One of my favorite hikes for solitude! The road is very rough with huge potholes - we made it by going very slowly in our Outback, but would not attempt the road without high clearance. The road does not appear to have been maintained in many years. The outhouse at the trailhead is locked with a DNR sign saying it’s due to Covid and protecting public health. Unfortunately, many people have done their business and left their TP and excrement in the area near the trail head. This seems like a greater public health concern than Covid exposure from an outhouse in the middle of nowhere. Trail is in good shape and is very dry! This is usually a somewhat soggy boggy trail, but the whole area was incredibly dry. Did not see some of the bog plants I have observed in the past near the lakes. Only saw 3 different sets of people on the trail so it’s a great trail if you are looking for solitude. Though I did get a little freaked out by the guy who came out of nowhere bushwhacking down onto the trail and asking if we’d done a trail I’d never heard of. The bugs are often thick on this trail, but we weren’t bothered at all by them. Great short hike!
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Comments
Muledeer on Ashland Lakes
I miss that trail, I used to hike it almost every year, but now I value the undercarriage of my new car (Crosstrek) more than that buggy hike. One of my pet peeves, that is such a good family hike and you can't get there in the typical family sedan.
Posted by:
Muledeer on Jul 21, 2021 02:46 PM
Fred Beavon on Ashland Lakes
Thanks for writing up your trip. I was amused by "Though I did get a little freaked out by the guy who came out of nowhere bushwhacking down onto the trail" since it was me. Sorry 'bout that. I was coming down from Musty Mountain, https://peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=-61723, and was happy to greet the two of you. Other than the two women leaving when I drove into the parking lot, you were the only others I saw.
"asking if we’d done a trail I’d never heard of" - That would be the trail to Twin Falls Lake from Lower Ashland Lake - https://cdn-assets.alltrails.com/uploads/photo/image/11312008/extra_large_56ee3efd880469292b29ca004f22b4d1.jpg
It is such a beauty with nice flat rocks to stretch out on by the lake shore.
WTA says, "The trail is now deemed hazardous and is closed." What a shame, but don't believe it. There's no signage indicating it is closed, the tread is good the entire way and it's not hazardous in the least. The trail with all its twists and turns is fun, fun, fun and only needs a bit of brushing out. It was a highlight of the trip along with the lake, a must repeat for the future. Going over and under some trunks of trees that have fallen over the trail was quickly done. If losing the tread, simply backtrack till finding it again. Easy peasy. There's even ribbons to help out. The only hazardous thing I did was descend a dry creek bed before the lake to get a good view of the outlet falls, the twin to the falls coming into the lake. There were lots of drop offs going down that but it's entirely unnecessary. Two more enlargeable pics of Twin Falls are at https://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall/Twin-Falls-4678
And two pics of just the top of the outlet falls that I refreshingly dunked my head into, are at http://www.kuresman.com/2012/Trip_Reports/Ashland_Lakes/077.html and http://www.kuresman.com/2012/Trip_Reports/Ashland_Lakes/079.html
Posted by:
Fred Beavon on Jul 21, 2021 04:13 PM
Fred Beavon on Ashland Lakes
Currently, the only online picture of the entire Lower Twin Falls is at https://aaronswaterfallworld.tripod.com/lowertwinfalls.htm
Posted by:
Fred Beavon on Jun 23, 2024 02:04 AM
Muledeer on Ashland Lakes
I did the write up for the website, at the time I hiked it for the report there was a big sign with caution tape across it. I had been to the falls on earlier hikes, so I headed down that way to find out the problem. The boardwalk was broken, there were a number of large blowdowns and a pretty good sized dropoff by the big ravine. I chose to honor the land agency sign and discourage people from going down, especially since it was tagged as a family friendly hike. Maybe the trail has seen some work and the sign was taken down, which would be great...and now for the road...please!
Posted by:
Muledeer on Jun 23, 2024 09:03 AM
Fred Beavon on Ashland Lakes
https://www.hikeoftheweek.com/2023/10/19/twin-falls-lake/
The trail needs more hikers to avoid it from being lost, but yes, not recommended for children and novice hikers. And I agree the road is horrendous, worse than Mt. Pilchuck, before it was recently repaired.
Posted by:
Fred Beavon on Jun 23, 2024 11:44 AM