Trail is very short in fact even shorter than the description, my watch had me 1.9 miles round trip and 709 feet elevation gain. A lot of steps but enjoyable hike nonetheless. I hiked with a dog and we were fine but we also had the hike mostly to ourselves. When busy it's probably not a good place to walk your dog. We did see 2 mountain bikers on the trail however they were carrying their bikes not actually riding them.

It turned out to be a terrific afternoon. No views to the east, but west were blue skies and views into Canada. The stair steps of the Rock Trail are an amazing achievement worthy of mention. My in-laws were wowed by the sandstone cliffs and licorice fern covered boulders. They were worried though about the climb back up the stairs, so we stopped before the last sets of stairs down to South Lost Lake Trail. On the way back we took the trail spur up and over the top of Chuckanut Mountain Middle Peak before returning to the parking lot.

A tree across the road added maybe a half mile to reach the Cyrus Gate trailhead.  We hiked down the rock trail and around Lost Lake, then stopped out at Burnout Knob on the way back.  It was incredibly windy, but there were decent views.  All in all it was about 8.5 miles with 1500' elevation gain.

I went out to explore the Chuckanut Mtns a bit; Le Tour du 'Nut.  I started at the Pine and Cedar TH and hiked the wide, rocky and steep trail to the junction w/the Hemlock Trail.  Some of the rocky areas have slippery "rock ice" to watch out for.  The Hemlock, Salal, Lost Lake, Chuckanut Ridge, Rock and all other Trails I hiked are free of obstacles, save for a bit of mud here and there.  I trekked down to the ridge trail, took the ridge over to the Rock Trail, took that down to Lost Lake and then up and over Raptor Ridge and back to the car.  Mostly runners out today but not crowded; maybe a dozen other folks on trail.  When I got back to the car, there was a flyer on my windshield from the Watcom County Sherriff Volunteer Citizen Patrol, saying they came around to check for nefarious activity and such.  My thanks to the volunteers!  Don't pretend, though, that you don't get a big  laugh out of leaving flyers on people's cars that look just like parking tickets.

Summary: ~12miles & ~2800ft elevation gain, 9am-3pm

"Oh, how can I put into words the joys of a walk over country such as this; the scenes that delight the eyes, the blessed peace of mind, the sheer exuberance which fills your soul as you tread the firm turf? This is something to be lived, not read about." 

-Alfred Wainwright

Larrabee State Park is a gem, especially when the snow blankets the Cascades and Olympics in late autumn through spring and into summer. Having already  hiked to Fragrance Lake twice, Oyster Dome and Lily Lake (wonderful outings) - I decided on Lost Lake but initially was daunted by the mileage required to hike there.

I always study the terrain on CalTopo online before trying out a new hike and realized that we could park on Cleator Road (there's a pullout big enough for 3 or 4 cars) just past the connecting trail leading up to Chuckanut Ridge Trail.

I could tell from the topo maps and the orientation and name of the trails, that there was probably a good sized cliff just to the east of the Ridge Trail - and there is. But if you head north about .8km(?) until you reach the low spot - there is a gap in the cliff at which point one can bushwhack about .3km down to North Lost Lake Trail. I DO NOT RECOMMEND ATTEMPTING THIS UNLESS YOU ARE COMPETENT IN BOTH ROUTE FINDING AND DESCENDING THROUGH VERY STEEP AND DIFFICULT TERRAIN and preferably not alone. We weaved back and forth through giant boulders, on terrain buried underneath rotten logs and leaves. Having poles enabled me to test my footing before committing.

After maybe 20 minutes of very slow going and route finding through a maze of rock and downed trees, we emerged onto North Lost Lake Trail, having cut 4 miles off the hike if one had followed Ridge Trail until it met Lost Lake Trail. At one point my my hiking shoe got stuck between two boulders and I nearly lost my balance which could have resulted in a wrenched knee.

From here, we journeyed south along the unique geological bench above Lost Lake, taking in some very large Doug Fir trees just down slope. We then took the Rock Trail up past the cliffs (my favorite section of the entire trip), taking the right fork at the top onto Double Black Diamond Trail, past the summit of Chuckanut Mountain Middle Peak, and then following Ridge Trail north, with views of Kulshan (Baker) to the east. Total distance 3.84 miles in just over 2 hours, 971 feet of elevation gain.

Don't forget your Discover Pass for this hike, and I suggest not arriving before 830am (there is a gate with a sign on it that indicates the gate is open after that time).