One Night Wilderness: Portland. Douglas Lorain

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      to Packwood Lake

      Highlights

      Packwood Lake is a huge subalpine gem with a scenic island and terrific views up to the snowy crags of Johnson Peak. It is also accessible along an easy trail from a trailhead reached by a good paved road. Not surprisingly, the place is very popular. What many visitors don’t realize, however, is that the lake is only the starting point for a magnificent backcountry loop. The trail along Coyote Ridge is one of the finest high-elevation ridge walks in our region, with outstanding views, plenty of wildlife, and abundant wildflowers. The amazing thing is that the ridge is so little traveled that you may have the entire route to yourself.

      Getting There

      Leave Interstate 5 north of Vancouver, Washington, at Exit 68 and travel 64 miles east on U.S. Highway 12 to the small town of Packwood. Near the north end of town, and immediately south of the Packwood Ranger Station/Work Center, turn right on Snyder Road, following signs to Packwood Lake Trail. This paved road, which becomes Forest Road 1260, climbs 3.8 miles to the large roadend parking lot and trailhead.

      Hiking It

      The heavily used trail departs from the north end of the parking lot and gently climbs under the shade of tall Douglas firs and western hemlocks. All that shade limits the understory to a few salal, Oregon grape, elderberry, thimbleberry, and scattered forest wildflowers. The next 4.2 miles are easy hiking with very little elevation gain or loss, staying in generally viewless but pleasant forest. At the end of this section you descend a little to the west shore of very large and green-tinged Packwood Lake. This photogenic lake, with its large, forested island and views of Johnson Peak, is the destination of almost all hikers, so beyond this point you will enjoy much more solitude.

      The trail passes a relatively new guard station building just before a signed junction with the Pipeline Trail, an old road that parallels the hiker’s trail and is often used by mountain bikers and motorcyclists to access the lake. Shortly after this junction your trail passes the historic 1910 log ranger station building and then takes a bridge over the lake’s dammed outlet creek. Shortly after this crossing are some fine campsites, featuring excellent views to the southeast of Johnson Peak rising over the waters of Packwood Lake.