Hike to Heather Lake
4.6 miles
1034 ft gain
- Out-and-Back Trail
Added by Tara Warolin
Heather Lake Trail is a great first hike for kids with flowers in the Spring and berries in the fall.
The trail takes you on a gradual climb up to Heather Lake with beautiful second growth to admire along the way. The trail can be very wet and muddy with many tree roots to catch your toes, so make sure to wear a sturdy pair of tennis shoes or hiking shoes.
When you reach the lake, the trail splits; take either direction, since both loop around the lake. About half of the loop is a nice flat boardwalk to admire everything.
Make sure to notice the huge rotting stumps with the springboard notches alongside the trail; springboards were boards placed in tree trunks for the loggers to stand on as they used a large crosscut saw to take down the tree.
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Overall rating:
Great Hike.
only been up during the winter months. The trail seemed to be a creek at times. overall beautiful scenery
4.0
Great Hike
Perfect for this time of year. Nice that most the trailers are covered by trees so not in direct sunlight.
4.0
awesome spring hike
Awesome spring hike, do it every year around May 20th. great, easy first of the season hike, great way to start the hiking season
5.0
Very peaceful if you go early in the morning
Currently, very muddy and snow at the tail end of it. We were hiking with hiking shoes and we were fine :)
4.0
Perfect Solo Hike.
I decided to hike this solo on a weekday because I know it gets pretty good foot traffic all week, and I wanted to make sure there were others on the path. I heard it's horribly congested on the weekends, so get there early. I'm new to hiking, and trying to get into shape, so I picked this hike because I had just completed Wallace Falls, and this one is similar in length and elevation. I didn't keep in mind the difference in terrain however. Heather lake is a lot less "manicured," and I found myself walking through lots of mud, tripping over roots, and navigating large slabs of rock. It took a lot more energy than I was used to, but it was worth it. I passed one couple coming down as I headed up, and I had the lake to myself for about 30 minutes before other hikers joined. I found a huge boulder at the opposite end of the lake (from when you first approach the lake). I climbed up it, and enjoyed my lunch surrounded by beautiful views. On the way down I passed about 40 people, and 12 muddy dogs (all off leash except for 1). I would definitely do this hike again (not on a weekend, and arriving by 9 once again). Also, road going up is a bit rough, so if you have a suv, bring it.
4.0
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