While high temps remained in the mid-70's, Herself and I decided to scope out another potential hike for the younger grandkids, so we headed to Coldwater Lake for a hike-and-lunch along the north shore (Lakes Trail 211). Even given that it was a Wednesday in late August, we were surprised to be the only vehicle AT ALL on Highways 504 and 505, the last 30 miles to the parking lot. We were wondering if maybe we missed some morning news item about belching from Mt. St. Helens (??).
We pulled into the main parking lot, with two cars there, and found a sign on the locked restrooms saying "Sorry, but the ones in the boat launch parking lot are open". Since that's where the trailhead is, we drove over there and found 10 vehicles there. Immediately, we saw a trail crew of six returning from an obvious overnight(s?) trip, lugging power brusher and can of gasoline. That accounted for a few of the cars, so we clearly had a quiet day ahead. We packed up, hung the Pass in the car, and set off.
The trail is in good shape, and lots of wildflowers were out, including paintbrush, which I didn't expect to see at 2500 feet. The few red huckleberry bushes we spotted near the trail had been pretty well stripped, but there were a few (and some salmonberries) to sample. We, too, wondered about the "fancy" composting outhouse at about 1.3 miles from the trailhead, until we spotted the easy access down to a soft-sandy beach right at that spot. The whole place screamed "party beach", so I can see why an outhouse there would help manage local hygiene issues.
An earlier trip report mentioned something about a good lunch spot with easy lake access, and it might refer to a spot in a cove about 2.7 miles out with a faint boot track leading to a fairly low drop to the sand. We continued on, past the creek near the upper end of the lake (about 3.4 miles up the trail) and crossed the meadows to a lake side lunch spot at about 3.6 miles. During lunch, I watched three trout chase prey up into the shallow areas, but my dozen or so casts produced nothing but submarine snickers, I suspect.
Both the forest and open lakeside parts of the hike were wonderfully scenic, with the only surprise being the number of small creeks in the forest regions still flowing across the trail, requiring some careful steps to keep your boots dry. There's an unexpected seepage area just before the creek at 3.4 miles that is longer and muddier than you'd expect at this time of year. Clearly there's still a lot of draining going on.
It was easy to maintain a "photographic" 2mph pace both ways, and the ups and downs are very reasonable. Do note that the two largest elevation gains and losses come near the upper end of the lake, so younger hikers might have to be primed with extra "trail energy" to handle the harder work just before lunch. But it's a simple and fun hike with plenty of options for a shorter trip to simply enjoy the lake. The only insects of note, given the mild breezes we had, were bees in the wildflowers, so watch your step and have a great outing!
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