Box Canyon

With snow gracing the upper peaks of the Chelan Valley for the last week or so, it hopefully won't be long before we start seeing snow at lower elevations. That means skiing time, but also an end to hiking, and I wanted to check out the new Box Canyon trail before it was too late. Ending work a little early on a clear crisp fall day allowed me just enough time to head over to Twenty Five Mile Creek area and explore the new trail.

The date to what I assume will be the trailhead parking area was closed, but I found a spot along the road to park. There were a couple other cars parked along the road, and as I excited my car and walked towards the trail I encountered an older couple returning from hiking the trail. They mentioned they had encountered an excavator working on the second section of the trail. I also ran into another group of two hikers half way through the hike - quite a lot of people for a random Thursday afternoon!

I started up the trail, unsure of what I would encounter for trail conditions. The trail is in good shape, relatively smooth but not completely compacted as expected. They did a nice job with the switchbacks and keeping the grade of the trail fairly mellow as you progress up the mountainside, the opposite of our recent hike Fourth of July Mountain, where my parents mentioned the trail could use some switchback versus going straight up.

Start of the trail

While the start of the trail has you staring up Twenty Five Mile Creek, once you start switchbacking you have pretty good views of Lake Chelan through the open meadows. There is an occasional burnt out tree along the way, but otherwise it's through open meadows - this section is definitely going to be a hot hike in the summer months.

Views of Lake Chelan

After roughly 14 switchbacks, the trail levels out and starts heading towards the lake, with a one final switchback before entering a more forested area, which will be a welcome relief if hiking in the hotter months. You still have some obstructed views of Lake Chelan through the trees, but if you are looking for a turnaround point, this would be a good place, as soon the trail starts descending down through the forest towards the lake.

Start of forested section

I progressed along the second section of the trail as it started to switchback down the mountain towards the lake, I could hear the excavator up ahead. It was working on a section of the trail, and while I probably could have skirted around it and kept hiking on the trail, I decided this was a good turnaround spot at 2 miles into the hike.

Turn around point

I retraced my steps and decided to venture off the trail at one point to catch a better view of the mountains uplake, trying to see how much snow they had. I followed a deer trail for a short bit along the side of the mountain. More snow on the higher peaks than what I can see from my house, but still not enough for skiing. Hopefully we get some more snow soon and I can get out nearby, otherwise I may have to head up to the Washington Pass area for an early ski.

View uplake

I followed the trail back to the car - I'm really excited about this trail, I think it's going to be hands down one of the best hikes around Lake Chelan. I believe the third section of the trail will have some water access as well, which will be awesome in the summer, as no other trails that are reachable by car provide direct access to the lake to cool off with a swim!