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Jess FischerExplorer

An east coast transplant exploring the wild and wonderful PNW ⇞

Explorer

05/14/20

We hiked this trail Fourth of July weekend and can confirm the first half of this hike is a human highway with a majority of people climbing up to Snow Lake. Past Snow Lake the trails open up and we only saw a few other groups of hikers. Absolutely stunning vistas and crystal clear lake water. If you go on a weekend I recommend hiking in early, and hiking out early to avoid the crowds. We made the mistake of hiking out in the afternoon and constantly had to pull off the trail for people coming the opposite direction. Overall great hike.

This is definitely one of my favorite hikes in Oregon. A beautiful backcountry lake/wetland/high mountain meadows tucked below the summit of Mount Jefferson. I highly recommend backpacking, but can also be done as a solid day trip. Bring lots of water, snacks and sunscreen. I can't speak to this hike in the winter, but we hiked during the fall and it was amazing with all the foliage. There was a bit of snow at the higher elevations, but nothing we couldn't handle with our hiking boots.

This is a great hike in any season to a beautiful waterfall on Mount Hood. In the summertime I recommend having spikes (the trail is usually too packed down for snowshoes) but the best time to go is in the spring when the falls are full of snowmelt. Be sure to arrive early whether you plan for a weekend or weekday, the hike is especially crowded in the summertime (hence the 4 stars instead of 5).