Leigh Lake

So….you were thinking that you would take a leisurely stroll to a beautiful alpine lake, exerting minimal effort. You might consider choosing a different hike for that. Don’t let the short distance to Leigh Lake fool you. If you think you will skip to the lake, wearing your Sunday shoes, with grandmother and the kids in tow, toting a picnic basket, you are surely in for a measure of dismay. You will work for every step on this hike. It is up, up, up, all the way! There are some rock scrambles to do, and there you will be, viewing a stunning mountain lake, surrounded by lofty mountains – but you won’t do it without paying for it in sweat and burnt calories.

I was lucky to have the sun shining, this fine Sunday. It melted much of the ice on the rocky parts of the trail. Even with poles and cleats for my boots, I did a bit of slipping and sliding. Suffice it to say, this is not wheel chair accessible. You will earn your Trail-Finding and Rock Gully Scurrying merit badges on this hike.

There is ice and snow on much of the trail. Make sure to prepare for it.

Beautiful lake - definitely worth the short but steep trail up. On the way back down, we encountered a couple of Mountain Goats on the trail, which was awesome! I will be back!

Ok three of us backpacked in after three days in Glacier. It definitely is a good uphill trail but so beautiful! One thing that I didn't notice in the comments is how the goat hang around at night. That could just be because the weekend crowd gave them a lot of reasons to come into camp (pee) or they are around most of the time.

Just be aware if you stay the night they will come into your camp after anything salty.

All and all I think this is my favorite alpine lake yet. Short but gorgeous hike, waterfalls, and magnificent rock shelves. Get out there!

Awesome hike especially in the fall. incredible colors.

recommend doing this with someone who has been before.
The trails are terribly overgrown and there are bear beds everywhere on the mountain side.
would love to try it again to make it to the top... dang it

The roads leading to the trail are full of rocks, and very bumpy, would recommend a truck. I gave this hike 4 stars because it was so beautiful by the lake with beargrass and wildflowers, plus the lake is breath-taking. We encountered 4 adults and 2 kids on this trail, would NOT recommend this for kids though... The hike is only 2.7 miles, but it's pretty much uphill the whole way to the lake, and at some parts we were rock climbing. The way up is beautiful with waterfalls and flowers, and we saw hairs from the goats but didn't see any. We got lost coming down as the many trails confused us, but head down towards the waterfalls and you'll be on the right track.

This trail is very overgrown and difficult to navigate because of it. Consistently steep climb throughout trail, and a lot of climbing over large boulders and rough terrain close to cliffs. Because of this, I would NOT recommend this hike for children. Beautiful hike though, and well worth the hard workout.

what a great hike! lots of day hikers on the trail. My husband and I decided to backpack in and camp overnight. The trail as you get closer to the lake gets a bit confusing. we went off trail a few times and missed some switchbacks (we ended up scrambling quite a bit) bit still worth it. Lots of ice on the lake but gorgeous falls. a couple tricky spots with left over snow that we ended up going over or under and around. We had a blast!

This was an amazing hike. It's pretty much straight up and you habe to do some navigating on rocky trails, but you follow a waterfall up to the lake. We hiked 5/27/17 and there was still snow crossings in a few places and the lake was still frozen, but no less beautiful. Great rewards to be had here.

Beautiful and crazy hike, but goes by before ya know it. Extremely beautiful slanted waterfall and peaceful lake! I will be back Leigh Lake!

Great hike and well maintained trail

This trail was fairly strenuous despite the short distance. There appear to have been a few significant rock slides which made portions of the trail a bit treacherous and very difficult to follow, particularly on the return trip. The lake and waterfall were both spectacular and there are many berries in the area ripe for picking.

Decent hike, not many campsites at the lake, pretty steep accent and trail finding made it more difficult.

Great trip! Friendly mountain goats galore. Scramble up to the ridge on the north side for spectacular views.

Worth the steep hike. most beautiful Lake and waterfall I've ever seen!

Amazing !!

This hike is really quite beautiful. We parked our car on the road a few miles down from the the trailhead, where the last turn is, because thats where the road started to look washed out. From there, we hiked a little under 2 miles to the trailhead to begin our hike. In hindsight, I wish we'd just risked driving to the trailhead because despite being of such short length, this hike is actually pretty strenuous. Its an almost constant steep uphill climb, with some sections in the latter half of the hike being so steep as to require using your hands as well to continue moving forward. We went on May 7th, and the lake and area immediately surrounding it still had a pretty thick layer of snow atop it. Personally, I felt the waterfall on the way up, shortly before the lake, was more worthy of the effort than the lake was. The hike was beautiful, and definitely worth trying, so long as you know the steep grade requires quite a bit slower pace than most of us probably usually hike with, and that being a short distance does not mean "it can't be that bad". Also be bear aware, as we came across bear scat right on the trail, and saw several bear tracks.

Loved the trail!

Beautiful

Beautiful scenery and views, particularly at the top. Trail is rocky and straight up for most of its length.

Nice hike. Saved us after we got snowed out elsewhere. Hiked up 19 May. Easy to find trailhead. Trailhead holds 6-7 cars before things get tight. Found trail dry all around and easy to follow as well - though goat trails can sometimes catch you not paying attention. Ice was still on the side of the lake in the shadow of Snowshoe Peak. Met a gentleman heading up that way to do some backcountry skiing as well (apparently there is access to Blackwell Glacier on other side of the ridge). Saw a few goats around the area. Some decent sized fish as well. Mosquitos weren't bad at all and even the horseflies were hardly noticeable yet. Lake is gorgeous and the area could provide nice day-hiking. Could see this being a popular hike come the heart of summer. Camping spots seem mostly reserved - though not totally limited to - area around where you first come into contact with the lake (past the thicket around the area where lake spills down into coulée you just hiked up). The distance is short and the climb is like the a lot around the Cabinet Range - quickly steep but with quick rewards. Stop by Cabinet Mountain Brewing in Libby on your way out.

This trail has a good incline making it moderate to difficult by my standards. There are a few places where the trail is a shale slide, if you don't cross at the falls. The pictures I added were taken in July of 2014 with ice still on the lake. The views and crystal clear cold water are amazing. It feels like more then 3 miles round trip.

Beautiful lake in the heart of the Cabinet Wilderness. Hike starts in the forest then breaks out onto rocky ledges. As the trail approaches a small waterfall just before the lake, the trail splits left or right. The left fork crosses through the creek and is a bit of a muddy climb up to the lake level, but there are some cables to help. If you take the right fork in the trail it is steep up around rocks and fairly slippery. If you have a heavy backpack you might want to go left. I have done it both ways and left seems easier. The lake has limited access because of a rocky steep shoreline around 3/4 of it but the rock strata around the lake is amazing. Seems to get a lot of storms in this lake depression so have rain gear if you go. Mountain goats were grazing around tents one morning.