LakeUnited States · US
Thornton Lakes
Thornton Lakes is a cluster of three glacial cirque lakes tucked high in the North Cascades of Washington State, reached by a challenging but magnificent day hike or overnight backpack from the North Cascades Highway. From a forested ridge overlooking the lakes, hikers are rewarded with sweeping panoramas of the Picket Range's dagger-like peaks, Mount Triumph, and the Skagit Valley far below. The route begins gently along a decommissioned logging road, then climbs through cool old-growth hemlock forest before bursting into heather-and-huckleberry meadows just below the ridge. Below, the steep descent to the lowest lake reveals classic alpine basins carved by retreating glaciers—a landscape so dramatic that many hikers call it the best view in the park.