Getting to the trailhead is not for the faint of heart. The road is washed out in places, but still navigatable, even in a sedan. The trail is well traveled at the start, until the bridge over the creek (about 1 mile). People ahead of us warned to keep to the right at the bridge as the trail on the left (return of loop) is very overgrown. The trail up is steep most of the way, we deviated from the posted trail to get a higher vantage at the "top"of the loop on a very faint side trail (not on the map). It was worthwhile. Our turnaround on the ridge gave us great views of Hoodoo and Black Butte, we also saw rain coming so didn't push on to the small lake on the other side of the ridge or the North Peak summit.
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Beautiful hike- lake, lava, trees! Easy hike around the lake. A bit more secluded on the east side, where the lava flows are. You can see the petrified trees from the trail. The lava flow area may not be good for dogs feet. There is a new $9 parking fee. America the Beautiful pass covers it. I started at the Mackenzie River Trail head a mile north, no fee, small parking area. Hike around lake from MaKenzie River Trailhead #3507 to Clear Lake Trail #4341 and back was 7.5 miles.
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A nice snowshoe area, with a nice shelter with plenty of wood. Good trail markings. Poles are recommended when going off trail
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Much of it was through the B&B fire of 2003. Many little frogs or toads, cedar waxwings, chipmunks
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Day Three to the Obsidian area.
Great hike through lava flows, switchbacks, and past Sawyer Bar (still dry). Back into the woods and sensitive Glacier Creek which is still closed for recovery.
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This hike is easy and nice, the lake, surroundings, and camp spots are beautiful, and it's more 'catching' than 'fishing'. So what's wrong?
The Mosquitoes are worse than anywhere I've ever been. Ever. We went through a full bottle of brand new chemical mosquito spray, had a huge smoky campfire, and were there for a full 24 hours. They never let up. Standing in the smoke, near the fire, covered in three layers of clothes and sprayed every 20 minutes, and they were still having a party on our bodies. Nothing deterred them. We spent an unreasonable amount of time in the tent just to recover.
I've been here on a day hike in August and it was the same. This was in late June.
Proceed at your own risk. Thar be tiny dragons ahead.
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It was a nice hike. The gradual elevation gain and distance was short enough that I could bring my non-hiker friends. Real beautiful.
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Nice snowshoe hike with a ton of snow. Probably not as pretty without the snow. Saw one other person on a Friday morning hike. Easy access at sno-park.
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Nice parking lot. There is some good hiking and there is also a sledding hill that kids can play on.
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Nice little hike to Rosary Lakes. Good for kids, snowshoeing, etc. St at Bobby Lake trailhead and continue north or just snowshoe the lakes, Bobby, Roary or Made.
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Trail was as advertised. Trees, burned areas,lava field and streams. Saw lots of PCT hikers. Permit was not a problem.
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Hike was easy and well traveled. A little strenuous for me because of the length.
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Flat east out and back. With more preparation could easily have gone further. Connects to Waldo wilderness.
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Hiked from Scott lake to Hand lake. Two small lakes on the trail are deep in water. Had to bushwhack around back to trail. Lots of mosquitoes so bring bug spray! Nice little trail. The reward is at Hand lake with a beautiful view of the Three Sisters.
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The wildflowers were spectacular! We just did the Cone Peak Loop without the Iron Mountain part, so was a pretty easy hike. There were a fair number of people out, and many chose to take a lunch break at the big wildflower meadows about halfway in. The start and end are pretty well shaded, so heat wasn’t bad.
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stars
I went in May and hiked this whole trail. It was raining hard, which meant no bikers to deal with. The trail is in good shape and being near the river was a treat the whole time. The river was running fast and loud. The waterfalls were spectacular. I broke this trip up into two days. I started at the upper McKenzie Trailhead and hiked to McKenzie River Blue Pool Trailhead. The next day I started at Bigelow Hotspring Trailhead and hiked all the way to the Ranger station. The section near Ollalie campground is currently closed due to fire from last year.
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Good hike from Ice Cap campground to next site. Lots of people at blue pool and trailhead parking was packed. 3 mile road walk due to fire closures.
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My wife and I are both in our 70’s. On 2/26/22 we started at the trailhead at 10:15am. I have not been up this trail in 20 years. The old growth and moss was as beautiful as I remember it. Let’s of mud this day as expected. Trail has been maintained and there were tracks up the Ula ridge upper junction. About 2’ of snow on the upper ridge to where the old lookout once stood. We arrived at the base of the lookout at 1:30pm. We crossed paths with only 7 people on a Saturday. We were back to the parking lot by 4:10pm. Great hike!
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Season: Late Winter (Feb. 20)
Time of Day: Afternoon
Weather: Spot Sun moving to Clouds and threatening rain
Trail Condition: Very muddy, several inches deep at times. Compacted snow and spotty ice over the last quarter.
Traffic: Low (a couple people every 20 minutes)
This is a very busy trail even during the week and in semi-poor weather. Unfortunately, this means that the trail is quite chewed up. I recommend good waterproof boots as it there will be mud and standing water several inches deep most of the year. While it’s a great location, the number of people and the trail conditions detract from the hike.
I recommend taking the hike down to Blue Pool instead of hiking up from the main car park.
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This is a must if you like flowers. Every color in the rainbow is with you along most of the trail. The side trail to the lookout is steep and hard, but worth the effort with 360 degree views of the mountains.
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The falls along the McKenzie River are an amazing and relaxing sight and sound experience to behold. We’ll worth the time and effort to stop if you are driving nearby.
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Trail to Pamelia Lake is in a beautifully diverse forest and includes a stream that looks as if from a fairytale. After quite a climb up Grizzly Peak with many long switchbacks, you’re rewarded with an amazing view of Mt. Jeff and a great snack spot.
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My daughter and I were diverted here by a friendly forestry ranger that was manning the Road Closed sign (active wildfire) that blocked us from getting to Coffin Mountain. We weren't disappointed by his recommendation. Steady climb, moderately steep, but short (about 0.8 miles one way), gaining about 600 feet in elevation. Similar, in terms of hiking, as doing Misery Ridge at Smith Rock. Plenty of wildflowers (multiple varieties of buckwheat, Scarlet Horn, Sierra Stonecrop, Indian Paintbrush, Flax, Common Wooly Sunflower, Dwarf fireweed, Slender ciquefoil, Cow Parsnip, Butterballs, Henderson's angelica, Scarlet gilia, Aspen Fleabane). And, many, many butterflies that seemed to be holding a convention at the summit. Great views, moderately challenging footing, well worth it!
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Beautiful forest, almost magical in appearance. Blue Pool at the top is soooo worth the drive there and the adventure along the trail
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Beautiful wildflowers along the trail. Unable to summit due to lots of blow down and couldn’t find the switchbacks. Still a great hike with beautiful views of diamond Peak, Mount bachelor, south sister.
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This was a fun a skin up on a beautiful bluebird day! Snow was pretty wet by descent- still fun to play outside though and earn some turns! 🤙🏼
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Stunning hike. Most of the hike is pretty straight forward on the PCT. once on the ridge you just have to pick a route and go. The crawl was rather simple. We did use rope here while down climbing. Only cause of blind holds. The summit block is awesome. Take at least 3 liters of water. No shade for a good portion of the hike. No place to filter which we saw. A must do!
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It was pretty crowded, but a nice little trail along the water!
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Beautiful, but it was crowded and no one was social distancing. I would go again after the pandemic
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Very steep hike, trail not maintained since wildfire in 2018. Great view of Mt. Jefferson from the top of Devil’s Pean.
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This hike takes you through lovely wooded habitat with patches of wet meadows, little lakes, and then up to the top of Scott Mountain where you get a great view of the peaks all around. Lots of wildflowers. Just bring tour bug spray- mosquitoes galore.
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Beautifullllll hike! No one there! There’s a tree down on the road, but it’s just above a pullout and it’s only .6 miles from the trailhead. Totally still accessible, but has stopped people from going. Not that long or hard and spectacular view at the top!!
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Beautiful wildflowers and views. At the top you can see several mountains. Favorite hike.
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Great trail with incredible views of the surrounding peaks, the Sisters, Washington, Jack, Jefferson. A big bang for your buck trail the numerous wildflowers are currently blooming & are so beautiful.
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Very rough road to get to Elk Lake. No low clearance vehicles. Not a well traveled hike as sections are near overgrown. Mosquitoes on the East side of Battle Ax Mountain. Pikas in the fallen rocks. Still snow around as well. As you approach the Battle Ax peak, the views turn tremendous. Not much level ground on this hike.
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Great spot that should not be attempted in June (or until later in July) without GPS, crampons or snowshoes (or at least Yaktrax). Water sources difficult to find under snow, and very easy to lose the trail. Great views and varied terrain make this a hike I’d love to repeat without the added challenge of 3-5+ feet of snow for 80% of the loop. Major mosquito activity at the trailhead and into the first few miles, bring deet.
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Hiked this trail mid June. The trail is in great condition with just a couple logs to get around/under, a couple muddy sections from snow melt nothing major to get through. The wildflowers are blooming now and are a beautiful site, you cannot go wrong hiking this trail with the meadows, the surrounding Mtn views and the views from atop Iron Mtn are all incredible.
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Hike date: June 17, 2020
It was sunny, in the mid 50s. There were some patches of snow on the trail but none lasted more than 50 feet, able to traverse easily. Belknap had a lot of snow cover on the western side which was impossible to get up safely without micro spikes or crampons. The eastern side had little snow and there was no direct trail on that side (trail to the summit is on the west side that’s covered by snow). I didn’t attempt it but I saw another hiker make their way up the eastern side, carving their own path up the scree and hopefully making it to the top. If you come to summit this before July, I’d suggest either preparing to use crampons or micro spikes, or blazing your own way up the dry side. The hike into Little Belknap which is before the big Belkap is slightly technical, having to do a few small scrambles up and down rocks, but a great spot for a lunch break before the big summit. Saw 7 other day hikers.
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The falls were unexpected and amazing. Had to turn around at 2 miles due to snow depth.
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Perfect snowshoe experience to Mountain View Shelter. The loop got more difficult once we left. Signs are well posted & pretty easy to follow, especially with the Gaia app for support! Next time I think we’ll spend the night in the shelter!!
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Steeper Climb from the east trailhead. More of a gradual slope from the west. We climbed up the east side and literally ran down the west. Awesome day, beautiful area, pretty flowers and spectacular view at the top!
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Went in late Winter, weather was fairly good rained and snowed near the end of the hike. Trail was clear, and nearly empty due to lower temperatures and weather. This was good because I’ve heard this trail can be busy spring-late fall. Views were beautiful the entire way.
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Great intermediate mountain bike loop. Up the road and down the Goodman creek trail
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The fall colors were out! Seeing Marion Falls and Marion Lake were spectacular
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This is my idea of a perfect dayhike - a beautiful drive well off the highway along lonely backroads, ample parking at the trailhead, followed by a reasonably challenging trail, ending at an astonishingly scenic special place that only a few people know about. The only way it could have been any better for this geocacher is if I could have placed a new cache there… but I completely understand why that should not happen. I highly recommend this hike, but just not too publicly.
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Waldo 100k ultramarathon - great runnable trails with some very challenging climbs along the way and scenic lookouts.
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Awesome view from old fire lookout location. Can see most peaks in Oregon on a clear day. Wildflowers along a good majority of the trail.
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First backpacking trip with kids, ages 15, 12, 9, & 7. Moderately difficult for a short portion of the trail, basically going into and out of the lake basin. Stunning setting with nearby waterfalls to hike to. Great camping sites at Obsidian Creek and Linton Creek, however the site at Obsidian Creek is the nicer of the sites. Great Lake for swimming and fishing-bring a pole or a floatie. Extra bonus sighting cougar prints along the lakeshore.
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Trail across lava flows is rugged - be sure to wear good hiking shoes -- and not recommended for pets. We hiked both to the Little Belknap overlook and the Belknap Crater overlook and clocked 7.3 mi round trip; we took a leisurely 3:55 moving. Beautiful day with some wildflowers blooming on the non-lava sections. Note that the trail to Little Belknap is well marked, but no marking for the Belknap Crater turnoff. It is on the left, just after you leave the lava (past the trail to Little Belknap). Last mile or so is sandy scree, so slow going, but worth it. Views from the top are very nice - North & Middle Sister to the south (South Sister is behind them) and Mt. Washington, Three-Fingered Jack, a peek at Mt Jefferson to the north. Windy on the top and can be a bit cool, even on a hot day in Sisters.
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Great swimming holes; plenty of campsites if you want to boondock. Opal pool was amazing, with a nice little 30-35’ jump. Water was plenty deep for jumping; enjoy!!
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Fairly steep ascent (15%) over dusty/rocky terrain with plenty of slippage. The bear grass was in exceptional bloom at higher elevations but expended at lower ones. Cloud cover obscured the high peaks nearby that would have been exceptional in a clear day. No mosquitoes!
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Not as good as coffin mountain when you factor in the flowers but easier. Great views. Drive to it is fine, roads not too bad,
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The best place to clear your head and take in how gorgeous the Pacific Northwest is.
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Great wildflower trip. The Beargrass was in varying stages of bloom depending on the sun exposure. The Rhododendrons were blooming as well as Indian Paint Brush and Trillium. Well worth the drive and hike.
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