Melakwa - Pratt Lake Traverse — Sunday, Jun. 14, 2026

We did this hike/run as a point-to-point starting at Denny Creek trailhead and finishing at the Pratt Lake trailhead. We shuttled a car, but I have heard of many people making this a loop by running the road between the two trailheads.

Parking: We arrived to Denny Creek trailhead at 10:30. The parking areas is huge, but it was almost completely full when we arrived. We got lucky and were able to snag a spot as someone else was leaving. Arrive early or have a backup plan!

Bathrooms: There is a well maintained pit toilet at the trailhead. It was a bit messy (mostly just toilet paper on the floor and mud from people’s shoes), but well stocked.

Trail conditions: The trail from Denny Creek to Melakwa Lake was mostly smooth sailing. There are some section with little tree cover so come prepared with water and sunscreen. Our group was running sections of the trail so most of us carried about a liter of water and brought a small filter to refill along the way. There’s lots of small creeks (all easy to cross) and several lakes so filtering water on the trail was easy.

Melakwa Lake is gorgeous and cold! We took a quick break and plunge after 2000ish feet of uphill from the trailhead. Know your cold water safety before deciding to go in!

The trail from Melakwa to Lower Tuscohatchie Lake was probably in the worst shape of the traverse. A few logs to climb over, a few areas of unavoidable mud, and lots of overgrown brush. The incredible views are worth it though and overall the trail was still very passable. Kaleetan Peak is a real stunner!

From Tuscohatchie to Pratt Lake and back to the Pratt Lake trailhead was easy going with the last four being awesome for some cruisy downhill running. Pratt Lake was also cold, but not nearly as bad as Melakwa.

Bugs: Not bad at all. I ended up with one mosquito bite but didn’t wear bug spray.

Total distance (recorded at watch): 13.52 miles

Total elevation gain (recorded on watch): 3,287 feet

The total traverse to us a little over 6 hours, hiking must of the uphills, jogging the smooth downhills, and taking a break at each lake.