Pot Peak

Pot Peak climbs nearly 4,800 feet from 1,900 feet to a 6,670-foot summit along a ridge above Lake Chelan. The trail was built for multiple uses and sees more mountain bikers and dirt bikers than hikers, with reinforced switchbacks designed for two-wheeled traffic. The actual summit of Pot Peak sits at about 4,700 feet around the 4.25-mile mark, but the trail continues along an exposed ridge with views of Stormy Mountain, the Chelan Valley, and peaks in the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness.

The terrain burned in both 2004 and 2021, and the recovery is ongoing. Dark trunks and fresh understory growth define the landscape, giving the ridge an open, stark character. The pumice soil turns soft and deep in late summer, slowing travel and eating at your ankles. Water is scarce: one small trickle at 1.3 miles, then nothing. Fill up at Twenty-Five Mile Creek before you start.

This is an isolated, sun-baked climb on the drier east side of the Cascades. Early starts matter here because the exposed ridge bakes in afternoon heat. The reward is genuine solitude and panoramic views across the Chelan country. Wildflowers carpet the recovering meadows in late spring and early summer.