Trip Report
Independence & North Lakes
An early October hike to two alpine lakes.
Jim Griffing
- Tue, Oct 7, 2025
- Independence & North Lakes
- Day Hiking
- Successful
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- Road rough but passable
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The trail to Independence Lake is in good shape. Continuing up to the ridge above North Lake I encountered five blowdowns. Most of these were near the top. All but one were easy to get past. I have included a photo of the most difficult one.
The trail down to North Lake from the high point on Helena Ridge is more of a boot path. There were a couple of places where I questioned whether I was on the intended trail or a use trail. The trail on Gaia is not accurate for most of the downhill switchback section - the actual trail is slightly north of what Gaia shows.
I arrived at the Independence Lake Trailhead around 8:30 AM. No other vehicles were present.
The drive up was pretty uneventful. The road is in good shape until you get about a mile from the top. From there potholes are present - none of them are too bad, but higher clearance will help.
I hiked to Independence Lake and took a few photos. I also checked out the campsites at the north end of the lake - there is room for lots of campers.
I continued up the trail toward Helena Ridge. There are nice views to the east from the top of the ridge. White Chuck, Pugh and Glacier Peak were all visible.
The trail deteriorates once you pass Helena Ridge. It is more of a boot path and is eroded in places. North Lake is beautiful - especially with the fall colors. There is not much room to camp - I only saw one suitable spot with room for one tent. Most of the lakeshore is steep. The best spot for a swim seems to be right where the trail arrives at the lake. Bring some water shoes as it is a rocky / muddy bottom.
My hike was 6.5 miles with 2700' of gain and took just over 4 hours. I never saw another person.
On the way out I stopped briefly at the Coal Lake trailhead to take a quick peak at that lake. It too is beautiful and has a good size camp area. The walk to Coal Lake is very short.
