Diablo Lake Trail - A Casual Hike in Washington State's Northern Cascades With Stunning Views!!!

The legs were a little wobbly still after having hiked up to Colchuck Lake two days prior, then doing a nine mile hike the following day that kinda ended nowhere, so in search of a casual hike that could offer impressive views, I came across the Diablo Lake Trail while checking out Diablo Dam in the North Cascades National Park.

After crossing the Dam, which was pretty cool in itself, the trailhead starts in the parking lot of the North Skagit River Hydroelectric Project.  The project, and the Diablo Dam, is one of three dams that according to the Internet (and the Internet is always right) provides Seattle with a good portion of its power needs.

If you follow the Diablo Lake trail up to its endpoint, a bridge provides views of the Ross Lake dam, as well, but to be honest I didn't hike all the way to the bridge.  According to the few hikers I asked along the trail, I had already seen the best views the trail had to offer at about the three mile mark (probably just over the trails two mile mark, I took a little detour earlier in the trail to check out the view from the power lines) - as you can see in the below-linked video.

Those with any fear of heights may get lightheaded at that point in the trail where the best views of the lake could be had, as the drop is pretty much straight down - a long ways - and the trail is not that wide.  Someone not paying enough attention or taking the trail a little too fast could have a bad day in a hurry.  Be careful, especially with the little ones.

That said, the trail is safe and casual and provides some awesome views of the surrounding peaks, including Sourdough, Pyramid and some others.  The views are quite breathtaking.

Another highlight of this trail - and who knows if it's like this every day - but there was quite the variety of hikers.  I met a couple from Westchester, New York, a Russian family, a congregation from Inda and a few other nationalities.  Seems the North Cascades National Park is a tourist destination for many and it's encouraging to see the world's people unite around the beauty the world has to offer.

At the conclusion of the hike, and after three days where I logged just over thirty miles hiking, it was refreshing to take a dip in the glacier-cold Diablo Lake.  It was really cold, like really cold.  But so enjoyable.  Something about swimming in these waters surrounded by snow-covered mountain peaks.

A pretty casual family-friendly hike, especially if other destinations are still covered in snow.

Enjoy!!!  Click on the video link below!!  Subscribe to the VFCs Travels YouTube Channel!!