Northwest Wildflowers

Wildflower Destinations > Washington Cascades (Central)

The Enchantments

Chelan County, Washington

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Fees: NW Forest Pass

Activity: hiking/backpacking

Elevation: 3425'-7840'

Current status (as of 3/28/24): not blooming

Notes: You must enter a permit lottery to stay overnight in the Enchantments. Day hiking doesn't require a permit, just time and endurance: a round trip to Perfection Lake via Colchuck Lake is about 16 miles with more than 5000' of elevation gain, and a full traverse from one trailhead to the other is about 20 miles, with 4500' of gain and 6500' of loss. (If you want to do an out-and-back, the west side is MUCH more interesting than the east.)

Peak wildflower bloom in The Enchantments is typically from late July through August into early September, but there may be some flowers blooming from early July until the end of September.*

Typical year:

Featured plants: Hackelia taylorii, Saxifraga oppositifolia, Geum rossii var. depressum, Silene acaulis

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* The dates given on this Web site for each location's blooming season are only estimates and can vary from year to year. Weather conditions in the winter and spring can shift these dates by up to a month, especially in the mountains. For the latest updates, check the Oregon Wildflowers or PortlandHikers Facebook groups, or browse the most recent postings to iNaturalist or Instagram.