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Fourth of July Mountain
Fourth of July Mountain makes a great winter adventure, whether via ski touring or snowshoes. It provides stunning views of Lake Chelan from the summit, although in the winter time it's common for a cloud layer to sit…
Plan This Trip
At a Glance
Distance
3.4 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain
1,240 ft
High Point
3,532 ft
Activity
Ski tour
Photo Highlights · February 2023
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Plan This Trip
Why Go
You can follow the summer trail up through the trees, and then it's likely you will lose the trail once it opens up. Continue side hilling up the mountain towards the ridge, and then follow the ridge to the summit. Snow coverage can be sparse even in the dead of winter, so if you plan on making this a ski tour you want to double check the snow conditions and expect to ding up your skis on some rocks! It also makes an excellent option for snowshoeing. Don’t expect there to be a trail to follow, as this adventure doesn’t see a lot of people.
Plan This Trip
Route & Map
Plan This Trip
Approaches
Ways to skin up. Coverage and access decide which start makes sense.
Approach
Fourth of July Approach
The Route
Follow the groomed snowmobile trail along Grade Creek Road for roughly a quarter of a mile, then cross the Antilon Lake Dam to reach the start of the summer trail. Follow the summer hiking trail up through a short forested section, and once out in the open, head south and then southwest to get onto the south face, and then proceed up to the summit, more or less following the summer trail.
What to Know
- Length: 1.5 miles
- Ascent: 120 ft
- Descent: 10 ft
Approach
Fourth of July Direct
The Route
From the edge of the sno-park, you can head directly up Fourth of July Mountain, shaving off some mileage versus taking Grade Creek Road to the start of the summer trail. The slopes are on the steeper side, and ski crampons may be useful with firm snow.
What to Know
- Length: .25 miles
- Ascent: 120 ft
Plan This Trip
Ski Descents
Lines down from the high point. Treat the names as local shorthand for the terrain, not official routes.
Ski Descent
North Fourth of July
The Line
You will want to make sure you have nice weather for this descent to allow for the amazing views of Lake Chelan, and there's a small rock outcropping at the bottom of the run that makes for the perfect break spot. Although it's possible to exit back out to Grade Creek Road from here, it's often a better choice to skin back up to the top and ski the south side back to your car.
What to Know
- Descent: 1,000 ft
Ski Descent
South Fourth of July
The Line
While the views aren't as impressive as the north side, this can be a decent ski, although being southern facing means you have elevated chances of hitting rocks, so ski carefully.
What to Know
- Descent: 600 ft
Plan This Trip
Getting There
Directions
Parking
Field Notes · Personal Trip Report
Trip Reports
I've hiked Fourth of July Mountain twice — pick a visit to read its full report.
Clear Skies
After weeks of waiting for the weather window to align, I finally skied Fourth of July in brilliant sunshine and caught the unobstructed Lake Chelan views I'd been chasing since December.
Since my early season ski tour in the beginning of December on Fourth of July Mountain, I had been wanting to get out for another ski tour in the area. However, I was waiting for a weather window to align with my schedule, as I was really hoping to have a clear day to enjoy views of the lake while skiing down. Finally that day arrived, and I took advantage, as I wasn't sure how much longer we would have enough snow to ski around the lower mountains of Lake Chelan.
During my ski tour on Johnson Creek a couple of weeks prior, I noticed it was possible to head up Fourth of July Mountain directly from the parking lot, rather than following the road / snowmobile track to Lake Antilon and then heading up on the summer trail. Arriving at the Sno Park, I decided to give it a go, as there looked to be enough coverage.
Getting up the slope was a little awkward at the start, as there was a steep bank not far up the slope, which I think is the result of a buried pipeline carrying water from Antilon Lake. Once past that part, it was straightforward skinning up. Definitely steeper than heading up the summer trail, but more direct. It didn't take long before I intersected with the summer trail and made my way onto the ridge.
There were some clouds rolling in, but I was able to get nice views of Lake Chelan and the surrounding mountains. It was nice to be able to see what I had skied from Johnson Creek, as visibility was very limited that day. The snow coverage was depleting quickly, and I figured this may be my last time out around the Anitlon Lake Sno-Park this year.
Of course once I reached the top of Fourth of July, I had limited visibility and couldn't see down to the lake. I couldn't tell if a lot more clouds had rolled in and the entire ski would be in the clouds, or this was a pocket of clouds centered around this area and things would open up as I descended. I was a bit disappointed, and considered skiing back down to the car. But ultimately I decided to stick to my original plan and ski down the northwest aspect of Fourth of July towards the lake.
The snow was firm skiing down, but consistent and I was able to link together some nice turns. After a couple hundred feet, I descended out of the clouds and was treated to amazing views of Lake Chelan. The slope below had a nice consistent fall line, however it was "bumpy". I believe this is a result of lots of bushes and fallen trees on the slope and lack of deep snowpack to cover everything up - it's something I have encountered before in the area.
As I skied on the lower part of the slope, I noticed an overlook of sorts that looked like a good place to stop. I skied down to it, took off my skis and sat on a rock outcropping, while hydrating, eating and admiring the views of the lake.
While I could have skied down a bit farther, this seemed like a good place to start traversing around the mountain, as the coverage was getting pretty thin. I eventually reached a snowmobile track on a flat section above a large gully, and had to throw the skins on. While throwing on my skins, I noticed a coyote casually trotting towards me. It stopped a hundred feet away and watched me for a bit, before heading down into the gully.
I followed the snowmobile track, which took me through a pretty Aspen stand and to the shore of Antilon Lake. The snowmobile track headed north, probably towards the forest service road that comes around the north side of the lake. I decided to break off and try and save some distance by heading straight east to connect directly with the forest service road. In theory this sounded like a good idea, but turned out to be somewhat difficult.
With the low snow coverage, it was hard to navigate some of the steeper sections and fallen logs. And at one point the underbrush was very thick, resulting in a good 'ole northwest bushwack. In hindsight, I probably would have been better off just crossing Antilon Lake, but I was by myself and not a hundred percent confident the ice would hold. I eventually reached the forest service road and then followed that back out to the car.
It was a fun tour, and cool to check out a different aspect of Fourth of July Mountain. Need to figure out a better way to get back to the forest service road. Fingers crossed I can get a bluebird day with fresh powder in the coming seasons.
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on this trip report · Feb 2023
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