Trip Report
Basic Backpack - Chinook Pass to Laughingwater Creek
Outstanding lakes and berries on a relaxed itinerary
Alina Badus
- Fri, Aug 8, 2025 — Sun, Aug 10, 2025
- Basic Backpack - Chinook Pass to Laughingwater Creek
- Dewey Lake, Naches Peak Loop & Pacific Crest Trail
- Backpacking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Trails are in excellent shape. Good campsites at all lakes, although it would be challenging to fit a larger group.
We did this as a one-way hike from Chinook Pass to Laughingwater Creek trailhead, as described in Craig Romano's backpacking book. It seems relatively easy to get a permit for the group site at Three Lakes in Mt. Rainier NP. We enjoyed swimming in American Lake, (one of the) Two Lakes, and (one of the) Three Lakes, and sampled several kinds of huckleberries and blueberries along the way. Flower meadows were stunning at this time of the year, and views of Rainier were good along the PCT. Beautiful, old-growth, mossy woods along Laughingwater Creek trail, where we saw nobody even on a summer Sunday.
Highly recommend this route for an off-the-beaten track trip that's still very accessible; happy to share more info with trip leaders.
