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Located near the Manastash trail system, the Shoestring Lake Trail begins at Forest Road 3100 and ends at Shoestring Jeep Trail #4W308. This area is multi-use, including motorized vehicles, so expect some company while you're visiting.
From the trailhead, set off up an old logging road. As you hike, you'll weave around and along the edges of clearcuts, now with healthy trees 30 feet tall or more. A quarter-mile from the trailhead, arrive at a junction with South Manastash Trail, which is 2.2 miles long and heads east to link up with the Keenan Meadows Trail near the Manastash Campground. You'll go through a burn area from 2013, and then proceed through a clearcut (last cut in 1960), continuing on the South Fork Manastash. It continues to climb to trail’s end at the Shoestring 4x4 Trail 4W308.
Shoestring Lake itself can be found about three-quarters of a mile west of the junction with the 4x4 trail. Though the lake is shallow, you may be lucky enough to find fish. Look for cutthroat trout; they may be spawning in the springs and outlet.
