Ingalls Creek Trail, right outside of Leavenworth, is a fantastic early-season hike and a lovely one for backpackers, both old and new.
Even though I’ve lived in Washington my whole life, I had not heard of this easily accessible trail, right outside of my favoritest town on earth.
As most of you know, Leavenworth is known for its iconic hike, The Enchantments. Requiring hard-to-get permits for overnight camping or requiring a very long and strenuous thru-hike for the quick and dirty version (somewhere between 19-22 miles), it requires a lot of research, planning and luck.
And the fame of the Enchantments tends to overshadow many other lovely hikes in the area, including the Ingalls Creek Trail.
Once I read about Ingalls Creek in my favorite Alpine Lakes hiking book, I knew this would be the perfect early-season hike for me and my boys. An easy overnight with a reward stop in Leavenworth afterwards? Not a hard sell.
Plus, I just got a new tent, the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2, and I could not wait to try it out.
Why Hike Ingalls Creek Trail?
Here are a few reasons this trail is the perfect choice for an early season hike:
- Low crowds
- Easy access (ie sedan-friendly)
- Kid-friendly, especially for new hikers and backpackers
- Lots of water!
- Easy trail with moderate elevation gain
- Many campsites dispersed throughout
- Convenient: no campsite permits needed
- Views of the backside of the Enchantments
Basically, this is a choose-your-own adventure kind of trail (see AllTrails or Gaia for all sorts of connecting trails to add some challenging elevation, if desired), or read trip reports on Washington Trails Association to learn about other side adventures.
And yes, this trail does lead all the way over to the popular Lake Ingalls. Normally accessed via the much shorter Ingalls Lake trail, this backdoor approach is a much longer 28.9 mile out and back, so keep that in mind if you choose to hike in that far.
But here are a few things to consider on this trail:
- Rattlesnake sightings reported by many.
- One trip report of ticks, which are becoming more of a problem in Washington. More on this in our story report below.
- Heat. Parts of the trail are very exposed and mid- to late-summer can be very unpleasant.
- Lack of detailed, mapped out campsites. If you are someone that likes to know exactly what camp you are hiking to, pick out one of the larger ones noted on AllTrails or Gaia. Otherwise, just hike in and start scouting.
Ingalls Creek Hike: The Details
Distance: The full trail runs roughly 14 miles all the way to Lake Ingalls, but there are other side trails as well, so the full distance and adventure is up to you! There are campsites starting at less than a mile in.
Oh, and if you think hiking further in is where all the best campsites are, not so on this trail. Many of the camps less than 5 miles in are gorgeous and highly coveted. This is perfect for new backpackers.
Also, if you do decide to tackle any of the connector trails that cross the creek, make sure to read trip reports and map out a route. I hear the hike up to the mountains on the other side is VERY steep, and fording the creek can be tricky in some spots.
Elevation gain: ~2,000 ft over the 9 miles we went. Very gradual. The elevation gain all the way to Lake Ingalls is just over 5,000 ft.
Permits/Passes: Northwest Forest Pass or American the Beautiful pass.
Best time of year: Depends on the year, but typically late May to early October.
Dogs: Pups are allowed on Ingalls Creek Trail. However, please note that dogs are NOT allowed at Lake Ingalls.
Privies: We did not see any backcountry privies on the first 9 miles of this trail (apart from a nice bathroom at the parking lot). Bring a trowel, dig catholes 7-9” deep at least 200 ft from any water source. PACK OUT your toilet paper. For more information, check out this handy guide.
And of course, always practice leave-no-trace principles and pack out everything that you packed in. That includes dog crap. I know people say they pick up those gross doggy bags on the side of the trail, but I am so tired of seeing them. Please don’t leave them on the ground.
Our Trip on the Ingalls Creek Trail
Day 1
Ingalls Creek Trailhead is just “quick” two hour drive from Seattle. Since we already knew this wasn’t a typically overcrowded trail, we felt no guilt in leaving the house at the crack of 8:30am. Also, given we “only” had nine, relatively easy miles to hike and loads of daylight hours, no stress on a later start.
We arrived at the trailhead on a beautiful sunny morning in late June at 10:30am. The drive was easy and the parking lot was maybe ¼ full when we pulled in. And for those of you with sedans like me, the road is mostly paved and easy peasy. Any car can make it!
We slapped my America the Beautiful on the dashboard and hit the trail.
The trail starts off nice and gentle. The elevation gain starts to pick up as you go, but it’s gradual. The day was clear and warm but not overly so. Perfect conditions for backpacking.
Bugs? Surprisingly not bad at all.
Ticks, you ask? Like I said, there was ONE trip report on AllTrails that mentioned ticks. I told this to Soren. I should not have told this to Soren.
While we drove, unbeknownst to me, Soren researched ticks. Soren decided this was a credible threat and proceeded to hike the entire way in a full sweatshirt, long pants, and socks pulled up over his pant legs.
It was hot. He was sweating like a beast but refused to remove a stitch of clothing. Along with these shenanigans, we had stop every 20 minutes or so for a tick check. I love 15 year olds.
No amount of convincing would change Soren’s mind. Someone might get a tick, and Soren’s mission was to prevent this. Nevermind the very real chance we might see a rattlesnake. Far less of a concern. Oy vey.
What could Theron and I do but go along with this. He was a cranky mess. Hot, tired, stinky, and very worried about a small, spider-like creature. Things were starting off great.
But let’s get back to the trail itself.
I’m not going to pretend the scenery is anywhere near as phenomenal as the Enchantments or other Alpine lakes areas. But it’s a lovely trail, with the rushing sound of pure, refreshing water ever present as you hike.
Do keep a lookout for rattlesnakes. Twice we heard a rattle in the bushes, so clearly they are around. No sightings, thankfully.
So our plan was to hike 9 miles in and start looking for camps at that point. If you have map, my goal was something before or after the cut off for Fourth Creek.
Once Strava hit the 9 mile mark, we started scouting. Soon enough we found this little entrance, pictured above. We were welcomed to a quaint little site alongside the creek.
If you see this giant stump as you hike in on your left, you know you’ve hit the right place. There is another cute site just a little bit further up, but we came back for this one.
Despite our “late” start, we got to camp by 3pm. That gave Theron and me plenty of time to explore, relax, and enjoy. Soren mostly hid from ticks in his tent.
As I mentioned, this trip was the perfect opportunity to test out my new Big Agnes tent. It’s fab and I love it. But this was also a chance to try out my homemade backcountry meals before embarking on any longer, more physically demanding trips.
You know how it is. Mountain House gets expensive, and ramen gets old. I was ready to start dehydrating my own creations, with a little help from recipes created by Backcountry Foodie. I signed up for a year subscription and got to work.
I was a little worried about the end result, but this parmesan pesto was excelente. Boys agreed it was a winner. So easy to make and super filling. Probably cost less than $10 for 4 servings.
Parmesan pesto + hot chocolate packets made for an easy and relaxing evening.
Day 2
After an uneventful night, we packed up and hiked out. On the trail by 8am, we were back to the car before noon.
Heard another rattler or two on our way out, but nothing major. More importantly, Soren, after a good night’s sleep, gave up on resisting all things tick and lightened up on the clothing. We were all relieved.
After an 9 easy miles, the boys got their reward, a trip to Leavenworth. We rode the Alpine coaster for the first time and ate obligatory sausages before driving the 2 hours back home.
A fun, rewarding and successful backpacking trip. Ingalls Creek trail is a winner! I will be back.
For the record, tick sightings: 0
