Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Lena Lake
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. The day hike to Lena Lake is one of the most popular in the Olympics. As one of the easiest trails to a backcountry lake, and with developed campsites, it attracts throngs of backpackers, too, especially neophytes. And while this good-sized body of water nestled among old-growth firs and cedars is fairly scenic, there's just too much detracting from it. The trail is badly scarred by ding-a-lings cutting switchbacks. The Forest Service has had to construct railings along the way to discourage these ne'er-do-wells. And litter? Expect to see beer cans and cigarette butts tossed along the way. Finally, the fire pits are nuisances, encouraging the denuding of shoreline vegetation. So, is it worth it? Yes, but keep in mind the ambience. Perhaps find some teachable moments along the way to help correct the ways of less-than-enlightened backcountry travelers. Carry a trash bag with you. Gain bigger rewards than the view. Be a shining example to others. With that said, enjoy the hike. The trail takes off in second-growth timber, climbing gently and carefree. Lena Creek can be heard crashing in the distance. After about a mile, come to impressive old growth. As the trail nears Lena Creek, prepare for a surprise. You soon find yourself standing on a bridge over missing waters. Lena Creek makes a subterranean passage below, leaving you standing high and dry over a mossy, rocky draw. Now winding around and below a ledge, the trail makes a final push to the lake. At 3 miles a junction is reached. Venture right, and within a few hundred feet encounter an inviting sunny ledge that provides a resting spot and a wonderful view of Lena Lake 100 feet below. The trail continues, descending to the shoreline and passing overused campsites. A half mile beyond where Lena Creek tumbles into the lake makes for a scenic lunch spot.
Driving Directions:
From Hoodsport travel US 101 north for 14 miles. At milepost 318 turn left (west) onto Hamma Hamma River Road (Forest Road 25). Continue for 7.5 paved miles to the trailhead. Privy available. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail
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2 miles from 101 snow and ice on FS road 25. Need AWD/4x4 and high clearance to reach trailhead...
2 miles from 101 snow and ice on FS road 25. Need AWD/4x4 and high clearance to reach trailhead safely. Snow on trail from trailhead then small patches clear trail up through the switchbacks. Continuous snow on trail to lake from last of the switchbacks. Snow is consolidated enough that boots and gaiters work fine. We saw only 6 people all day.
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
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Reached the trailhead around noon, just a couple of cars there.
The trail was in good condition, no mud, despite the...
Reached the trailhead around noon, just a couple of cars there.
The trail was in good condition, no mud, despite the recent rain. Stopped for lunch past the second bridge where the trail overlooks the lake. Continued past the campground restrooms to the north end of the lake, crossing a third bridge, up to the wilderness boundary sign. There was a nice sand beach on that end of the beach, but clouds were moving in... Encountered about half a dozen parties on the trail, most of whom appeared to manage to resist the temptation to cut the long switchbacks. Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/eric.jain/LenaLakeOctober2011 Tracklog: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/125129571 Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Ripe berries
Issues:
Blowdowns | Overgrown | Mudholes | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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Trail to Lower Lena in great shape. From there to Upper Lena, the trail is clear of snow with...
Trail to Lower Lena in great shape. From there to Upper Lena, the trail is clear of snow with a few exceptions within the last mile to Upper Lena Lake. We had sturdy, waterproof boots and trekking poles and fared well. One creek crossing we forded with bare feet to avoid the ramshackle (slippery) log across the stream. A snow bridge crosses another, but may not last a long time, as snow is melting quickly. Trail from Lower Lena to Upper is fairly overgrown and has not been very maintained this season. Several blow-downs and steep sections where the trail has washed out.
Upper Lena Lake is still 95% covered in snow (don't expect to catch many fish yet unless you bring your ice fishing gear!). Poked around the South side of the lake and found about 5 campsites free of snow, bear wires intact, and composting toilets in working condition. Berries ripe in a few spots along the trail. Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Overgrown | Snow on trail | Bugs
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Arrived at the Lena Lake trail head Friday evening and made it to camp in due time. Along the way...
Arrived at the Lena Lake trail head Friday evening and made it to camp in due time. Along the way we were inquiring about reports of The Brothers, trying to learn the condition of the trail. About half a mile out of camp we ran across a pair who had made the summit and told us there was a lot of snow to traverse. My climbing partner ended up jogging back to the trail head to retrieve the crampons while I set up camp.
We started out just after 6am on Saturday, making it through the Valley of the Silent Men to the climbers camp in about an hour. The path is mostly discernible, there were some sections where it took us a few minutes to find the next section -- some overgrowth, one avalanche field just out of the woods -- but it was certainly not impossible. Once we broke fully out of the forest there was a quick scramble up alongside the river bed that led us on to the snow field the hikers had told us about. We stayed right on the rocks off the snow as long as possible, then donned our crampons and scaled the 500-600 yard snow field. Past the snow field we found a stream coming down and filtered some water there. I have to say that it was the best water I have ever tasted. Here we kind of lost the main trail, but found several markers that ended up taking us a little too far east past the main chute that is the primary route. We made it to about 200-300 feet beneath the summit and I had to stop. My partner did end up making the summit and we met back up about halfway down the main chute (the correct route). trails.com has a trail guide that talks to this, "Climbing Washington's Mountains -- The Brothers". I highly recommend this. Pay attention to the part where it describes the chutes. This was the first time I have done anything like this. I have hiked, sure, but not on anything over a couple-thousand feet. Even have not made the summit this will go down as one of my favorite adventures. The variety of terrain was challenging and left a great sense of accomplishment. Not making the summit means I have a good reason to go back and do it all again! Day hike
Features:
Ripe berries
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Did a mid week hike and figured we'd be one of the few people at the lake but boy we...
Did a mid week hike and figured we'd be one of the few people at the lake but boy we were surprised, it was PACKED! LOTS of campers and day hikers. Our group included three children all under 9 years old and we hiked to the intersection with the Brothers Trailhead. The trail was in great shape as always and there were many varieties of ripe berries for the kids to experiament with including black berries, salmon berries, wild blue berries, oregon grape and salal (just becasue they're edible doesn't mean they taste good). After reaching the lake we took a quick dip in the lake (which was freezing in the shade at 6pm!) we headed back down the hill.
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Lena Lake. Photo by efheinitz.
2010, 2011
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