Bagley Lakes June Wildflower Hiking Tour – Mount Baker, Washington

Hurray, it’s the end of June and the end of the road is now open!  From Anacortes, the 2-hr ride along the Mount Baker Scenic Byway was beautiful.  We traveled from the coast, through farmland, to forest, and up to 5140 ft to the Artist Point parking lot at the end of the road!  The parking lot is now snow free, but not the surrounding area. There is still about 30 feet of snow that needs to melt before the trails from this parking lot become accessible.  That did not stop us from stomping thru the snow to get an eye-level view of both, Mount Baker and its faithful companion Mount Shuksan.  Cameras got real busy!

It was time for lunch on our Bagley Lakes June Wildflower Hiking Tour.  So, we decided to sit at one of the picnic tables near the Heather Meadows Visitor Center.  For some reason food tasted better.  Was it because of the views?  The Canadian peaks of the Coast Mountains were snow free and simply breathtaking!  By the way, the Canadian border is about 20 mi to the north from here.  Afterwards, we walked down to the viewing area by the Visitor Center (which is still closed) and admired the incredible scenery guarded by Table Mountain.  Below us was the sheltered basin, home to Bagley Lakes, our next destination.

Soon enough, we were on the trail.  The Bagley Lakes trail is an easy 2 mi loop around (you guessed) Bagley Lakes.  Immediately, we were stunned, not only by the views but also by the serenity and timelessness of the basin!  We all stood still and quiet, taking it all in.  Oh, yes, and then more photos!  You can’t get very far before stopping again to take more photos.

The patchy snow created incredible designs and textures on the already surreal landscape. In fact, there are still a few snow patches on the trail itself we had to cross.  The two tiny bridges, at opposite ends of the trail, were also fun to cross.  Waterfalls serenaded us along the way (but they won’t around much longer). After crossing the second the bridge, the trail followed alongside the stream carrying all the snowmelt from Table Mountain through Bagley Lakes. Simply beautiful…

Our mission?  Find as many wildflowers as possible.  We found 17 all together: fan-leaved cinquefoil, dandelion, rusty saxifrage, pink mountain heather, white mountain heather, bleeding heart, round-leaved violet (yellow), Sitka valerian (starting), Alaskan blueberry, false azalea, elephant’s head, alpine speedwell, small-flowered paintbrush (pink), slender bog orchid (starting), glacier lily, willows and alpine laurel. The most bizarre and interesting was the purple Elephant’s Head, the flowers look like elephant’s heads, seriously!

For the final touch, we stopped at Picture Lake for the must-take-photo of Mt Shuksan.  It was absolutely gorgeous! There, we found the meadows sprinkled in pink with pink mountain heather and alpine laurel.

What a day: blue sky, sunny and warm, patchy snow, amazing views, a fun trail, beautiful wildflowers and great company!  Thank you, Nancy, Doug and Sam for making this a fantastic first Bagley Lakes June Wildflower Hiking Tour of the season!

For more information and details click Chasing Wildflowers in the North Cascades Adventure.

Skagit Guided Adventures offers small group Nature, Hiking & Farm Tours around Anacortes, Skagit Valley, Mount Baker, the North Cascades & San Juan Islands.  Join one of these fun Adventures for a day. Or stay longer for a multi-day Adventure to “Re-Wild” Your Spirit! in NW Washington. Check out all Guided Adventures.