Green Lake
Updated: Nov 28, 2022
A smaller, hidden lake in Mount Hood National Forest.
Lake Name: Green Lake Lake Coordinates: 45.2179, -121.6527 Lake Elevation: 4525′ Access: I’d classify as bushwhack since the “trail” is hard to follow and difficult to spot Route: Animal/fishermen’s trail Bushwhack Rating: BW 1 Distance: 0.45 miles (round trip) Elevation Range: 4541′ to 4613′ Ascent/Descent: +149 ft / -216 ft Route Type: In and out Note: This lake was a fun adventure. Don’t be fooled by there being a “trail,” it is difficult to follow in certain areas. Date hike was done: 10-27-20
I was expecting I’d have to bushwhack down to the lake. On the only website I could find that spoke about the lake, Loomis Adventures, it mentioned there was a trail of sorts, but it’s difficult to find unless you know where it is.
As we were driving down the road where I was planning to bushwhack down to the lake, I saw what I thought might be a potential start of a trail. It wasn’t obvious and I’m surprised I was even able to spot it. We found a place to park and I went to check it out. If there was a trail, it looked like this would be it. It was so lightly worn that I wasn’t sure. So I thought, we might as well try following it and if it doesn’t lead me to where I’m wanting to go I’ll just bushwhack like I planned.
The “trail”, if it could even be called that, looked more like an animal trail or “fishermans” trail. I don’t know if there are fish in the lake, but I’m not so sure how else to label it.
We followed the “trail” for 0.22 miles and it took us down to the lake. It was a downhill hike. The trail was difficult to follow in certain places, and in others it was more obvious. It definitely wasn’t just a trail I blindly followed. I loved how still and quiet the forest was. I watched for signs of elk because I heard they can inhabit the area.
I lost the trail again where it came to the lake, I was able to find it again and the trail continued down to the lake shore. The lake was a unique shape, long and narrow. It was mostly frozen over. There were beautiful meadows and mossy ground cover near the lake. I’d love to come back and camp overnight sometime. I really fell in love with the area. There were very light sprinklings of snow on the ground in a few areas.
On our hike back I found some very fresh elk scat, but I didn’t see any elk. The forest ground cover was really pretty along the trail. I liked everything about this outing. I’d label this trail as a bushwhack since it requires navigation skill to follow the “trail.”
Coordinates
Parking: 45.21589, -121.65067
Start of animal/fisherman’s trail: 45.21612, -121.65010
Lake edge: 45.21749, -121.65343
Resources
How to get there (from Sandy, OR)
Location
Map
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