Hi there!
It’s Trail Tuesday! Let’s talk about a gorgeous, must hike trail that offers sweeping mountain views, geologic curiosities, a peek at a glacier, wildlife, lakes, lazy crystal-clear streams, and waterfalls. Reed Lakes Trail is the unimaginative name for a trail in the aptly titled Archangel Valley up in the old mining area known as Hatcher Pass. We won’t go into the specifics of Hatcher Pass in this post, because I’m too excited to get to the glorious details of Reed Lakes!
I have hiked this 9 mile out-and-back trail countless times, in various seasons, and love, love, love bringing new hikers to this place, because I enjoy hearing the gasps, oohs, and ahhs as newbies see all the wonderful sights.
Ready to hike? Let’s go!
To begin, the parking area is terrible. It’s not very big, so there is now, finally, an overflow parking lot before the bridge and I recommend parking there. It makes the hike a bit longer, but if your vehicle is not a truck, it will probably scrape bottom on the many large boulders filling the tiny trailhead parking area. Also, if it’s a nice day the small lot will be full anyway.
The trail is nice, wide, maintained, and mostly flat for about two miles. You’ll pass the old remnants of a mining base for Snowbird Mine: there used to be a cabin that was a nice destination in the winter, but it’s gone now, so now all you’ll see is mostly scattered metal parts and some old wood chunks. Then the trail forks – left for Snowbird Mine and right for Reed Lakes. Take the right, of course, and you’ll cross a few short bridges. The trail climbs uphill from here and switchbacks up, up, up the slope. There will be some cute beaver ponds below, on the right hand side of the climb, and those are a nice Plan B destination if it is raining and the trail is super muddy/slippery.
Just before the top, there is a nice, large flat rock to the left of the trail where I usually have a snack. It overlooks a nice waterfall down below the trail. Be sure to take in the view from the top of the switchbacks and regain your breath, because the boulder field is next to tackle.
The trail leans to the left and onto a lengthy boulder field; this part becomes treacherous in the winter.
These boulders are large and I always feel like I’m doing parkour feats while scrambling over and under and around them. Choose a path that suits you: there really isn’t a best way, just head upstream through the valley. You can hear, and sometimes see, the stream running underneath the giant rocks. It’s pretty awesome.
Finally, mercifully, the boulders will end and, as a reward, you’ll find yourself in wonderland. The mountains are gorgeous. There is a crystal clear, absolutely perfect, sandy bottomed, lazy stream that winds it’s way through a wide valley. One hot day I will bring a tube and my swimsuit and float along through this section of paradise. The trail follows this beauty and then begins to ascend again. Listen for cheeky marmots whistling at you and look for white Dall sheep way up on the rocky slopes. I’ve also seen brown bear in this section, so keep an eye out for those beasts too.
A short switchback session later and you will crest another hill. Get excited because you are about to see Lower Reed Lake below and on your right hand side. If it’s early June, and the spring was rather cold, the lakes might still be a bit frozen. Regardless of their status, they are lovely.
Continue up the trail to find a large waterfall. Depending on the time of year and the amount of snowmelt, the waterfall may be huge and gushing, or modest and easy going. It makes a great photo-op either way. The trail will lead up to the top of the waterfall, so you will be able to enjoy it for a while. I love gazing at the rocks the water flows over – they’re smooth and rounded by the endless water polishing the edges.
Then, the trail follows the stream at a gentle incline to the end of the valley where Upper Reed Lake is nestled at the base of a ring of mountain peaks. This is my second favorite section of the trail: the little streams, the nearness of the mountains, the mosses and lichens - it’s rather peaceful. Before you get to the lake, keep an eye on the rock face above your left shoulder to see a large greenish smudge high up on the mountain. It’s a visible copper deposit. How cool is that?
In the summer, on a windless, sunny day, the lake is heartbreakingly beautiful. It’s a divine Alaskan-blue lake with shallow edges and a deepish center. A rocky mountain ridge frames the lake; the center peak is named Lynx Peak. People camp on the flat places in front of the lake.
This is a good base camp for adventures to Bomber glacier (more about that in a later post); there is a little footpath to the left that goes about half way around the rim of the lake. If you still have time and energy, follow the footpath and climb up for a nice high view of the lake - the view back down the valley is wonderful.
Generally, this trail is more populated in the late afternoon, so go earlier and chances are good that you’ll have the lake to yourself.
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