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!
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