Roads: Coming from the Puget Sound, we were rerouted due to a closure on 410 (a reminder to drive safe!) We ran into a more permanent closure on FR 52 which our maps apps were unaware of. FR 48 required slow driving between the potholes and brush, but the road should be passable for most sedans.

Trail: Good condition, narrow single track with low brush so pants were helpful. There were a few easily navigable mud patches. We only saw one other party and had the lake to ourselves. 

Parking/Road: lovey forest road with parking along the side of the gravel road but wasn’t an issue because we were one of 4 cars there.

This trail is such a lovely gradually graded trail with loads of reward. You’re in the trees on the ridge line for the first 3ish miles. Then you start to get peekaboo views and eventually you get up high enough that it opens up. You’ve got great views of Rainier and Packwood lake. We started to turn and weave our way around the mtns and then headed down towards heart lake where we set up camp just above the lake. After dropping packs, we headed back up to Hawkeye point. This was a bit steeper of a trail but great views the whole time. When you hit the saddle you can see Helen’s, Adam’s, Rainier and Hood on a clear day. Then we took the junction up to Hawkeye point and got views of the lake below. Most people were camped on the other side near goat lake or snow grass flats but we had heart lake all to ourselves. It’s was amazing.

Tracked 11.5 on Saturday (trailhead to heart lake to Hawkeye and back to hear) with 4500 gain. And 7.8 back to the car Sunday!

A beautiful day in Washington! How lucky were we!

One night trip to Heart Lake and Hawkeye Point. 

The hike into Heart Lake was a gentle climb the whole way. You start in the forest and get occasional views of Rainier with Packwood Lake below it. The trail opens up when you reach Lily Basin and it’s quite beautiful with the fall colors just starting to come in. After the Angry Mountain junction you lose the Rainier views, but gain St. Helens and Adams. Overall, the trail is in good shape to the lake. There were a couple of steep sections that had loose rock, which I didn’t love, but everything was passable if I took my time and watched my step. The trail was also pretty narrow in a few spots, but nothing too treacherous.

We set up camp at Heart Lake before continuing on to Hawkeye Point. The additional 2.5-ish miles and 1,600 feet of gain were worth it for the views and the hike around the basin! The trail around the basin was in good shape, with a few more of the steep sections. The final 0.4 miles from the junction to the top of Hawkeye is pretty steep and loose, but it wasn’t very exposed. We had an amazing 360 view at the top and could see Rainier, St. Helens, Adams, and Hood as well as Goat Lake and the PCT down to the east. Goat Lake and Snowgrass Flats looked busy, and we were glad to be heading back to the quiet of Heart Lake. 

Road/Parking: Road is in good shape, there were a few potholes, but nothing bad. Parking is along the side of the road at the trailhead. There were only two other cars there when we arrived on Saturday morning. We saw in another trip report that Google Maps will try to route you the wrong way to the trailhead via Snyder Road and FS-1260 from Packwood, but that the road is impassable. We took FS-48 across from the Crest Trail lodge on the south end of Packwood and had no issues. 

Camping: We camped in the trees just above Heart Lake. Nice campsite, but it was lacking in views. There was a really nice site just before the Angry Mountain trail junction with views of Rainier, but no water nearby. There was another spot in the basin between Heart Lake and Hawkeye point that also had an amazing view. It was also dry, but there was water running between it and Hawkeye Point. There’s another spot below Hawkeye point on the Goat Lake side of the ridge that looked great, as well. 

Flora/fauna: Fall colors were just starting to come in. Lots of Pasque Flower/Dr. Suess flowers out right now. We heard pika and marmot, and saw one goat on our way back from Hawkeye.

Two nights at Heart Lake. Day 1/Saturday to the lake via Lily Basin trail, Day 2/Sunday day hiked part of the way to Hawkeye Point, Day 3/Monday, back out via way in.

The road was pretty good with just one kind of sketchy (very steep) part. We were in a Subaru Crosstrek. We were the only car parked at the hiker trailhead, but the stock trailhead has more parking (and a few more vehicles parked there). 

A few things to note about the trail/hike: The washout noted in the description is indeed tricky, but not terrible. The descent after Angry Mtn. was trickier, in my opinion. Loose gravel in sections. We saw two hunters on the trail on Saturday, and there were three other groups camping at the lake. On Sunday, we saw one other hiker between Heart Lake and Hawkeye Point. On Monday, we didn't see anyone else on the trail. The views open up about halfway in, and you get peekaboo Rainier and Packwood Lake first, then some sweeping Rainier views, then Rainier, St. Helens, and Adams from the junction w/ Angry Mtn Trail. After the lake it's a really nice hike around the basin with views down to Heart Lake and of Angry Mtn. and the surrounding ridges. We did not make it all the way to Hawkeye Point, the trail was just a bit too sketchy/vertiginous for my personal comfort/risk level (which is probably a medium). I'm sure it would be totally fine for a lot of y'all, but it was a nope for me.

Campsites/Heart Lake: There are not too many campsites at Heart Lake, as others have noted. One before the descent to the lake, two in the meadow at the north end of the lake, one or two just past the outlet, one in the woods past the trail to the lookout, and one on the hill/off the trail that flanks the east side of the lake, but that one is a bit harder to get to. Four groups at the lake on a warm but smoky, early September Saturday night. On Sunday night we were the only folks camping at the lake.

Definitely hit up the viewpoint at Heart Lake for views to the south/southwest of Mt St Helens and the surrounding ridges. Really lovely sunset/stargazing spot. There is another nice view spot up and over the hill on the east side of the lake. The small trail that flanks the east side of the lake doesn't go right to it, but it's easy to find and not super brushy.

Flora & fauna report: Before you hit Lily Basin it's a drier forest with a ton of bear grass. Would be great to see earlier in the season when it's in bloom. There were also so many different types of mushrooms on this part of the trail. Once you hit the basins and more open areas there are more flowers, berries, and right now LOTS of anemone gone to seed. Some other wildflowers are still blooming above the lake. Lots of GOOD berries above the lake, on the trail to Goat Lake/Hawkeye Point.

We heard lots and saw a few pikas, saw at least a dozen marmots (heard those too lol), saw quite a few mountain goats from the viewpoints at Heart Lake, and even one herd that was probably 20 goats deep right above the lake on Sunday evening. An owl swooped us at dusk from the Heart Lake viewpoint. We saw a LARGE bear munching in a meadow below the trail from the view spot looking east towards Hawkeye Point. That was very cool, and my preferred distance for spotting bears :) Very glad we had our binoculars on this trip! 

Green Trails map rates this trail as horse and hiker. At present, it’s wide enough for hiking but not horses. Tread is mostly in good condition. Several sections need to be brushed out. Camping at Heart Lake is limited. Flowers still blooming above Heart Lake. Bugs were not too bad, but flies got more active as the weather improved (from rain/graupel on Aug 27 to sun and 70s on Aug 29.)