Pansy Lake Hike

Overview

NOTICE: Trails in this area have been affected by the 2021 Bull Complex Fire. Please check current closures in the Clackamas River Ranger District before planning an outing. The short trail to Pansy Lake is hands down the best family hike in the Bull of the Woods Wilderness Area. The trail climbs steadily, but never steeply, about a mile to a beautiful lake tucked into a basin below Pansy Mountain and the Bull of the Woods Lookout site. For those with more energy, you can continue up to the Bull of the Woods Lookout site, the peak from which the wilderness area derives its name. (The lookout itself was destroyed in the Bull Complex Fire of 2021; the fire did not affect Pansy Lake itself although it burned on the ridges around.) The trail begins across from the parking area, enters the Bull of the Woods Wilderness, and goes up through old growth Douglas-fir, western hemlock, noble fir and silver fir, crossing a few small creeks. Vine maple, rhododendron, and huckleberry predominate in the understory. At a switchback, you can take a spur leading steeply down to a secluded campsite. From here, you can head into the Pansy Basin’s big meadow, which glows golden in the fall below red vine maple bursts on the scree slopes above. Pansy Creek flows through a bog and down the west side of the basin, which attracts elk in the mornings and evenings. There is no easy bushwhack from here up to the lake, so return to the main trail and switchback up past the Pansy Basin-Dickey Lake Trail Junction. The trail rises gently to the short spur that leads west along shallow Pansy Lake’s north shore where there are a number of campsites. On the slope above the lake’s western shore, you can search for Robert Bagby and Joe Davis’ Pansy Blossom Mine, where they dug for copper in the late 19th century. While in the area, there is much to do. From the junction at the lake, you can switchback up to the Pansy Basin-Mother Lode Trail Junction and eventually reach the Bull of the Woods Lookout site. You could also return via a loop by he

Trail Stats

Photos

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