We hiked the loop around Coldwater Lake. It’s a perfect cloudy day hike, 12 miles and about 2,000 feet of elevation gain. Since you must hike just over a mile on the road between the trailheads, it’s best to park at the Coldwater boat launch and hike the road first (before your feet are tired) to the South Coldwater trailhead. All roads and parking are paved and in excellent condition. Restrooms at the boat launch only.

This trail offers a bit of everything: grass and brambles claiming logging equipment left tumbled about with 32 years of rust; grassy meadows studded with lupine, paintbrush, aster, and tiger lily; one side on a high ridge above the lake while the other hugs the lake shore with access to sandy beach and happy streams crossing the trail; solitude (we saw one group of 8 and otherwise only three groups of 2 the entire 12 miles). There are some views of the volcano from the ridge and the shore towards the boat launch, hard to tell how many as it was cloudy. Several sections are very exposed as they travel through the blast zone. It was perfect for a breezy, cloudy day (though a dip would cool you off on a hot one).

We didn’t see elk but know they are around here. We DID see the infestations of tent caterpillars denuding the alders and draping trees with creepy Halloween webbing. There were swallows, killdeer, hummingbirds, meadow lark, many others (I’m terrible with birds). Thimbleberries are still flowering, but there were ripe huckleberries (red), strawberries just starting, and salmonberries (almost gone).

Several sections of this trail need drainage and tread work and brushing. There’s ½ mile on the connector trail from South Coldwater to the Lake Trail that makes you feel as if you’re traveling through uncharted jungle. There were signs of recent trail work, though, so maybe they just haven’t got this far yet. If not on anyone’s schedule, this trail would be a great candidate for some WTA day crews!!

Lots of pics of the trail at: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

Trail Conditions: The trail starts out in a wooded area that has a lot of tent caterpillars at the moment. The caterpillars don't cause any problems while hiking, but are slightly creepy to look at. There are few trees along most of the trail which means no shade from the hot sun so bring plenty of water, no water available on trail. The bugs were present and very hungry, recommend good repellent. We saw two snow patches, each two feet across, located just off-trail near the saddle. Lots of wildflowers in bloom along most of the trail.

Trail Description: We started at the South Coldwater trailhead. Parking was not an issue at 11am on a Saturday. The trail quickly climbs up out of the trees and meets up with an old logging road. After the trees there are good views for the remainder of the hike. Along the old logging road you find some old logging equipment. Seeing the twisted steel gives you a unique sense of the incredible force of the eruption. We continued to the Coldwater saddle where we had lunch and enjoyed a great view of Mt. St. Helens. Overall the trail has a few steeper parts but is mostly a steady climb upwards. Relatively easy climb.

We walked the South Coldwater Trail to the Coldwater Trail, then onward to Coldwater Saddle. We arrived early, around 9:15 a.m., to avoid the heat for as long as we could. We were a little apprehensive about the tent caterpillar invasion that has denuded many of the trees in the nearby Hummocks Trail area, and made a squishy mess of parking lots, but at the South Coldwater trailhead, they weren't so bad. There were just a few. The first half mile or so of the trail did have mosquitos, so we tried our best to keep moving.

The trail is in remarkably great shape all the way. There is a group called Friends of Coldwater that performs maintenance from time to time and they were here two weeks ago. They are a group of mountain bikers; this is one of the trails on which bicycles are allowed.

There were a few snow banks to cross as I made the final ascent to Coldwater Saddle. They're a little steep, so one needs to take care that they don't fall.

It was a hot day. As it got into the afternoon it was somewhat fatiguing. However we managed to complete the hike by 2:45 p.m., so that was about 5 hours of hiking time (and 30 minutes for lunch). My pedometer said it was 5.85 miles in and 5.85 miles out.

This trail has the best views of Coldwater Lake, but there are easier ways to see better views of Mt. St. Helens. However, the well-graded and well-maintained trail is a pleasure to walk and gives you a good workout. You just want to be aware there's no water available and not a lot of shade. Carry a hydration pack and have it filled when you begin, and wear sunscreen!

I have been waiting for a day I knew the snow would be melted on the few snow bridges that is on the Mountain. Today was the day.

It was a great hike, started at 8:30am, finished about 3:30pm. I went up the mountain and finished at the boat launch area. It was 11.4 mile according to my GPS.

The start was Very buggy.. Make sure you have lots of deet. once you got up to the old machinery the bugs were gone. There was no snow.

Where you descend down to the lake from the summit it is very over grown to a point I had to use my sticks to move the brush to place my feet. The trek was great and brush was not a problem once you crossed over the bridge. Wildflowers are Everywhere. bring lots of water. Enjoy the hike