Icicle Ridge Hike

Published on 2026-06-30 by Michael Stanton

I had a few days in the Leavenworth area, and right away decided to do an old favorite hike: Icicle Ridge from town all the way to the Fourth of July Creek Trail, which I'd follow down into Icicle Canyon and then hitch a ride back to my car. I'd done this alone or with friends several times in the old days.

Looking down to Leavenworth...

Looking into the Stuart Range across the valley...

Flowers.

Once more, some flowering things.

The grand inquisitor, Mount Stuart!

Resting the tired feet...

A neat thing happened on the hitchhike back to my car. A few cars drove by, but then one stopped for me, driven by a woman with her parents. I discovered the woman lives in Germany, north of Munich, working for the American military. So we had a nice conversation in German and the parents were flabbergasted in an entertaining way. Something about picking up a hitchhiker and discovering this interesting connection just bowled them over.

So it was a very fun experience!

*15 miles, 6050 feet elevation gain.