Heather Lake — Wednesday, Jul. 16, 2025

This popular hike had been our list for awhile. It had just reopened when we hiked and the quarter-minus rockway was great for the first half mile or so. My uncle and aunt were in town and I may have underestimated this one: I would suggest “moderate/hard” for the difficulty. There are several places you are hiking on rock and coming down you have to watch your footing. I’m an experienced hiker, had poles, and still slipped and landed in my butt once! There was a recent large tree down that took effort to climb over (easily 4-5ft diameter). At one point we inadvertently took an older part of the trail that looped back and reconnected to the switch backs (had old wooden boardwalk to the side that was deteriorated so that’s how we knew it was trail at one point). Suggest setting a log or rope to make sure it’s obvious where to go. Steady stream of people and dogs up and down. It was a hot day and we picnicked and jumped in the lake to cool off. Snacked on delicious salmonberries and huckleberries near the lake and along the trail. Yum! We started just after 12pm (parked along the access road, lot was full) and arrived back at the car at 4:30pm. Hiking time was 3 hours but we spent a long while enjoying the lake. Would recommend boots with ankle support and poles.