Ptarmigan Ridge
Mount Shuksan on the way up to the Portals East
Ptarmigan Ridge stands as one of my all-time favorite hikes in Washington state, a true gem that gets better with every journey. I've tackled this trail three times, and each adventure has its own unique charm.
This hike is beginning to see more usage and crowds in the past couple of years. When I did this hike for the first time in 2019, I remember not seeing a lot of people. The crowds thin out by the time you reach the junction with the Chain Lakes Loop as most people are headed there instead of Ptarmigan Ridge. However, you can still find some solitude if you go on a weekday.
In this blog post, I'll share the best times to hike Ptarmigan Ridge and reveal the prime spots to pitch your tent along this breathtaking trail. Join me as we explore the wonders of Ptarmigan Ridge and uncover tips to make your hike unforgettable.
Distance:
13.1 miles
Area:
Mount Baker Wilderness
Elevation Gain:
2403 feet
Pass:
America the Beautiful or NW Forest Pass
Overview
Camping along the ridge at the unofficial intersection to Goat Lakes.
The Ptarmigan Ridge Trail is a stunning 9-mile round trip hike located in the Mount Baker Wilderness. This trail offers some of the most breathtaking alpine scenery in the region, featuring panoramic views of glaciers, volcanic peaks, and lush wildflower meadows. Starting at the Artist Point trailhead, the path winds through rocky terrain and open ridges, providing hikers with unobstructed vistas of Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan.
The trail is moderately challenging, with an elevation gain of approximately 2,000 feet, making it suitable for experienced hikers. Along the way, you’ll traverse snowfields, cross rocky outcrops, and encounter a variety of alpine flora and fauna. The ever-changing landscape, from vibrant meadows to rugged volcanic rock, ensures a dynamic and visually rewarding hiking experience.
Ptarmigan Ridge is typically accessible from mid-summer to early fall, when the snow has melted and the trail is clear. Whether you’re doing it as a day hike or an overnight trip, make sure you carve out plenty of time to explore this area.
Getting to the Trailhead
Coordinates: 48.8463, -121.6927
The road to Artist Point can be closed for long periods of time due to snow and other factors, with the window for it to open sometimes as short as two months. If you’re planning a visit prior to August, I suggest checking the road status for Artist Point here. When it’s open, the road is easy to follow and don’t forget to enjoy the views along the way.
The most straightforward way to access the Ptarmigan Ridge trail is from Artist Point trailhead. If the road is closed or the parking lot is full, you can park at the lower lots at Austin Pass or the Bagley Lakes backcountry lots. This will add an extra mile to your hike with some elevation gain on the Wild Goose Trail.
I’ve actually had better luck showing up later in the day especially on the weekends. That’s usually when day hikers and overnight backpackers complete their trip. I do think getting to the trail early is still preferred, but don’t fret if you’re not an early person.
Hiking the Ptarmigan Ridge Trail
Hitting the 3.8 mile mark on the trail where views are starting to open up.
I would describe this trail as moderate to strenuous. Most of the trail is fairly moderate especially if you’re already accustomed to the type of terrain on any of the hikes along the I-90 corridor. AllTrails and Washington Trails Association (WTA) both show this hike to be about 9 miles roundtrip but to get to the climbers’ path where the trail officially ends at the Portals East, I’ve clocked about 13 miles with a total gain of 2400 feet.
However, hiking to the Portals East is completing optional. Once you get to the 3.8 mile mark and a wide flat spot, there are views pretty much all around. Those who feel adventurous can continue on to hike up to Camp Kiser where there are several exposed campsites. Those who feel content with the views down here can opt to head down to the Goat Lakes (not named on the map) or camp anywhere along the ridge. More details about finding camp later in this post. There aren’t a whole lot of water sources once you reach this point of the hike. However, it is possible that snow patches lingering late into the season. I’ve gotten water from either Goat Lakes or by melting snow.
If you plan on melting snow, don’t forget to bring extra fuel. I brought two isobutane fuel canisters just in case I needed more water than I need. Melting snow requires more fuel than you think!
The unofficial junction to head down to Goat Lakes or continue onto Portals East.
The hike is straightforward on a clear and sunny day. However, I’ve hiked this trail in thick fog and it makes wayfinding a little tricky at times. I always download a map for offline access. I use GaiaGPS but any other app would work including AllTrails. Both apps do require you to have a premium subscription to download offline maps. For this trip, I did pack a paper map but I didn’t actually have a compass with me so that would’ve been sort of useless.
The first couple of times I’ve done this trail, I actually didn’t get any views on the way in. I’ve always had to hike in misty and foggy conditions. There were small snowfields that I needed to traverse over in order to continue onto the trail. This was when the offline maps came in handy as there were a few different tracks on the snow field and that made it difficult to determine which one was the right way.
Camping along Ptarmigan Ridge
Every time I did Ptarmigan Ridge, I camped at a different spot. The first time, I camped near Camp Kiser, which is marked on the map. The second time, I ventured down to the lake so I could be close to a water source. The third time I did this trail, I decided to just camp on the ridge at the 3.8 mile mark I mentioned above. Each spot offers something unique so let’s get into the details.
Camping at Camp Kiser
Camp Kiser is the only spot that’s marked on the map. I camped here the first time I did this trail and didn’t take a whole lot of pictures so I don’t really have one to show what the campsite looks like. My friend and I were following along the map. We did this trail in September of 2019 and there was still a decent amount of snow even at Camp Kiser. We hiked off the trail for a little bit and decided to pitch our tents on a dry spot. There was a small water source nearby so we didn’t have to melt snow. We knew this was an established campsite because there was wind blocker built with rocks. This helped as the winds definitely picked up late at night and that was when the rain started to pour as well. I didn’t really have a good time the first time I did this trail. We quickly packed up the next day as we knew we would be hiking in rain and fog the entire time until we reached our cars at Artist Point.
Camping at Goat Lakes
I decided to return to the Ptarmigan Ridge trail in September of 2021. This was a solo backpacking trip. I was just starting to feel more comfortable solo backpacking after I did a couple of solo trips. The hike in was mostly foggy and misty with tiny pockets of sunshine here and there. I was following two girls on the trail. They happened to also be looking for a place to camp. They’ve heard that the lakes would be a good spot to camp. Prior to starting the hike, I had checked in with the ranger station and the lakes do exist.
However, they were not easy to find in less than ideal conditions. There was no clear trail leading to the lakes. It was mainly a boot path that lead you to the lakes. Right when you get to the 3.8 mile park, you will see Coleman Pinnacle to your right. If it’s foggy, look for a trail that climbs uphill to your right. To the left was the boot path down to the lakes. It was a steep 0.5 mile hike down to the lakes and at times muddy so take your time here.
This spot is good if you want easy access to water without having to melt any snow. This area felt rather exposed even though it was located in the basin. The views were definitely lacking a little bit here. There was minimal tree coverage unless you hike further to the left. There were some small hills that offered more tree coverage but those spots were already taken by the time I got there.
The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. The clouds cleared occasionally and I could see the top of Mount Baker very occasionally until it was once again covered. I did have an enjoyable time hanging out by the lake and thinking about how I have accomplished yet another solo backpacking trip.
Overlooking one of the lakes as the clouds roll back in shortly after
Resting after pitching my tent and Tex enjoying the views as much as I did.
Camping along the Ridge
The third time I went, I decided to be lazy and just take one of the first spots I saw when I went down the same dirt path I did a couple years ago, heading towards Goat Lake. This spot was hard to pass up as I was getting a fantastic view of Mount Baker to the right and Mount Shuksan to the left. This trip was a last minute decision so I didn’t really have any expectations coming into it. By the time I got to this spot, it was already 5:30pm. I was also lucky that I found one of the last few spots remaining in the Artist Point parking lot.
I was lucky and didn’t experience too much windy at night at this spot. Sometimes I do worry because this spot was definitely one of the most exposed ones. Since I got to setting up camp kind of late, another spot that had some tree coverage was already taking by another group. Nonetheless, I was extremely satisfied with this one and was ready to make dinner and relax for the rest of the night.
The sunset from this campsite was unbeatable, compared to the two previous times I’ve done this trail as an overnighter. Although there was some haze and smoke lingering in the air, the skies were as clear as they could get. I was able to get an amazing view of Mount Shuksan and was able to spot Glacier Peak from afar as well.
After making dinner, I hung out at a close by rock and sat there for a long while and enjoyed nature showing off in its finest hour with my dog Tex. I was so happy I decided to make this last minute trek up to Ptarmigan Ridge and was able to find such a prime spot to call home for the night.
The sun beginning to set.
If you continue on, you will eventually embark on the same dirt path down to the lake.
Mount Shuksan.
Hiking to Portals East
Even though I had done Ptarmigan Ridge three times, I’ve only hiked up to the Portals East once and this was part of the second time I did this trail. I woke up at around 6:30am the next day, hoping to witness one of the best sunrises in the backcountry. Unfortunately, there was still a thick layer of fog hanging low. From my campsite, I was supposed to be able to see Mount Baker but due to the weather, I didn’t see anything. However, I was already out here in nature so I deiced to hang out at camp for a little longer before packing up. At around 11:00am, I decided to pack up. The skies were looking a little more promising at this point. In my head, I was debating whether it would be worth it to hike to the Portals East.
Clouds were still hanging low when I was hiking up to the Portals East.
By the time I got to junction I was at the day before, about 3.8 miles into the hike, I saw 3 other hikes that were heading towards the Portals East. They actually stopped to take a few photos with Mount Baker in the back. The skies did finally clear up. However, I was gassed out just from hiking the 0.5 mile dirt path back to the junction. I chatted with the 3 folks for a little bit and they all encouraged me to hike to the Portals East. After contemplating for a little bit, I decided to trek on, with 25lbs on my back because I didn’t want to stash the backpack in the bushes since I didn’t have a day pack with me and needed water.
I generally feel a less motivated to cover more mileage and elevation gain when I do solo hikes and I was concerned about the weight of my pack too but I was so glad I hiked to the Portals East. On the way to the unmaintained trail, I passed by a ton of campsites on the way to Camp Kiser. There were also more scattered along both sides of the trail. As expected, a lot of these sites were exposed and there was no real water source unless you melt snow.
After huffing and puffing while struggling with my heavy pack, I made it to the unmaintained portion of the trail. This part required a little of wayfinding and a tiny bit of scrambling as there were some boulders to step and climb over. This part became more difficult with my overnight pack on. I persevered and pushed on and was rewarded by 360 views of all the surrounding peaks, including Mount Baker. I was so happy that I made the trek up despite the struggles.
I was able to get an close-up view of Mount Baker and the surrounding peaks. The skies were so clear that I could spot Glacier Peak looming in the distance. I almost cried but I held back my tears and decided to have some snacks and hydrate.
Close up shot of glaciers on Mount Baker.
View of Mount Baker after hiking along the unmaintained trail towards the Portals East.
Finals Thoughts
I love this hike so much that I have done it 3 times. Each experience offered something different. When I decided to hike up to the Portals East the second time, I promised myself that I will return to this area again. Every hike situated in the Mount Baker Wilderness is absolutely worth every mile.
Whenever people ask me about this hike, I always tell them to ‘choose your own adventure’. I’ve stopped at various points along the trail and never felt disappointed except for maybe the first time when I was quite literally just camping in the fog. But there’s still something special about being out here, knowing that you are surrounded by Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan and neighboring peaks. However, if you ask me, I suggest camping along the ridge. It can become risky during the late season as there might not be patches of snow nearby for you to filter water. If you opt for this option, be sure to fill up along the creeks and snow melt along the hike. There were several.
This hike will always be a special one to me and I hope you find some magic along the trail as well.
Every time I complete a hike in the Mount Baker Wilderness area, I always enjoy stopping by North Fork Brewery for a post-hike bite and drink. They have wifi and amazing pizza and brews too! Be sure to check out Gunners Tex Mex BBQ as well if you’re not feeling pizza. If you’re absolutely starving by the time you are done with the hike, you can pick up a snack and a house made blueberry lemonade at the Heather Meadows Cafe as well! Their summer hours at Friday to Sunday from 11:00am to 5:30pm.
Resources
🌲 Wilderness Regulations - USFS resource on wilderness regulations
🌲 Ptarmigan Ridge Trail on WTA - Trail description, passes and directions
🌲 Mount Baker Wilderness - check trail conditions and fire restrictions
🌲 Chain Lakes Loop - a 6.1 mile hike in the Mount Baker Wilderness area
🌲 Lake Ann - a 9-mile hike in the Mount Baker Wilderness area
🌲 North Fork Brewery - pizza and beers, perfect spot for a post-hike nom
🌲 Gunners Tex Mex BBQ - the latest addition to a growing list of restaurants in Glacier
🌲 Heather Meadows Cafe - closest food place near Artist Point
