r/PNWhiking • u/figfish • 4d ago

Alpine Lake Camping Recs? Early October

Hi! Trying to plan a last minute camping trip around Seattle the second weekend of October. I haven’t camped in the PNW before so I am a little out of my depth as far as what spots are feasible to get a site at this last minute 🤔 but also I feel like October isn’t the most busy season. Any advice would be appreciated!

-pretty, car accessible campsite, in an alpine hiking region. (Could be dispersed campsite)

-near long hiking loops with lake views. It would be day hike and not overnight so max 10 miles

-areas of interest are lake colchuck, robin lakes, jade lake, the enchantments but I know these are popular spots

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/zh3nya 4d ago

There are plenty of campgrounds up Cle Elum Valley Road (Robin Lakes, Mount Daniel, Jade Lake, etc), North Fork Teanaway River Road (on the way to Lake Ingalls and plethora of other beautiful hikes). That's what I would go for if I wanted alpine views and lakes. I'd probably prefer the Teanaway as it has a higher chance of better weather, but it might be more popular as it has more fall color (larches). You'll also overlap with high buck season so expect some competition from hunters especially if you're trying to disperse camp along the forest roads.

1

u/toomuchwombat 3d ago

Spectacle Lake is on the Cle Elum side of the mountains and would also be a good option. Very straightforward hike in, easy to bail if conditions get bad.

I would not do the Robin Lakes unless the weather was definitely going to be dry. That final push would be miserable (and potentially dangerous) if it was wet or snowy.