We did an overnight at hidden hand camp ground. Only about 3mi into the east bank trail. The trail was pretty flat and in the trees so good for a hot day. No views of the lake from the trail but after we set up camp we continued past hidden hand camp and there is a great view of the Ruby Hand part of Ross Lake. Also was able to climb down to the water and go swimming, highly recommend! We saw a black bear about 20 ft from the trail when we were leaving the next morning so we were happy we had bear canisters. Would also recommend carrying bear spray anywhere in the North Cascades. Overall very enjoyable and great on a hot day to take a swim.

Two day, one night trip on the East Bank Trail, starting at the East Bank Trailhead and camping at the Devil’s Creek Hiker Camp.

While not strictly about the trail itself, anyone new to backcountry camping in the North Cascades may find my experience about getting the site reservation useful: walk-up reservations for the North Cascades allow you to make an in-person reservation either the day or the day before the first day of your reservation becomes effective.  With the intent of getting a reservation at Devil’s Creek Hiker Camp on Friday night, I drove up to the Marblemount Wilderness Information Center, arriving at 7am on Thursday.  The line at the WIC was managed by a take-a-number system, and I waited about 45 minutes to make the in-person reservation with a ranger.  There was only one spot left open for Devil’s Creek Hiker Camp for Friday night, and I was concerned that one of the parties making reservations in front of me would take it, but it was still available.  I would advise anyone interested in walk-up reservations get there as early as they can stomach, especially if their backpacking itinerary is inflexible regarding camping location.

As for the hike itself: the East Bank Trail is a relatively flat, well maintained, easy to navigate trail.  Though the name isn’t technically a misnomer, anyone expecting a 12 mile hike directly along Ross Lake will be disappointed; you don’t really get any good unobstructed views of the lake until after Rainbow Point, which is almost 9 miles in.  The hike prior to Rainbow Point switches between coniferous and deciduous forest, with multiple shallow stream crossings.  Only the ford at Roland Creek is likely to get your feet wet, though.  The forest scenery is nice, and a variety of dominant trees and undergrowth keeps it compelling.

After Rainbow Point, the trail does drop down next to the lake (though you’re still up on a bank; don’t expect to use the lake as an easy water source at any point), and this section is beautiful, with the trail sandwiched between a steep drop off to Ross Lake on the west side, and rugged rock formations on the east.   It’s easy to start watching a canoe going up Ross Lake and forget to watch your footing.  There is a suspension bridge that crosses Devil’s Creek about 1.5 miles short of the campground, and the views from it are the best on the entire hike.

Devil’s Creek Hiker campground mostly lacks these views; of the four sites, the rightmost site (up on top of a rock) has pretty good unobstructed views of Ross Lake.  This one was, unfortunately, occupied when I arrived early Friday afternoon, so I settled for the leftmost site, which offered decent privacy.  I did find a way down through fallen snags behind the site to get an ok view of the lake and surrounding mountains, but it wasn’t an enjoyable crawl.

Signage on the trail is top-notch; there’s a post engraved with the name of every campsite you come across, and trail/mileage markers are clearly situated and easy to read.  Mosquitoes were awful, resulting in some very thorough field testing of my bug spray.

All and all, a nice two day trip that only disappointed in its relative stinginess of lake views.

Arrived at the East Bank Trail trailhead just before 9:30am. There were 6 cars in the parking lot when I arrived. Took quick note of the posted map, facilities open and in good condition.

Hiked East Bank to the junction to Hidden Hand camp, and followed that trail past Hidden Hand to the lookout over Ruby Arm, which made a lovely place for lunch. All was quiet on the trail, only passed 2 pairs of hikers my entire time on trail and had the lookout to myself. Round trip was just under 7 miles.

Trail is in good good condition and easy to follow, 3 small shallow crossings were easy enough to rock skip over.

Four night backpack covering the entire East Bank Trail from Hozomeen to the Ross Dam Trailhead with my 83 year old mother.  The boat dropped us off at Hozomeen and I walked to the border and back to make sure to complete the entire trail.  Day 1 to Hozomeen Lake.  The trail went up about 1300' in about 5 miles but it was gentle and hardly noticeable after the beginning.  Some ripe berries and nice forest views.  Good bear country but we didn't see any that day.  At Hozomeen there are two camps plus a group camp.  The group camp is close to a day use area but because of COVID we didn't see anyone and had the lake to ourselves.  At dusk we heard the call of the loon and also a barred owl.  Day 2 from Hozomeen Lake to Deer Lick.  The trail had many down trees to cross.  Most were easy but there was one old growth to get across.  The single camp at Willow Lake isn't very nice and the access to water is marshy.  We were glad we stayed at Hozomeen Lake.  The entrance to the camp at Nightmare was obliterated by about 6 fallen trees.  If you climb over the trees the camp actually looks nice and is right next to Lightning Creek.  We crossed the very nice bridge over LIghtning creek which was finished in 2017.  Nice work trail crews!  The walk to Deer Lick is mostly in a beautiful old growth canyon with a lot of moss and a creek with a few waterfalls.  Deer lick has 2 camps + a stock camp.  Again we were alone not seeing anyone the entire day!  Day 3 from Deer Lick to Devils Creek.  Shortly after passing Deer Lick cabin we passed a bunch of deadfall.  I spotted a NPS tool cache and wondered if we were done with crossing "fun hazard" trees.  Not too far later we passed a NPS trail crew ranger who commented we were the first hikers he had seen.  Our report was that they had about 100 more trees to cut before getting back to Ross Lake.  It has been a high deadfall year.  We stopped at Lightning Creek boat in camp for lunch.  Nice spot!  I hiked on to the Desolation Mountain trailhead while my mom hiked on to our camp at Devils Creek.  The boat in sites are VERY nice with tables, fire rings, tent pads, and deluxe outhouses.  The hiker sites are FAR from the lake!  Mostly in the trees without any views.  The Devils Creek site had a decent view.  The only one from camp for our trip other than trees or creeks.   The following boat in camps can be accessed from the trail:  Lightning Creek, Rainbow Point, Lodgepole, May Creek, Hidden Hand.  The others can't be accessed from the trail.  At all of the camps on the lake there was a resident deer!  Day 4 from Devils Creek to Roland Creek.  The hike from the devils creek crossing to Rainbow Point is the best part of the trail where you are right by the water!  Other than that the entirety of the trail is mostly in the forest.  Roland Creek had 2 camp sites and a group site.  We took the one farthest up the creek and had a bear join us in the morning!  A young guy so he ran away once he saw us.  Day 5 Roland Creek to Ross Lake Trail Head.  My Mom hiked to Hidden Hand and took a boat across the lake.  I was looking for an extra challenge so hiked the rest of the way.  The trail was in the forest without any real views until the end.  Roland Creek had to be forded and we got our feet wet, no bridge here.    Overall this is a great forest hike with a lot of solitude.  In 5 days I only passed the 4 NPS rangers and 1 person near the trailhead!  My 83 year old mom commented that this backpack trip was fairly geriatric.  

My husband and I did an overnighter to Devil's Junction. We love Ross Lake, and try to go every year. This is the only backpacking in the National Park (technically Ross Lake Recreational Area) that allows dogs, so we've brought our dog many times, but now he is too old to join us. We hiked from SR20, and the entire trail is cleared from the trailhead, at least to Devil's Junction (we did not go any further).While there aren't many views, it makes up for it in other ways. This trail is very gentle and has minor elevation with gradual incline/decline. The only tricky creek crossing is Roland Creek, but I just walked right through in my trail runners and let them dry when I got to camp. The water only came up to my ankles. You can probably figure out a more graceful way, but it's just not worth it to me. We took a break at Rainbow Point for a swim and some snacks. We've stayed there before, and think it's a great place to stay. We somehow failed to realize that Devil's Junction boat camp has only one site, so when we got there we were so excited to have such a beautiful spot to ourselves! There is a dock, bear box, and the BEST pit toilet I've ever seen. Highly recommend staying here, we'll be back for sure!