Washington trails · Chain Lakes
Chain Lakes
A 5.6-mile out-and-back in Washington, with 1,251 ft of climbing. Reaches Galena Chain Lakes and other glacier/lake/viewpoint destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 991 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Galena Chain Lakes (lake)
- Mazama Lake (lake)
- Bagley Lakes (lake)
- Austin Pass Lake (lake)
- Hayes Lake (lake)
- Sunrise Lake (lake)
- Iceberg Lake (lake)
- Terminal Lake (lake)
- Table Mountain Glacier (glacier)
- Artist Point (viewpoint)
Heads up
Getting there
BAGLEY LAKES — parking nearby, restroom, water. 48.86156, -121.68289 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:48 a.m., the sun rises at 6:21 a.m. and sets at 7:51 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:24 p.m. (PDT) — 13 h 29 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 11.3-mile round trip takes roughly 5 h 25 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 11:47 a.m. — 8 h 04 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail + Heather Meadows X-Country Ski + Chain Lakes — 7.6 mi loop, 2,105 ft gain
- Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail + Heather Meadows X-Country Ski + Chain Lakes — 8.2 mi loop, 2,354 ft gain
- Wild Goose + Bagley Lakes + Chain Lakes — 1.5 mi loop, 386 ft gain