South Coldwater Trail, Coldwater Lake, Lakes Trail

With the lowlands enshrouded in morning fog, I headed for the sunshine near Mt. St. Helen's for a day of solo hiking. This hike is a loop but starts at the South Coldwater TH and ends at the Lake TH, with a 1.1-mile asphalt walk down WA 504 to connect the two. I decided to park down by the boat launch at the Lake Trailhead and get the pavement pounding out of the way first, in the cooler morning temp. That was a very good idea. (An even better idea would've been to lock a bike at the Lake TH parking area and park the car at the So. Coldwater parking area, so that one avoids the 1.1-mile highway hike altogether.)

In any case, if you start at the South Coldwater Trail #230A, the trail is a gentle grade along dusty soil and rock and lined by cottonwood, alder, and willows. The trail quickly passes into cool, forested shade for one mile before opening back up into the sun. In general, this trail alternates between sun and shade. Wildflowers are abundant, though not spectacular here. Lots of foxglove, daisies, red paintbrush, and lupine dot the hillsides. Coldwater Ridge Visitors Center and Coldwater Lake can be seen on your left.

The route is marked with posts so it's very easy to spot here on the South Coldwater Trail (not the case later on). Along the way up Coldwater Ridge, about 1.3 miles from the TH, you'll pass a couple of impressive pieces of twisted, rusting logging equipment destroyed by the 1980 eruption. Hiking in the sun along the ridge, you can catch a glimpse of the fuming head of Mt. St. Helen's off to your right. At 3 miles, you'll come across am upended steel-tracked logging tractor that was blown here from somewhere closer to the main volcano. A short while later, you'll reach the junction with Coldwater Trail 211.

Bear left at the junction to stay on the Coldwater Loop, following the Coldwater Trail #230 for 1.9 miles down into the canyon. Here, I was wishing I'd brought a machete, as the trail is extremely overgrown. You can still make out the trail through breaks in the foliage, but you'll want to tread carefully, as your feet are hidden from view much of the time and the trail sometimes inexplicably gives way underfoot. As you descend down to Coldwater Creek, you'll come to a trail marker (post) that currently has a purple foxglove growing next to it. There's an obvious path to the right of this post, but that's not the trail! Instead, go left and you'll see a mound of large rocks piled up as a cairn. That's the trail. Come to the bridge over Coldwater Creek and as soon as you cross, head to the right until you come to the junction with Lakes Trail #211. (You will see a footpath to the left that follows the creek; this is only to be taken if you need water, but there are several much easier places to access water further on.)

Turn left at the junction and head west on the Lakes Trail to continue the loop (if you turn right, you'll head to Norway Pass TH 12.4 strenuous miles away). About half a mile past the trailhead, you'll reach the head of Coldwater Lake. The trail follows the contour of the lakeshore as it heads southwest. You'll cross many year-long streams that contain cold but funny-tasting water. (I brought a SteriPen today but I wish I had brought a filter instead. The only good thing about having the SteriPen today was that I could walk and sterilize my water simultaneously; if I stopped for more than two seconds, swarms of biting flies with no respect for 100% DEET, settled on me and began to feast.) Salal, berries, and fireweed are abundant along this portion of the trail. You can access the lake at a couple of well-marked access points, but as this trail is in the Restricted Zone, you can only leave the trail at these points and nowhere else.

When you come to the talus field, follow the bright pink markers tied to tall posts. The trail from this point on is quite easy to follow and has several lake access points and stream crossings if you need water. 9.7 miles from the So. Coldwater TH, you'll arrive at the Lakes Trailhead, where hopefully, you've left either a car or a bike to get you back to the So. Coldwater TH. Otherwise, you'll have to hoof it. (Personally, I liked ending at Lakes TH because I got to sit on the dock and dangle my feet in the cold, refreshing water of the lake after a long day's hike. And a cool breeze kept the bugs off!)

 
DISTANCE: 10.8 mile (9.7 miles with car or bike shuttle)
HIKING TIME: 4:30 (at a moderate pace)
ELEVATION GAIN: 1380 ft (2520 ft-3900 ft)
START: South Coldwater Trailhead
MAP: Green Trails No. 332 (Spirit Lake)
PERMITS: Mt. St. Helen's Pass required at Coldwater Lake Recreation Area (Lakes Trailhead)
WHAT I'M GLAD I BROUGHT: SteriPen, DEET, a car cooler with an ice-cold drink at trail's end
WHAT I WISH I'D BROUGHT: machete for the Coldwater Trail portion, Katadyn water filter to get rid of the funny taste of the creek water, a bike to ride the easy 1.1-mile downhill on WA 504 back to the South Coldwater parking area.