Larrabee State Park - Rock Trail — Friday, Jan. 3, 2014

Puget Sound and Islands > Bellingham Area

I went to the Cyrus Gates Overlook above Chuckanut Drive to hike the new connector trail to Lost Lake. I found the new trail a short way down the trail at the South end of the parking lot. The new trail is great! There are many new stairs on the steep areas, and they are well made. After the initial descent, the trail passes close to steep cliffs and weaves past large fern-covered boulders. The trail ends just over a mile at the regular trail that approaches Lost Lake from the South. The work crew did a terrific job on this trail. The trail is scheduled to open in the spring, but all it needs is signs. This is without a doubt the most interesting trail to Lost Lake. I met two couples planning to hike the connector trail when I returned to the Overlook trail. Contrast that with the 60+ cars (I counted them) at the PCT trailhead at the 10-mile marker on Chuckanut Drive... It was a beautiful day and a rewarding experience. I even found some Hair Ice. It is about 4.75 miles out-and-back from the Overlook to the outlet waterfall at Lost Lake with about 1,200' of elevation gain.