Ancient Lakes
This route through part of the Quincy Wildlife Recreation Area offers something you seldom find in the desert: a waterfall. But not just any waterfall; here you'll find a waterfall plunging into a lake. Did I mention this watery world is in the desert?
Well it is--a quick glance at the areas around the lake reveals that. Prickly hedgehog cactus dot the slopes around the trail as does an array of desert wildflowers. In the heart of this 15,266-acre wildlife area, you'll find sparkling potholes surrounded by massive basalt cliffs. The geological wonders are a product of the erosion of lava flows by ancient glacial floodwaters. The many layers of basalt are exposed, and several of the potholes are filled with water that has seeped from the irrigation systems that feed the Quincy basin farmlands upslope. These wetlands, ponds, and lakes have added important habitat diversity to this area. Ancient Lake is one such set of numerous "filled potholes" that dot this coulee. Start hiking down the old jeep road that rolls on past the gates at the road's end. Through the first mile or so of the track, keep an eye on the brush--upland game birds abound here, with quail, Hungarian partridge, and even a few chukar living among the rocks and sage. This is a rich historical area, as evidenced by the archeological dig occurring just 0.25 mile from the trailhead (the bone hunters were excavating a giant ground sloth). At 0.7 mile, leave the jeep track and head east (left) on a single-track trail as it angles up into the heart of a vast coulee that contains the Ancient Lake potholes. Come spring, wildflowers begin to wake up. By late May, the floor of the coulee is covered with flowering plants. Above the trail, the coulee's vertical basalt walls are startlingly colorful (russet reds mixed with the blues and blacks common to all basalt). At about 2 miles in, you'll reach the lake basin. Silvery gray cottonwood snags line portions of the lakeshore, and waterfowl frequently feed in the lake. Explore the lake basin--a deep bowl ringed with black basalt cliffs--before heading back down the coulee.
Driving Directions:
From Ellensburg, drive east on Interstate 90 to exit 149 for George. After exiting, turn left and drive north on State Route 281 toward Quincy. After 5.6 miles turn left onto White Trail Road. Continue 7.8 miles on White Trail Road, then turn left onto Road 9-NW. Continue 5.9 miles on this road (pavement ends at 2.0 miles) as it winds steeply down onto Babcock Bench to the road's end. Seven to eight vehicles can park here. Do not block the gate or the road on the right (marked with a "Snake X-ing" sign): This is a private driveway and not open to the public. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife permit required. Recent Trip Reports
Hiked here recently?
Submit a trip report!
There are
72
trip reports for this hike.
See all trip reports for this hike.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Bugs | No water source
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
A drizzly but nice day hike out to the Ancient Lakes. Great for birdwatching. We saw magpies, red-wi...
A drizzly but nice day hike out to the Ancient Lakes. Great for birdwatching. We saw magpies, red-winged blackbirds, quails, hawks, ravens, and what appeared to be a whooping crane -- a rare sight in Washington by the sounds of it.
In the distance we could hear a couple of louder songs from the nearby Sasquatch Festival, but otherwise all that could be heard were the sounds of water, birds and our own footsteps. In the bowl of basalt cliffs that encapsulate the Ancient Lakes, you won't hear any of the contraptions of civilization. By the lakes, there was some unnecessary and unburnable trash in the firepits. Just a reminder to please respect nature and clean up after yourselves. Wildflowers were a bit sparse, but there is still plenty of color in the valley. I imagine this would be a perfect place to camp on a lazy sunny summer day. All in all, a wonderful trip. Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Bugs
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
Headed out to Ancient lakes for a few nights for memorial day weekend bc the weather west of the cas...
Headed out to Ancient lakes for a few nights for memorial day weekend bc the weather west of the cascades was poor, and we desired sunshine for our long weekend.
Easy hike on the way in. We ended up setting up camp at dusty lake in the hopes that less people would be there. On our first night there was only one other group of 3 people but as the weekend drew on several groups ended up walking in and out of our site looking for a place to set up camp. One group was a group of about 14 college age kids that were loud well into the night. If you're looking for solitude this isn't the place to go. On the way out the parking lot was an absolute zoo and there were an additional 6 groups all looking like they were planning on staying a night or 2. As mentioned by a few people before, there is a good amount of trash in this area and it could definitely benefit from a WTA clean up or something or the sort. The water quality is questionable not due to any organic matter that I would worry about being in either dusty or ancient lakes but because of the pesticides that are likely in the farm run off. We had to end up treating and drinking the water on our last day with no problems but I would advise against it if you can take your own water in. If you plan on staying out at dusty I would also advise that you check the concert schedule of the gorge amphitheater. At night we could hear some of the louder songs being played at the sasquatch festival. It didn't bother us too much but if you're looking for total silence I would definitely look into that before leaving. Overall we had a nice time, the nights were cool and full of owls hooting and the days were sunny and warm. Lots of birds in this area, makes for great bird watching. Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
Very nice hike and level ground. Saw a Bull Snake and a Rattle Snake on the way in, also saw a Hawk ...
Very nice hike and level ground. Saw a Bull Snake and a Rattle Snake on the way in, also saw a Hawk diving for fish (very cool sight). The only pass that you need is a Discovery Pass, unlike what the WTA description says. Lots of different trails on the way in, but they all get you to your destination. Stayed over night and the moon was so bright in this area that I didn't even need my flash light to roam around at 1230am. The waterfall was the most impressive sight here and drew a lot of attention from mist of the hikers. Found a camp site very easily as there is a lot of level sites and you can set up most anywhere and have great views. The water filtered fine and was used to cook and drink with no problems.
Jeff Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
This is a very pleasant and easy 5 mile hike. We were alone for the day except for a biker who was r...
This is a very pleasant and easy 5 mile hike. We were alone for the day except for a biker who was riding the loop in the opposite way we were walking. We saw purple sage, hopsage, Hooker's onion, sagebrush mariposa lily, blazing star, and bouquets of yellow flowers I can't identify. There is a large parking lot at the TH although Dan Nelson in "Desert Hikes Washington" says only 7-8 cars can park.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
No water source
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
Arrived at Ancient Lakes Trail head around 12 pm from Seattle. For first timers, the gist of this r...
Arrived at Ancient Lakes Trail head around 12 pm from Seattle. For first timers, the gist of this route is to follow the cliff band to your left as you enter the trail. Wish we would have known this as we had a minor deviation early on. There are some orange flags marking where the jeep road turns to single track.
We got lucky today as it was windy, making the heat very bearable, the only thing we would have done differently is to have brought more water as we underestimated the aridity?(aridness?) of the desert. On the topic of water, all new goers should know... expect the views of the lakes to be beautiful as are the surrounding meadows and cliffs. However, up close, the lakes are downright nasty. Goose poop ABOUNDS, the water is full of algae, it is not, in my humble opinion swimmable or fit to drink by any means. Even after filtering I was skeptical... Bring lot's of water Saw 3 snakes today, 1 bull snake and 1 racer near the trail head, and 1 rattlesnake near the falls. |
 Birds and wildlife abound in the Ancient Lakes basin. Photo by Kim Brown.
Map it
|
Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Document Actions
- Email this page
- Print this
- Share
