Ashland Lakes has been on our list for a while, since checking out Boardman lake and Bear lake nearby many years ago. Did it today with our 7yo, 5yo, and carrying our 1yo.
Only 2 cars in the parking area when we arrived at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Not bad for a clear weather day!
The main points:
ROAD: very very rough. As in BAD. At one point there is a massive “pothole” that takes up the entire width of the road. Don’t attempt this a low clearance vehicle. Our RAV4 made it all the way up just fine but we went slowly.
TRAIL: in good shape. There is a lot of water on the trail, and some mud, but nothing too bad. Our 5 year was able to do it just fine.
SCENERY & VIEWS: the lakes are very pretty, the forest scenery is interesting and a slight departure from the usual. We saw a lot of skunk cabbage in bloom but no wildflowers yet, and too early for salmonberries.
Overall, this hike wouldn’t make it into my top ten, and I wouldn’t return unless the forest road improved, but we had fun, the kids were happy, and this is a beautiful hike nonetheless.
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