to lower lake

      Highlights

      This trip gives you a choice. For an easier hike, follow the very popular trail to attractive Lena Lake, a lower-elevation destination that is open for most of the year. For more dramatic scenery, continue on a rougher trail that takes you into the high country around spectacular Upper Lena Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in the Olympic Mountains. Hikers with children younger than teenagers should stop at Lena Lake.

      Getting There

      Drive 110 miles north of Portland on Interstate 5 to Olympia and take Exit 104 for U.S. Highway 101. After 6 miles you exit to the right, staying on Highway 101, and then drive 43.8 miles to a junction with paved Hamma Hamma River Road near Milepost 318. Turn left (west), drive 6.5 miles to a T junction, turn right, and then go another 1.3 miles to the well-signed Lena Lake Trailhead.

      Hiking It

       The wide, heavily traveled, and gently graded trail soon leaves the river bottom environment dominated by moss-draped bigleaf maples and gradually ascends a tangled forest of second-growth Douglas firs, western red cedars, and western hemlocks. The first 1.5 miles climb 14 switchbacks on a forested hillside before entering the lush canyon of loudly cascading Lena Creek. At 1.9 miles the trail crosses the creek on an unnecessarily large wooden bridge at a point where the stream flows underground and the creekbed is usually dry.

      After the crossing, three more gentle switchbacks and a lengthy traverse lead to the south end of Lena Lake. Unfortunately, it is initially hard to get a good view of this large, deep, green-tinged lake, since the trail stays on the heavily forested hillside well above the western shore. At 3 miles the trail splits. The trail to the right leads past a fine rocky viewpoint above Lena Lake before passing numerous excellent campsites on the lake’s northwest and north shores. This is where hikers with children or those looking for a relatively easy hike should call it a night. Fires are allowed only in established campsites with metal fire rings.

      To reach Upper Lena Lake, take the left fork (uphill) at the trail split and follow a narrower trail that winds mostly uphill into the canyon of Lena Creek. After 0.4 mile go straight at the unsigned junction with a trail turning sharply right back toward Lena Lake. Your trail, which is rough in a few places but easy to follow, continues up the canyon, and at 4.2 miles passes a sign marking your entry into Olympic National Park. Pets and weapons are prohibited beyond this point.

      At 5 miles you cross a side creek on a convenient log, after which the trail gets steeper, with more roots, rocks, and mud. Even with these obstacles, however, the route remains obvious and is not overly difficult. Numerous short, steep switchbacks now guide you into the high country, where forest openings provide enticing views to the east down the canyon of Lena Creek and up to a rugged ridge on the southwest shoulder of The Brothers. The trail makes a bridgeless crossing of Lena Creek at 6.3 miles just below a sliding waterfall, and then ascends several more short switchbacks to an open slope with fine views to the south of pyramid-shaped Mt. Bretherton. Finally, at 7.2 miles, you reach a junction just above the northeast shore of Upper Lena Lake.

      This gorgeous lake, which sits in the basin between Mt. Lena to the north and Mt. Bretherton to the south, is rimmed with forests of mountain hemlock and Alaska yellow cedar and open areas featuring an abundance of pink heather. Fires are not allowed at the lake, and hikers are required to camp in designated sites on the lake’s northwest, southeast, east, and southwest shores. Toilets and bear wires for hanging food are provided for your convenience.

      Mount Bretherton over Upper Lena Lake, Olympic National Park

      The lake is ideal for setting up camp and doing some exploring. A top goal is the rough boot path that goes west over a low pass before continuing to Scout Lake (no camping allowed) and the tiny but dramatically scenic Stone Ponds. You can also follow a scramble route to the top of Mt. Lena or go south into the narrow basin holding Milk Lake.

      Mount Rainier from Gobblers Knob, Mount Rainier National Park (Trip 4)

Southern Mount Rainier and the Goat Rocks

      The undisputed king of the Cascade Mountains, Mt. Rainier rises 14,410 feet into the Pacific Northwest sky and is visible for hundreds of miles in every direction. The national park that surrounds the mountain is a national treasure and is much beloved, not only by locals but by admiring tourists from around the world. Only the southern part of the mountain is close enough for a reasonable weekend trip from Portland, but that includes some of the park’s best scenery, including amazingly abundant wildflowers, enormous glaciers, stunning mountain views, plenty of wildlife, dozens of waterfalls—the list of wonders is almost endless.

      Not far to the southeast of Mt. Rainier is a less famous, but no less worthy, mountain treasure: the Goat Rocks, the ruggedly scenic remains of an eroded volcano. The trails in both areas are justifiably popular, but with reservations in the national park and careful planning in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, it is possible to enjoy a welcome degree of solitude in your backcountry adventures. Even without solitude, the outstanding mountain scenery in both areas will delight you and keep you coming back time and again.

      4 Goat Lake and Gobblers Knob

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RATINGS		Scenery 8 Difficulty 5 Solitude 6
ROUND-TRIP DISTANCE		6.8 miles to Goat Lake; 9 miles to Gobblers Knob