Looking for a great trail to introduce beginners to the enjoyment of hiking? Need a place easy enough for your kids where they can swim and explore to their hearts' content? Or maybe you just need a relaxing stroll through a lovely forest to a scenic lake for a nice picnic with a good friend? Barclay Lake is the place for you! We're not sure why we haven't taken this trip before, but Cathy had new boots and wanted to try them on a shorter trail, so off we went. GREAT decision.
Getting there couldn't be easier. Drive east on US 2 to the Baring store (6 miles past Index) and turn left across the tracks, then drive 4 miles to the parking lot and start walking. Our weather was forecast to be hot, but the two-mile stroll through almost level deep woods was cool and refreshing. It's hard to tell this is not old-growth forest; the ferns, mosses, and shady glades make it seem almost magical. The trail is in great shape, soft and carpeted with all earlier blowdowns removed or cut away. It's too late in the season for the creek to be more than a trickle and there's no water under the bridge, but when we reached the lake in less than an hour we found it low enough to have nice sandy beaches along its entire length. Other hikers were there, but so scattered among the various nice campsites that we had amazing solitude for such a scenic and easily-reached destination. A few of them were swimming but we restricted ourselves to some serious wading and a great lunch on the rocks at the outlet. During my search for the trail to Eagle Lake (was it the faint, steep track at the end of the maintained trail?) I ran across a fair amount of trash somebody had left for me to pack out for them; how can someone have the energy to carry in full bottles of beer without being able to take out the empties? No big deal; finding such a terrific destination so close to home is well-worth a little inconvenience. This place might be packed on a nice weekend, so go early, and be sure to stop at the quaint little Baring store for a cold drink on your way home. Happy trails!
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