Mirror Lake Hike

Overview

The Mirror Lake Trail has the misfortune of being one of the few hikes accessible directly from Highway 26 and thus suffers a crush of visitors on weekends. The attention is well-deserved: The well-graded trail takes you to a serene mountain lake with picture-postcard views of Mount Hood and rugged Tom Dick and Harry Mountain towering above. With the old trailhead decommissioned in 2018, visitors now have a longer hike but with somewhat less elevation gain from the new Mirror Lake Trailhead. The new trail was machine-built, so it's wide and verged with debris from the operation. There are 10 footbridges on this new section; nine of them were airlifted in by helicopter. From the plaza at the parking area, find the paved ADA trail that leads down a slope behind the restrooms. Six winding switchbacks descend to a wide footbridge over Camp Creek, where the paved section ends. You're in a secondary forest of Douglas-fir, western hemlock, silver fir, noble fir, and western red-cedar. Before Camp Creek, a pole-and-rail barrier prevents shortcutting at a switchback. After Camp Creek, you're on a wide duff trail. Cross two footbridges over seasonally dry gullies. The next bridge crosses the creek that drains the Comerford Lakes. Rise gradually to cross more footbridges over trickling creeks that feed small bogs below. Rhododendrons enter the understory, and you'll see springboard notches on rotting stumps. The trail undulates along, passing over more bridges, and soon crosses Mirror Lake Creek. Cross an old logging road, and then bend sharp left to rise steeply and intersect the old tread which came up from the U.S. 26 trailhead. Whole trees have been felled over this path to decommission it. Switchback on the narrower old tread, and pass a vine maple-verged patch of talus. Walk on another old logging road for a few yards, pass through a devil's club thicket, and switchback up twice to where a new pole-and-rail fence prevents cutting corners. Reach the Mirror Lake-Mirror Lake Shore Trail North Junction, and go l

Trail Stats

Photos

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