This hike offers excellent views from the ridge top, several waterfalls, deep forest and a scenic lake. The trail is in excellent condition. It is definitely worth the effort hike up to the ridge crest for views of Mt. Rainier.

This report is for Cora Lake hiking from Big Creek Trailhead (NE of the lake). I wanted to take my aging dog on a easy hike and this fit the bill. It was a long drive from home so we did it as an overnight to make it worth the drive. 

On the drive there from Yakima, I wasn't paying close attention to the GPS and it routed me off NF-52 onto NF-47 which ended up being closed so I had to back track. NF-52 is paved but there were some gravel sections that were a bit rough, especially hitting them at speed, so take it easy.  NF-84 is a typical dirt/rocky forest road with lots of pot holes. I was in a RAV-4 and it was ok going slow but lower clearance might have trouble. NF-8420 was rockier but not as many potholes.

The first pullout was full of cars when we arrived at 4pm on Saturday, but we were able to park at the next one just past the trail. We encountered 3-4 small groups of day hikers coming down as we headed up. Creek crossings were unremarkable.

At the lake, there was a larger group camped right where the trail pops out. We explored down the west side of the lake until we found a reasonably flat spot to camp. Before setting up, I took a quick dip in the lake (69°F). There were tons of tadpoles, especially at the end of the lake where the shallows are protected by some fallen logs.

After setting up camp and having dinner, we relaxed for awhile before wandering as far down the west side of the lake as we could go. There were two other groups camped along this side, the furthest one out had some young kids with them.

Overnight, the group at the end of the lake was loud with their music and conversation. I was glad to find my earplugs! We got up earlish and were heading back to the car by 8:30.

Bugs: much better than at Dewey Lake last weekend! Some flies and gnats but I didn't notice any mosquitoes and did not come home with any bites

Berries: ripe blueberries and huckleberries on the trail and at the lake.

Specs:

• ~1.5mi roundtrip to the lake
• ~1 mi roundtrip down the west side of the lake
• ~50 minutes round trip to the lake
• ~500ft roundtrip to the lake

Don't make the same mistake I did - if you follow the GPS coordinates for arriving at this hike, you will *not* be on this trail.  You will be on the Big Creek trail, which takes you all the way up to a beautiful view of Rainier and Cora Lake, then all the way down to the lake itself, roughly 4.2 miles round-trip.  Beautiful, but too much climbing for 6-year-old legs (at least in our case.)  But if you need your child to nap in the car for 2 hours, this hike will do it. Lesson learned - cross-reference!

This review is for the Big Creek Trail access to Lake Cora.

What a great trail and lake.  No regrets at all, but we wanted to write a trail report because there were a few surprises waiting for us.  The road getting up there is not an awful road, but it was 30 minutes from pavement to trailhead.  There are probably some bigger SUVs/trucks that wouldn't need to dodge potholes as much, but in a car it was borderline impassible at a number of locations.  The trailhead is maybe a half mile further down the road than the GPS in google maps has it pinned at.  The best pull off for parking is just before the trail but on a blind corner, so once you pass the trailhead marker on your gps, hit the next pulloff to the right, walk down the road 100 yards and the trail will be on the left, marked with a sign visible from the road.  The hike itself was less than 3 miles round trip, but the waterfalls/creek crossings on the way up are gorgeous.  The 400 feet of elevation is spot on.  It's uphill the whole way when it flattens out you're at the lake.  If you have them take hiking poles or a good stick.  The crossings aren't bad, but you will get wet and the rocks under the water are really slippery.  That and the first half mile or so of trail is a creek bed so it's pretty rocky and unsteady.

Accessed from Big Creek Trailhead via Forest Service Road 8420. Some snow on the road but very manageable. On the trail with my dog. Trail is in relatively good shape. Some snow on the trail after the second creek crossing but wasn’t an issue. Both creek crossings are a little sketchy but take your time and choose your foot placement and you’ll be fine. Lake is almost snow free. Had the entire area all to ourselves. Never even saw a single car on the way in or out. Happy Trails!