The trail up to Martins Park and Lakes starts at a signed junction just across from Lake Margaret. While parts are rough, the trail is easy to find the whole way. After climbing a little, there’s a boggy, brushy bit with some ankle-deep water and mud running and standing in the trail. For a short section there’s a stream flowing down the trail with lots of brush. Climb a bit more and encounter 4 downed trees (see photo below of two). 3 of these are easy to go around or over, like the one I’m sitting on in the photo. The log behind me is the worst, but fine to negotiate with care by skirting downhill and over then back up to the trail.
After that is a rocky scramble bit that looks worse than it is (pic below) but deserves attention on the way down. Then up, down into a meadow with a short boggy bit, up and down into another meadow with a longer boggy bit. After this, ford the creek (pretty easy to rock hop). If you start climbing up the rocks on the right side of the creek with no discernible trail, you missed the ford. Not that I’d know, haha. Then is an often brushy stretch traversing the hillside. The brush here has pushed the tread downhill and makes for some tricky footing. There’s another few muddy bits.
Soon you’ll emerge into the open and climb to increasingly beautiful views. Before you know it you’re at the lakes and a couple bare-ground campsites if you’re staying over. Leave extra time for digging catholes; the rocky ground makes it a slow 6-8”. We saw 3 bears in the 2 days we were there - one adult and two juveniles. They obligingly walked away when we asked but we made sure our food hang was high/out & well away from camp. The bugs when we went were annoying enough that we used our net, mostly flies and wasps, mosquitoes weren’t bad. There were some of the biggest horseflies I've ever seen here. The challenges were totally worth it for the sweeping views, nightly starscapes, and stellar swimming in the company of Cascade frogs and Northwestern salamanders.
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