Spectacle Lake, Pete Lake — Friday, Jul. 18, 2025

Spent one night at Spectacle Lake, Friday - Saturday. We had originally planned on two nights but opted to leave midday on Saturday.

Road/trailhead: There is about 2.5 miles of unpaved road to reach the trailhead and it’s mostly fine. A few potholes but nothing that would prevent any car from making it. We snagged the last spot in the lot when we arrived around 10am on a Friday. Two other cars left shortly after us and those spots were immediately filled. The pit toilet was cleaned and restocked as we were gearing up to head out.

Trail: The trail to Pete Lake is mostly in the trees and unremarkable. We passed plenty of people hiking out for the day which gave us some hope we could snag a good spot at Spectacle Lake. We ate lunch at Pete Lake which wasn’t too crowded. The lake is nice and there are plenty of campsites. After Pete Lake, the trail continues in pretty much the same fashion until the creek crossing. On the way out, we switched from trail runners to crocs and the water was about calf high (I’m 5’11”). On the return hike, we just kept our trail runners on. We did see a guy cross completely on rocks and logs and stayed totally dry but also nearly fell in at one point.

We were mostly spared the heat of the day hiking through the burn zone thanks to cloud cover. It was much warmer in that same exposed section when we passed through on the return hike. The switchbacks were fine with some overgrowth and a little mud as you get higher up. Tons of ripe huckleberries kept us energized. The lake view after the switchbacks is incredible and a worthy payoff for a hike which mostly didn’t feature much in the way of views.

Campsites: Arriving around 4:30pm, many of the campsites were full but we managed to snag a nice one towards the end of the peninsula. It was busy but never felt overly crowded. On Saturday, there were quite a few people coming up when we were leaving around midday and I could imagine spots were at a premium with so many people arriving.

Bugs: It was often windy at the lake, so mosquitoes were only an issue when the wind died down. They were more annoying on our hike out, especially any time we stopped missing moving.

Toilet: After reading that the toilet had been removed, we opted to bring the recommended wag bags. A few people ask us about the toilet and we passed along what we had heard. A couple of ladies camped near us mentioned that they found the toilet and I can confirm it is indeed there! The map location on AllTrails actually takes you to a broken toilet but I’ve marked where the current one is. It’s in good condition and cairns make it easy to find just off the main trail. An essential piece with such a busy area.

Garmin stats: 21.93 miles & 3,494 gain. Does not include a lot of walking around the peninsula.