An Alpine Meadow - Bagley Lakes Hike

The last few miles of the Mount Baker Highway don't normally open until July-ish, but because of our freaky-warm winter they opened mid-May this year. So I went up there May 27th with the husband, dog, and BFF for some hiking and some snow-badminton.

We went up and took our annual cliche photo of Mount Shuksan from Picture Lake. It's probably the most photographed mountain in Washington State and likely in the whole US.

I honestly don't even bother taking a pic of just the mountain anymore because there are just so many photos out there already. I prefer to try posing things in front of it.

Blinking dog was the best picture. He refused to sit still after this one.

I don't feel like I need to explain myself here.

There's a short loop around Picture Lake that's mostly wheelchair accessible. If you've never done it, go ahead and take the stroll. There are lots of wildflowers in the Heather Meadows area that make it worthwhile.

We then went to the Heather Meadows Picnic Area near the visitor center. It was from here that we started our hike.

Bagley Lakes Loop

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Parking Permit: Northwest Forest Pass ($5 per day or $30 per year)

Distance: 2 miles

Elevation: 200 foot difference

Even though it's not even summer yet, the trail was already completely snow-free!

Well, technically we found some snow on the trail...

This was it.

It was the earliest opening ever for this part of the highway. I've hiked Bagley Lakes in July and found areas still snow-covered, so this was just nuts!

It was gorgeous, though!

The Visitor Center with Table Mountain as a backdrop.

There are a few different ways you can do the loop We started at the picnic area and took Wild Goose Trail down, then took Bagley Lakes Trail back to the visitor center.

Mount Herman has a looooong waterfall running down its side. It's narrow but it's tall and you can hear it throughout the valley.

It's far away, so it's hard to appreciate just how tall it is!

The loop takes you through an alpine meadow valley. Snow-capped peaks are in the background no matter which way you look. It's a short, fairly easy hike that is absolutely beautiful.

Distant mountains!

There will be a lot more color as the season progresses, but already Heather Meadows' namesake flower is out.

Eventually you reach the end of the Wild Goose Trail and join up with Bagley Lakes Loop.

There's a dam at the end of the north lake. You can cross it to get to Chain Lakes Trail which offers an alternative loop around the lakes (and which you can also take on the significantly longer, steeper Chain Lakes Loop which I hope to do later in the season; it was still snow-covered as of mid-May).

Marie passed out on the dam.

Dammit, Marie!

From here you can look upstream for a nice view of Table Mountain.

We took Bagley Lakes trail back toward the visitor center. There are some nice boardwalks that cut through the meadow.

I'm used to this portion of the meadow being flooded. All that grass is often underwater when the stream is fuller. But the low snowpack this year leads to low creeks and rivers.

Normally there's much more water.

One of my favorite portions of Bagley Lakes Trail is where it crosses a small waterfall. It's great on a hot day to cool off with an impromptu shower of fresh glacial water.

Cool and refreshing!

It's also great for splashing friends with.

Just sayin'.

Here's a slightly closer view of Mt. Herman's big long waterfall.

Pic still doesn't do it justice.

Marie passed out on the trail again.

At the south lake, there's a stone bridge that crosses over to connect with Chain Lakes trail again. (This is the common launch point you take if you're doing the full loop.)

Marie continued to pass out on the trail.

My husband threatened to push me off this rock.

Heading back toward the visitor center gives you a good overall view of the valley we just came from.

The visitor center...

Marie passing out on the trail AGAIN!

Seriously!

So that was the hike. But that was not the end of our trip. Bagley Lakes may have been snow-free, but there was still white stuff at Artist Point, so we got in the car and took the highway all the way to the end!

The parking lot was cleared and it was actually thawed enough for the Artist Point restrooms to be opened!

Those who have visited Artist Point early in the season understand how significant this is.

There's a short trail out to Huntoon Point, but it was still well snow-covered.

Mt. Shuksan decided to start hiding behind a cloud, but Mt. Baker was out in all her glory!

aka Koma Kulshan

And now a panorama with Mt. Shuksan in the middle (hiding behind a cloud), Mt. Herman on the left, and Mt. Baker on the right:

We didn't do any hiking, but we played some football on the snow fields.

Then we switched it up and played SNOW BADMINTON! It's a totally new sport we made up!

I don't think we have any pics of actual volleys. This is because of two reasons: (1) playing on snow is hard, and (2) we weren't good at badminton to start with.

We finished our day by grabbing dinner at Chair 9, a place I recommend if you are in Glacier.

First Cocktail as you come down the mountain. The other side says Last Cocktail for people heading out.

We got one pizza with all the animals on it and another that had smoked salmon. Smoked Salmon on a pizza. It sounds weird, but you gotta try it. It was actually pretty good!

Fishy in a good way.

There are tons of trails in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie forest and in the adjacent wilderness. Bagley Lakes is a short-and-sweet one, and one of the first on the mountain to thaw out.