- Lion Lake
Lion Lake is a 1.6 mile out and back trail, with an option to make it a loop if you walk along a road. There is a recreational beach at either end of the trail, where you will see people swimming and paddle boarding. I recommend parking at one beach and taking the trail to the other beach and then back. Max and I tried to do the loop by walking the road and found it very confusing. We couldn’t find where the trail picked back up and ended up bushwacking around the perimeter of the lake to get back to the beach. We encountered many friendly, off leash dogs both on the trail and at the beach.
2. Stanley Lake
This is a 3.8 mile out and back trail with a good-sized parking lot. There is a sharp incline initially, then the trail levels out. At about one mile in, you will get a glimpse of the lake and then at 1.3 miles you will start seeing access points to the lake shore, great for swimming. The end of the trail takes you to some campsites and there is more access to the lakeshore, although there are lots of large rocks and trees in the lake here, so it would be better to swim earlier on. There were many dogs on the trail.
3. Glacier Lake Trail
Glacier Lake Trail requires a 10 mile drive down a dirt road to reach the trailhead. The GPS will say you have arrived a little bit before you do. The end of the dirt road becomes a parking lot that, while a decent size, will be full because there is access to three different lakes here. If the parking lot is full, people did not have a problem finding parking along the dirt road. You will reach a few forks along the dirt road, but if you stay left at every fork, you will make it to the right place. This was a busy trail with lots of off-leash dogs on it. There is a lengthy stream crossing that I wore water shoes for and highly recommend. The trail was easy and very well marked, and the lake was quite rewarding at the end of the hike. My only regret is that I didn’t bring a bathing suit to swim in the lake.
4. Holland Lake and Falls
This 3.1 out and back trail is great for dogs in the summertime because the trail starts at a lake and ends at a waterfall. There is a 1.3-mile gravel road to reach the trailhead. The trail begins with access to Holland Lake right away, then meanders along the shore of the lake, where there are many access points for your dog to jump in and swim. The trail is mostly flat until right before the falls where there is an incline. There will be fork in the trail at one point. Make sure you stay to the right, where the arrow is pointing. The trail was not too strenuous, but we hiked on a very hot July day and found ourselves in direct sunlight most of the trail. The waterfall is a welcome place to cool off at the end of the hike. You will have to climb up and over some rocks to get to the base of the falls, but the spray coming off the waterfall feels amazing on a hot July day. Max loved sitting in front of the waterfall to cool off before we headed back.
5. Lower Cold Lake
There is a 7-mile dirt road to get to the trailhead. The road does not have a lot of potholes, but the ones it does have are very large and deep. Especially be careful with the potholes located just before and after the small bridges you will drive over. There is great signage along the road, so you could easily reach the trailhead without a GPS. The first mile of this 3.5 mile out and back trail has an incline. The first 0.5 miles specifically is very steep and had me huffing and puffing. The lake is gorgeous, and Max couldn’t wait to jump in by the time we got there. My only complaint is the entire trail, even the lake, had a lot of mosquitoes and horse flies. I reapplied bug spray to both me and my dog twice and it barely helped. We were swarmed with bugs the entire time, which made us rush through the hike to get back to the car.
