Decided to get out of the Seattle fog and damp on this Memorial Day Monday, so I headed over the Cascades to the Ancient Lakes/Dusty Lake trails near Quincy. It is about a 2.5 hour drive from Seattle. The unpaved portion of the road is about as good as any unpaved road I've ever been on, so no access issues for any vehicle. The privy at the trailhead is nothing more than a Sani-can; I didn't investigate.
It was cool and a bit breezy when I started out at about 9:15, but the sun was shining through intermittent high clouds and the day warmed up nicely. I went to Dusty Lake first and saw no one along the entire route. After Dusty, I backtracked a bit and then headed to Ancient Lakes. If you only have the time or desire to do one of these, I would say that Ancient Lakes is the better of two good options. There are four lakes and a couple nice waterfalls--probably more in wetter weather. Dusty Lake is larger than any of the four Ancient Lakes and there are some impressive basalt columns along the trail leading to it. There is a waterfall at Dusty too, but it wasn't much more than a trickle today, though surprisingly the sound it made suggested it would be more substantial.
I was glad to have done both, for the exercise and the added time outdoors. There is no real elevation gain other than a few brief hills. I seldom trail run, but the flat terrain made it an attractive option through some of the less interesting stretches.
One thing to note is that there is a complete dearth of any helpful signage pointing the way to any of the lakes and there are numerous trails and side trails. If you are not familiar with the area (this was my first visit), GPS is very helpful.
Beautiful day that warmed up nicely, not too many people (a small handful of other hikers and even fewer mountain/fat tire bike riders) and some interesting geography made this a worthwhile trek from Seattle. About 9.5 miles to do both Dusty and Ancient and explore along their shorelines a little.
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