Lost Lake Old Growth Loop Hike

Overview

The extensive campground at the Lost Lake Resort, with both pull-in and walk-in campsites, is set in a lush old-growth forest where you’ll see huge Douglas-firs, noble firs, western hemlocks, and western red-cedars. These trees are several hundred years old, but the old-growth forest is dynamic, and when one of these giants comes crashing down it creates a clearing and a new microhabitat. A barrier-free boardwalk almost one mile long explores this lovely woodland, and interpretive signs along the way describe the ecosystem. You can return along Lost Lake’s eastern shore, or add a mile to the hike distance by looping around to the west side of the lake (see the Lost Lake Loop Hike). Note that wheelchairs should access this trail from the Old Growth Trail South Entrance at Site 29 in the campground’s F Loop. From the North Day Use Area parking, you can head down steps towards Lost Lake to get the iconic view of Mount Hood that has appeared in thousands of published photographs. Then walk to your left to cross the Lake Branch on a pedestrian bridge. Keep on the road from here, and pass the general store, a parking area, and a restroom to rise to a road junction. Straight ahead is the beginning of the Lost Lake Butte Trail #616. Hike up this rooty trail to an unsigned junction with the Old Growth Trail, make a sharp right, and then stay right at the next junction. The first interpretive sign explains the resiting of the campground away from the shore of Lost Lake to restore some of the shoreline vegetation. The largest trees here are Douglas-firs and noble firs with lady fern, bracken, devil’s club, and salmonberry in the understory. Smaller hemlocks and silver firs add to the conifer mix. Keep left at a trail that leads to some walk-in campsites, and pass a couple of toppled giants. Cross a road, and begin an extended boardwalk in a forest where there are some imposing noble firs and western red-cedars over a carpet of lady fern. (The boardwalk can be slippery when wet.) More interpretive signs tell about the

Trail Stats

Photos

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