How to Backpack to Stehekin
When we returned from backpacking the Chelan Lakeshore Trail to Stehekin and claimed it was our favorite place we’ve ever been in Washington, it raised eyebrows — it’s a bold statement coming from us!
Stehekin is gorgeous. It’s surrounded by 7,000-foot mountains just south of the North Cascades National Park at the base of Lake Chelan, the third deepest lake in the United States. Getting there though, that’s one of the best parts.
You’ll start your trip off by ferrying halfway to Stehekin. You’ll lose cell service about a half hour into the ride and your journey will be unplugged from there. You’ll get off the boat at the place of your choosing, between 7 and 18 miles from town. From there, you’ll get to enjoy the remote Chelan Lakeshore Trail with all the benefits of the town’s amenities just a day’s walk away.
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Trail overview
We’ll explain where you can get off the ferry to change the distance of your trek to town below, but overall, the trail is a relatively moderate backpacking route. You can expect rolling hills (there is one decent accent before Moore Point) through meadows and forests, and although you do follow the lakeshore, you’ll usually be viewing the lake from the cliffsides above, with occasional lake access points.
Trail description: Washington Trails
Distance: 7-18 miles, one-way
Elevation gain: 4,030
Dogs allowed on a leash: Yes
Permits: Permits are not needed to camp outside of Stehekin. Once in town, you’ll need to pay for a campsite or lodging.
Water source: There are 10 seasonal springs and lake access throughout the trek. Each of the campgrounds is near a dependable water source.
Campfire information: Campfires are allowed in established fire rings unless there is a burn ban.
Best season
It’s best to backpack the Chelan Lakeshore Trail in spring, between mid-April through June, or in fall, from September to early October for moderate weather and fewer rattlesnakes on the trail. Temperature highs will range between 60 and 75 degrees in the spring months and between 75 and 55 in the fall. The earlier you visit in spring and the later you visit in fall, the higher your chances of encountering rain will be, although the weather changes quickly near Stehekin.
You’ll find meadows of balsamroot blooming in May, lupine in June, and paintbrush blooming throughout spring. In the fall, pick apples at the Buckner Orchard in town!
It's possible to backpack here in the summer months as well, although the trail is nearly completely exposed and temperatures regularly get up to 85 degrees or higher on the lakeshore.
Ferry
You’ll need to purchase ferry tickets to get to your starting point on the Chelan Lakeshore Trail. They do sell out, so prioritize getting these tickets before reserving campsites.
There are two ferry companies to choose from, with varying schedules, costs, speeds, and pick-up locations. When booking, do note where you’d like to be dropped off and know that boarding starts 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
When boarding, you’ll be asked to place your bags near the bow of the boat. Everyone’s luggage will be stacked together, so it won’t be easily accessible during the ride. The staff does a great job making sure the backpacks are easiest to reach from the pile of luggage, but don’t plan on being able to get to your bag during the ride. Instead, get some snacks, water, a hat (there are indoor and outdoor seating options on some of the boats), and any entertainment you want for the ride out before embarking.
There are restrooms and a snack bar on board, but the options are limited to coffee, pop, candy, and chips.
Lake Chelan Boat Co.
The Lady Express
Services: Chelan, Field’s Point Landing, Prince Creek, and Stehekin daily.
Time to Stehekin: 2.5 hours
Cost: $43
The Lady of the Lake
Services: Chelan, Field’s Point Landing, Prince Creek, Moore Point, and Stehekin, operating between the end of May to mid-October.
Time to Stehekin: 4 hours
Cost: $25
The Lady Liberty
Services: Chelan and Stehekin daily between the end of May and September.
Time to Stehekin: 70 minutes
Cost: $49
*There are no snacks for sale on board this boat
Parking for the Lake Chelan Boat Co.
You have the option to park and board at Chelan or Field’s Point Landing. In Chelan, overnight parking is gated and costs $11 per night or $66 for the week. Field’s Point Landing is a 30-minute drive from Chelan on the south shores of the lake. Parking here is also gated and $7 per night or $35 for 5-7 days.
Are dogs allowed?
Pets are allowed on the Lady Express and the Lady of the Lake. However, owners must stay with their pets, and the pets must remain in the designated pet area on the outer deck in a pet cage for the duration of the ride. You can bring or rent a cage, starting at $25 each way.
Map of ferry pickup locations:
Stehekin Ferry
Services: Stehekin, Prince Creek, and Field’s Point Landing daily
Time to Stehekin: 90 minutes
Cost: $39
Parking for the Stehekin Ferry
The only parking and pickup option for the Stehekin ferry is at Field’s Point Landing. Parking is gated and costs $7 per night or $35 for 5-7 days.
Are dogs allowed?
Pets are allowed for an additional $10 each way. You’re required to bring your own kennel, and owners must stay with the pet on the back deck throughout the ride.
Backpacking campsites along the Chelan Lakeshore Trail
Prince Creek
This is the first and most popular spot where backpackers can opt to be dropped off along the trail. It’s 17 miles from Stehekin. There are six tent sites near the dock, so if you’d like to start your journey out slowly, camping here is an option. Amenities include picnic tables and pit toilets.
The dock at Prince Creek
Cascade Creek
You’ll find the Cascade Creek Campground five miles north of Prince Creek. There are two campsites here, located downhill from the trail. There is a picnic table and pit toilet here.
Meadow Creek Shelter
Although this campsite doesn’t have a pit toilet, it makes up for it with a shelter. Camping in the shelter is first-come, first-served and it’s 7.6 miles from the start of the trail at Prince Creek. This is where we camped our first night, and there was room to fit three tents near the shelter comfortably. Find the shelter and tent sites on the north side of the river, upstream.
The shelter at Meadow Creek
Moore Point
When the lake is high enough, Moore Point is the second drop-off option for some of the ferries. It’s 10.6 miles from Prince Creek and just seven miles from Stehekin. From the Chelan Lakeshore Trail, the trail spurs off at a marked junction and the campground is under a half mile away.
Like Prince Creek, this is a great spot for larger groups. There are six tent sites, picnic tables, and a pit toilet.
Note: Washington Trails Association, the Forest Service, and the Washington Conservation Corps do trail work and noxious weed control and camp at Moore Point. This tends to take place earlier in the spring season and can stretch into May. The campground is still open to the public while they are there, but it will be more crowded. Check here for updates.
Flick Creek
You’ll find Flick Creek Campground right off the trail 0.4 miles after Moore Point. It’s 10 miles into the trail from Prince Creek and this was our favorite campsite, although we didn’t stay here. There is a shelter and picnic table right next to the lake, with room for two tents. The downside to this site is that it is exposed and windy.
How long should you backpack and stay in Stehekin?
We recommend making this trip last at least four days. Beginning at Prince Creek, that gives you two days of backpacking about nine miles each day, ending your second night in Stehekin, one full day in town, and one morning in Stehekin before catching the ferry back to Chelan. We would have loved to stay longer — there is plenty to do, and any less time would have felt rushed.
Make your trip longer if you’d like to hike fewer miles between campsites or spend more time in Stehekin. It’s possible to make it shorter if you’re a fast hiker or make the trek to town shorter by being dropped off at Moore Point. From there it’s possible to hike to town the same day you’re dropped off.
Camping in Stehekin
Once you reach town, reservations are needed to camp. It’s possible to get a walk-in campsite, but make a reservation if there are any available, up to 6 months in advance between May and September. Outside those months, all campsites are first-come, first-served.
Lakeview Campground
This is the first campground you’ll see as you enter town. The ranger station is nearby, and the campground is spacious, with food storage lockers, picnic tables, water, flush toilets, and coin-operated showers nearby. There are nine walk-in campsites available here. Fires aren’t allowed here, and, despite the name, there is no view of the lake from this campground, although it’s never far away.
Purple Point Campground
Purple Point Campground has peek-a-boo views of the lake and is more forested than the Lakeview Campground, allowing for a bit more privacy at camp. They also have food storage lockers, picnic tables, water, flush toilets, and fire rings, as well as six walk-in campsites.
Harlequin Campground
If you’re unable to snag a reservation or walk-in site, camping at Harlequin Campground will be your next option. It’s 4.5 miles outside of town and some of its campsites are flooded into late May and June. Check with the ranger station for current conditions. You’ll find food storage lockers, picnic tables, and pit toilets here.
Since it sits next to the Stehekin River, this was the most beautiful campground of the three, but less convenient than the other options. To get here, we’d recommend renting bikes for the duration of your trip to make traveling between town and the campground faster.
Lodging in Stehekin
If you’d rather end your trip with a roof over your head, consider booking lodging in town. There are all sorts of accommodations to choose from, including glamping, cabins, or staying in the North Cascades National Park Lodge. However, lodging is limited, and it books up quickly.
Consider booking the following:
Food storage
While the campsites in town have food storage lockers, the campsites along the Chelan Lakeshore Trail do not. While you’re camping along the trail, you’ll need to hang your food. If you want a refresher on how this is done, check out this beginner’s guide to backpacking blog that explains this more in-depth. We never had a problem with aggressive critters at any of the campsites, however, we did see two bears along the trail!
This black bear surprised us 10 yards off the trail
Wildlife
Black bears
There are black bears in the North Cascades and, because of how remote Stehekin is, there is a good chance you’ll see one. We recommend bringing bear spray and reading this article on what to do if you see a black bear. Overall, be sure to make noise along the trail, especially on blind corners so you don’t accidentally sneak up on one.
Zach spotted this bear from the Meadow Creek Shelter about 200 yards away
Rattlesnakes
In warmer weather, you’ll find rattlesnakes sunning themselves on rocks and the trail or hiding in thick brush. Stay on the trail, always watch where you’re stepping, and keep dogs close at hand.
We also keep a Sharpie in our emergency kit in case of bites as well. If you do get bitten, circle the border of the swelling, and write down the date and time to help emergency personnel assess the severity of your bite. For more tips on hiking in rattlesnake country, check out this article.
Ticks
Ticks are known to be all over Washington state, including the North Cascades. We’ve had an easy time avoiding them by staying on trails and wearing pants. On this trail, we also used our trekking poles to push brush back.
Check here for more information on what to do if you do get bitten. Thankfully, not many ticks in Washington carry Lyme disease, but if you are bitten, you’ll still want to watch for symptoms of rash, fever, or a bullseye around the bite and seek treatment if any of these appear.
Other animals
We also saw common sagebrush lizards, Puget blue butterflies, hawks, eagles, and a tree filled with goldfinches. Spot these for fun!
Leave no trace principles
As with all wilderness spaces, you’ll need to follow the leave no trace principles. In general, you’ll need to stay on trails, only light campfires if there is no burn ban (call the Golden West Visitor Center in Stehekin for up-to-date information), and camp in designated campsites. Pack out what you pack in (even in town, when possible since all garbage is ferried out). Respect wildlife and dispose of waste properly.
Stehekin
What to do upon arriving
First, if you’re getting to Stehekin without a campsite reservation, head to the Golden West Visitor Center (the ranger station) located just after the Lakeview Campground. Here, the rangers will help you secure a site.
Next, if you’re planning on purchasing food at the General Store or using the coin-operated showers (both are connected to the Lodge at the center of town), one of the first things you should do is check their operating hours. During slower seasons, the store closes between 4:30 and 7:00 depending on the season, and the showers were locked before dusk.
Pro tip: Bring cash (this is a great idea in general in case credit card machines are down) and ask the General Store to exchange your bills for quarters to pay for the public shower rather than carry the extra weight of them while backpacking.
Activities
There are so many things to do in Stehekin! You can make your trip here as adventurous or pampered as you like.
Bike
Stehekin is a very bike-friendly town, and we loved renting bikes from Discovery Bikes. Their shop is located just past the ferry dock, and they offer commuter bike rentals, mountain bikes, and e-bikes.
We rented commuter bikes for one day, riding from town to The Garden, to the bakery, stopping at Rainbow Falls, the Buckner Orchard, the historic schoolhouse, Harlequin Campground, up to High Bridge, and back. It’s 11 miles to High Bridge, uphill the entire way, so consider renting an e-bike if you’d like to do this (we didn’t, and it was tiring after hiking 19 miles the previous two days).
Bus tour
If you’d like to see all the local sights we saw biking, but in a more relaxed manner, take a local bus tour with Stehekin Valley Adventures.
Stehekin Pastry Company
We’d heard about how amazing this bakery was before our trip and thought people raved about it because it had a captive audience. Nope, that’s not the reason at all. Not only did they have gluten-free options for Meghann, but everything on their menu was incredible. We ate here four times in the two and a half days we were in town and it’s the only backpacking trip we’ve ever gained weight on. If you do nothing else in Stehekin, eat here.
It's located one mile from the ferry landing. It’s common to hitchhike between the two, but traffic is slow. We walked there the first night we were in town and biked the other days.
Day hike
There are over 400 miles of trails near Stehekin! Visiting in spring will limit what hikes are accessible, but all should be open by fall. Check this list for hike suggestions organized by difficulty, Washington Trails for up-to-date trip reports, and look into catching a shuttle to High Bridge if you’d like to hike farther from town.
Dinner
Make reservations for dinner at the lodge or the Stehekin Valley Ranch (booking a shuttle there is optional). Each is seasonal, and opening times depend on staffing.
Fly fishing
The Stehekin River is open for catch and release from March to June, with the regular season opening from July to October. Choose to fish one of the 57 different creeks that feed Lake Chelan, or between booking a tour with the Stehekin Valley Adventures or the Stehekin Valley Ranch.
Horseback riding
The Stehekin Outfitters and Stehekin Valley Ranch both offer half and full-day horseback rides to Howard Lake or Bridge Creek. Either would be a beautiful way to explore more of Stehekin’s surroundings!
Kayaking
Kayaking is only available during the summer months. Guided kayak tours are led by the Stehekin Valley Ranch, and kayak and paddle board rentals are available from the lodge.
If you do kayak, look for the hieroglyphics that can be seen on the upper end of the lake above the water line. When they were found in 1880, the present Chelan Indians didn’t know of their history.
Unplug
We loved being disconnected while in Stehekin. There isn’t cell service anywhere in town, so we were never tempted to look at our phones unless it was to take a photo. Sitting on the lodge’s deck watching the eagle’s fish and chatting with PCT hikers was our favorite way to spend time in town. Spending time in Stehekin felt like being on island time in Hawaii — pure magic!
Getting to Chelan
The town of Chelan is where you’ll be catching the ferry to Stehekin from. It’s located in central Washington, just east of the Cascade Mountains.
If you’ll be flying into Washington, you can land at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), rent a car, and drive 3-4 hours over I-90 or Highway 2. We think Highway 2 is more scenic, but it has fewer lanes and traffic can back up (especially on weekend evenings going westbound). If you’re traveling at night, we’d recommend taking I-90.
If you’d rather shorten your drive, fly into the Pangborn Memorial Airport (EAT) in Wenatchee. The Wenatchee airport is just one hour from Chelan.
Staying in Chelan
In the spring and fall, ferries leave from Chelan at 8:00 am and 8:30 am. Spending the night before your trip in Chelan is a great idea if you’re visiting from farther away. Consider staying at one of the following places:
Chelan Houseboat — Stay on the water at the marina with jet ski and boat rentals next door, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom Sleeps 2
Lakeside Lodge and Suites — Pet friendly with lake access, sleeps 2-4
Stylish Condo Retreat — Located across the street from the lake with a shared pool, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sleeps 6
Lookout Vacation Rental — This modern lake house comes with a hot tub and views, 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, sleeps 12.
Ranger station
If you want up-to-date information, contact the ranger station in Stehekin called the Golden West Visitor Center. They’re open between mid-May and early October. We’re also happy to answer any questions you have in the comments!
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