The Enchantments

A granite wonderland of alpine lakes and larches, the Enchantments sit high in Washington's Central Cascades near Leavenworth, a basin of polished rock, turquoise tarns, and golden autumn trees ringed by jagged peaks.

The classic through-hike covers about 18 miles from the Stuart Lake trailhead to the Snow Lakes trailhead, gaining around 4,500 feet, with the crux the brutal 2,000-foot climb up Aasgard Pass in under a mile. Fit hikers do it in a single very long day of ten to fourteen hours.

Practical detail: overnight camping in the Enchantment Permit Area requires a fiercely competitive lottery permit, among the hardest in the country to secure; day hiking needs no permit but demands strong fitness and a car shuttle. Mountain goats are habituated and best given space.

Late September brings the famous larch turn, when the needles blaze gold, though it also brings crowds and the risk of early snow; the snow-free window runs July through October. The upper basin's arctic feel and mountaineering history make it a revered corner of the Cascades.