Cora Lake via Big Creek Trail — Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025

A spontaneous trip up to Cora Lake via the Big Creek Trailhead of Forest Service Road 8420. Accessing from this trailhead makes Cora a pretty quick trip. My dog and I ended up doing just a hair over 3 miles but that’s because we ended up cruising around the lake. Trail was in excellent shape and the double creek crossings were an absolute breeze. You can easily cross without getting your feet wet. Much to my surprise, still some very ripe berries, at least in patches as soon as you see the lake. Even spotted a couple forest grouse. Any vehicle can make the drive up. Forest Service Road 84 has plenty of potholes but take your time and you’ll be fine. Forest Service Road 8420 was relatively smooth and much less potholes. Also saw a sign posted stating High Rock Lookout is still closed. I expect in a couple weeks, this area will have a blanket of snow. Happy Trails!