Washington’s second-deepest lake is so clear you can see 60 feet down, and the easy hike here ends at a 90-foot waterfall

Lake Crescent drops 624 feet at its deepest point, making it the second-deepest lake in Washington after Lake Chelan. But the depth almost isn’t the wild part. This lake is so short on nitrogen that algae barely grows in it, and in places you can see straight down to 60 feet.

That clarity isn’t a filter or a rumor. The National Park Service credits it to the lake’s naturally low nitrogen levels, which starve out the phytoplankton that turn most lakes cloudy green. Without them, the water stays a deep, glassy blue that looks lit from underneath.

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The easiest way to see it up close

The Marymere Falls Trail starts near the Storm King Ranger Station and winds through old-growth forest along Barnes Creek. It’s about 1.8 miles round trip with roughly 400 feet of climbing, easy enough for most fitness levels, and it ends at a 90-foot waterfall tucked into a mossy little amphitheater.

Budget about an hour, more if you stop to gawk at the ferns. The trail is shaded almost the entire way, which is a genuine relief on a warm August afternoon, and it crosses a footbridge over the creek right before the final climb to the falls.

If Marymere leaves you wanting more of a workout, the Mount Storm King trail splits off nearby and climbs about 2,000 feet in just over two miles, including a rope-assisted scramble near the summit. My honest opinion: skip it unless you’re genuinely comfortable with exposure, because the reward is a view, not a shortcut.

The lake’s other party trick

Lake Crescent holds two types of trout, the Beardslee and the Crescenti, found nowhere else on Earth. Both are landlocked descendants of steelhead and cutthroat trout that got cut off from the ocean around 8,000 years ago, when a massive landslide dammed the valley and sealed the lake off from its old drainage.

The lake sits entirely inside Olympic National Park, about 17 miles west of Port Angeles, so you’ll need a park entrance pass to get in. Dogs aren’t allowed on the Marymere Falls trail, and if you’re getting out on the water itself, know that it’s cold and deep enough that life jackets are a real requirement, not a suggestion.

**Trip tips:** grab a rental car to get out here, lock in your hotel before the good rooms near Port Angeles are gone, or grab an America the Beautiful Pass if you’re planning more than one national park stop this trip.

Rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements before you go.

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