Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books June Lake
Featured In:
Day Hiking: South Cascades,
by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. From the trailhead, the popular June Lake Trail angles up the small creek valley flowing out of the lake basin. The trail dips near the creek bed in the first few hundred yards, then climbs up onto the slope above the valley bottom and rolls north through forests for the next mile. As you near the lake basin, the trail leaves the woods and enters a small rugged lava flow along the southern edge of the lake. The trail sweeps around the west side of the small lake. Stop at the lake to rest and return the way you came, or press on another 0.3 mile, climbing to the Loowit Trail on the edge of the lava fields at 3400 feet.
Driving Directions:
From Cougar, drive east on Forest Road 90 just 1 mile beyond the Swift Dam, and turn left (north) onto FR 83. Drive 10 miles on FR 83 to the June Lake trail-head on the left. Recent Trip Reports
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Multi-night backpack
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Overgrown | No water source
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June Lake Trailhead to Loowit to halfway to Ape Canyon
Overall impressions Wow! The snow is GONE. This is a great...
June Lake Trailhead to Loowit to halfway to Ape Canyon
Overall impressions Wow! The snow is GONE. This is a great section of the Loowit to hike, easily done for a day hike with incredible views, lots of wildflowers, and even some wildlife if you're lucky. We saw a pika, long-tailed weasel, tons of chipmunks and Douglas squirrels, some birds (heard more than saw), garter snakes, cool insects, and smelled but didn't see a herd of elk that must have only recently vacated the alpine meadow where we stopped. Do bring water as there is NONE from June Lake except a few snow patches that are rapidly disappearing. The lack of cover makes for extra hot hiking with the heat coming off the rocks as well as from the sky. It's about 1 1/3 mi. from June Lake Trailhead to Loowit junction, then 5 miles on the Loowit all the way to the Ape Canyon junction. The whole thing as a round trip day hike would be a moderate trip (under 12 miles, maybe 1,500' gain + some ups & downs). Or you could shuttle cars (or bum a ride) from one trailhead to the other. We only went about halfway to Ape junction, so don't hold me responsible for anything beyond that point. ;) To June Lake: The trail to June Lake is in great shape, but bring an extra baggie to pick up the leavings (wrappers, etc.) of less-educated hikers. The lake itself is beautiful and refreshing, if shallow & weedy. The trail from the shore to the waterfall is, well, a morass of devil's club, brambles, and barely-discernible pencil track. BUT it's really cool to look at the lake from behind the fall. A shower in the fall is lovely after a day of hot, dusty work or hiking, but that water is cold & coming down HARD! A dip in the lake is nearly as refreshing and you can still feel your scalp afterward (if you like that sort of thing). June Lake to Loowit and counter-clockwise: The trail up to the Loowit junction from the lake is fairly steep and parts need to be lopped, but it's no problem. There's a small path leading to the right part way up that goes to the waterfall. The last bit of that side-trail, though, is very steep and would definitely be dangerous for kids or anyone unwilling to go part way on your bum (deliberately or otherwise). Continuing on the main trail from the lake, once you turn right on the Loowit, the trail is GREAT thanks to the amazing work of 3 WTA work crews so far. The trail is seriously improved (brushed out, downed trees cut, scrabble catwalk widened to about 2 1/2' of nice tread) through about 2 miles past the junction. It then reverts to the scrabbly catwalk which, though narrow and covered with loose rock, is just fine if you're careful. Continuing toward Ape Canyon, the trail flattens out at around 4,000' and you need to watch your footing going in and out of a few washes that have eroded the trail. Past the 2nd large wash, you enter brush that is impinging on the trail pretty seriously, including a few trees that force you cliffside more than some may like. But don't worry; the WTA will be on that in no time. Views: starting from about mile past the June Lake unction, the views of Adams and Hood are fantastic. Continuing on, views of St. Helen's are also amazing. Past the 2nd large wash, you enter a large meadow where you are treated to views of these 3 + Rainier - breathtaking! Flowers in bloom (from June Lake Trailhead to 4,000' along Loowit way to Ape Canyon): Bear-grass. Tiger lily, lupine, thimbleberry, strawberry, white fawn lilies (almost done), Queen's cup lily, star-flowered false solomon's seal, mountain heather (white & pink), twin flower, trailing blackberry, subalpine spirea, paintbrush, goat's beard, bunchberry, western coralroot, alpine buckwheat, alumroot, foamflower, three-leaved anemone, Davidson's pentstemon
June Lake
— May 08, 2010
— el tigre
Day hike
Issues:
Water on trail | Snow on trail
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Got a late start and with 1 toddler and 1 infant the going was slow. More snow on the ground...
Got a late start and with 1 toddler and 1 infant the going was slow. More snow on the ground here than expected, as well - not far after the start, snow covers more than 50% of the trail. We made it about 1 mile - just shy of the stream crossing below the lake. At this point we were faced with continuous snow cover, a few steepish slopes, and enough cool breeze even on a warm day that we turned back.
Beautiful, beautiful views of the mountain, billowy snow all on her shoulders. Quite a bit of poison oak on this trail, I think. While doable with boots, a set of crampons or better yet snowshoes would serve you well this early in the year, even after our mild winter. We'll come back when the snow has melted out more. Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Overgrown | Mud/Rockslide | Washouts | No water source
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Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the 1980 eruption and in celebration of that event we're anticipating working on...
Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the 1980 eruption and in celebration of that event we're anticipating working on the Loowit trail with volunteer vacations and Backcountry Response Teams. So we hiked this section to scope out the trail conditions.
The hike unfolds in three chapters, first a gentle climb up the June Lake trail ending at the clear waters of the lake fed by a waterfall. Climbing higher to the jct with the Loowit we turned right and headed east alternately through the forest and across chunky lava flows softened by moss. After a couple miles the trail traverses a different landscape; open grassland with patches of red and swathes of bear grass stalks that must have been spectacular earlier this summer. Along the last leg of the hike we saw spectacular views of Mt. Adams, plus a glimpse of Mt. Rainier as well as nice views of Mount St. Helens. Far to the south we could also make out Mt. Hood sticking sharply out of the clouds. We ended the hike where the trail ended at the edge of a precipice carved by the erosion of spring floods. Across the abyss we could see the trail taking off again. But we balked at the idea of climbing down the steep rocky gorge and back out again. There is lots of worked needed along this section of the Loowit including brushing and tread restoration along the steep side slopes where the trail traverses creeks that flood annually. Snowshoe/XC Ski
Issues:
Washouts | Snow on trail
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A partly sunny day gave us views of Mount St. Helens as we snowshoed the loop from the Marble Mountain...
A partly sunny day gave us views of Mount St. Helens as we snowshoed the loop from the Marble Mountain SnoPark up to June Lake, across the lava flow on the Pika Trail, and down the Swift Trail. This was a Trails Club of Oregon trip. We found flood damage to the Pine Marten Trail that added the challenge of negotiating some 5 foot drops and then climbing out the other side. We paused by June Lake to admire the waterfall; the lake was ice free and a pair of dippers were flying back and forth. Lunching on top of the lava flow, we aimed for warm sun and volcano views and were partially successful. On the return, we took a side trip on the Fir Trail (#244B) to admire the huge Douglas-firs and western red-cedars, making a nice change from the tree plantations traversed by most of the route. The trip is about 5 miles and 900 feet elevation gain. We finished the day with a stop at the Cougar Bar & Grill for pie and coffee on the way home to Vancouver and Portland.
WARNING: WashDOT has reduced snowplowing frequency on Road 83 so it is best to drive a high clearance vehicle with 4WD or AWD to ensure reaching the Marble Mountain SnoPark.
June Lake #216.1
— Feb 22, 2004
— Mike in Oly
Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail
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Lena the Dog and I headed down to the south side of Mt St Helens for a day trip....
Lena the Dog and I headed down to the south side of Mt St Helens for a day trip. It's a lot of miles to drive from Olympia, but for comparison's sake the roads are a lot faster than the roads to Mt Rainier, so it didn't take much more time to travel a much greater distance. I'd guess it took about 2 hours, 15 min each way (versus 2 hours solid to get to Paradise). |
A snowy Mount St. Helens above the June Lake lava flow. Photo: Susan Saul
2010
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