Mt. Baker Places Hike Artist Point, WA

Chain Lakes Loop

Holds snow weeks after road opens

Our pick for the best day hike at Mt. Baker — 6.5 miles of lakes under Table Mountain

Iceberg Lake on the Chain Lakes Loop below Table Mountain with Mount Baker beyond the basin
Photo: Dan Ust, CC BY-SA 4.0. Edited.
Map Artist Point, WA · Open in Google Maps
From our cabins 45 min from the A-frame · 1 hr from the Red Cabin
Hours Days shift seasonally up here — check before you drive. Last verified August 17, 2026.

Ask us for one day hike and this is the answer. The Chain Lakes Loop strings Iceberg, Hayes, and the Mazama Lakes together under Table Mountain — 6.5 miles, 1,820 feet of gain, a 5,400-foot high point, with Mt. Baker on one side and Mt. Shuksan on the other for most of it.

Route choice matters more than fitness. Start at Artist Point and hike clockwise to get the climbing done early. You can also start from Austin Pass at Heather Meadows or from the Bagley Lakes trailhead, but the low starts pay about 700 feet over 0.8 miles just to reach Artist Point, which is a rough way to begin. Being above 5,000 feet, the loop holds snow for weeks after the road opens (June 10 this year). It anchors our best hikes near Mt. Baker list, and the correct order back at the A-frame afterward is sauna, cold rinse, hot tub.

Know before you go

  • Round trip: 6.5-mile loop
  • Elevation gain: 1,820 feet; high point 5,400 feet
  • Trailheads: Artist Point (paved, end of SR 542), Austin Pass, or Bagley Lakes
  • Northwest Forest Pass ($5 day / $30 annual) or America the Beautiful pass required
  • High sections hold snow for weeks after the Artist Point road opens in June

Nearby & similar

Mount Shuksan reflected in Picture Lake at Heather Meadows in autumn color

Picture Lake

The Mt. Shuksan reflection shot — a 0.6-mile paved loop, genuinely stroller-friendly

 Alpine tarns and rocky knolls in the Bagley Lakes basin at Heather Meadows with Mount Baker beyond

Bagley Lakes

An easy two-mile basin walk below the ski area, and a back door onto the Chain Lakes Loop

 The North Fork Nooksack River flowing through evergreen forest beside the Horseshoe Bend trail corridor

Horseshoe Bend

Mossy river miles along the North Fork Nooksack — the low hike that works all year

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