:00		
Pass:			12:40	5440	4.0	
Bagley Loop Trail:	2:00	4250	5.7
Heather Meadows:	2:50	4440	7.3

When we got to Artist Point, the cloud deck started just below Artist Point.

When our group all arrived, we discussed the route and drove back down to Heather Meadows, to start and end there, and do the Chain Lake Loop in a clockwise direction.

The trail basically encircles Table Mountain passing by several lakes along the way. The big hill is 1200' from Heather Meadows up to a pass. If you go CW, you descend this hill at the end of the hike. If you go CCW, you climb this hill near the beginning of the hike. The trail is mostly pretty nice, though the 1200' hill above Heather Meadows is a bit more rugged than the rest of the trail.

We started at Heather Meadows and climbed up to Artist Point. This part was actually quicker and easier than I had anticipated. Along the way we got good views of the 1200' slope above Heather Meadows as well as some nice reflections in Terminal Lake. We met a pika a bit off the trail on the way up. I couldn't get a good photo (too far away) but he came down to nearer the trail for some of the folks behind me. They got some nice shots.

At Artist Point we regrouped before continuing. Initially the trail is the same as the Ptarmigan Ridge trail, passing across the south slope of Table Mtn. We had mixed cloud with some breaks, but no great views on this part.

Just west of Table Mtn. the trails bifurcate, with the Ptarmigan Ridge trail turning more south towards Baker, and the Chain Lakes trail turning NW and descending towards the lakes. We got some views of Baker peeking out from behind clouds, but no great views.

We first passed Mazama Lake, one of the smaller ones, which is a popular camping area. The trail then passes north along the west side of Iceberg Lake before turning eastward and passing between Iceberg Lake and Hayes Lake. A side trail (which only one of our party took) goes out to Arbuthnet Lake and more camping areas.

We stopped between Iceberg and Hayes Lakes for lunch. We'd hoped to meet up with the part of our group who had gone CCW from Artist Point, but so far we hadn't seen them. Towards the end of our lunch they showed up. They'd eaten lunch a bit earlier.

We continued east ascending again towards the pass above Heather Meadows.

After cresting the pass we started the big descent to Heather Meadows. From the higher viewpoint, Mt. Shuksan looked huge and closer than it really is. It was a stunning view. We also got good views of the sheer sides of Table Mtn.

As we neared Heather Meadows we got to the east end of Bagley Lake. There is a quaint stone arch bridge over Bagley Creek. Here we took a detour on the Bagley Lake Loop trail. This goes out one side of Bagley Creek, crosses the creek at the far end of another of the Bagley Lakes, and then returns along the other side of Bagley Creek. There were some nice little cascades along the creek.

Back at the stone arch bridge we continued the short climb back up to the Heather Meadows parking lot.

It is a great hike. One nice thing about it is its variety. It features stunning mountain views as well as lake views and even some nice creek views.