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CHS 1 Hike - Wallace Lake

The Wallace Lake/Greg Ball Trail was a pleasant moderate hike perfectly shaded with breezes for a very warm day like today. Away from the Wallace Falls trail crowds, it also offered relative peace and solitude

SuJ'n Chon SuJ'n Chon
June 29, 2016
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • The Woody Trail tread is somewhat rooted but not uncomfortably so. Once one veers off to Greg Ball Trail, the tread is soft, forested, and well-maintained. Aside from a few soft spots on the trail, the route was dry. The final 0.6 miles to the lake is a gravel forest road, mostly flat with some sections of very gentle grade.

Our group met at the trailhead (Wallace Falls State Park parking lot) at the park's official open time of 8 AM. The lot was already close to half full when we started on our way about a quarter after the hour. The Woody Trail was still fairly quiet as we started our trip. After a little over a mile, we veered left to the Greg Ball Trail towards Wallace Lake. Very few hikers shared the route with us.

The day started comfortable and quickly got warm. We were thankful that the trail was amply shaded, with gentle breezes from the river greeting us along the way. We reached the pebble beach at the north end of the lake about 2:45 from start time. Though the sky was clear and the sun was strong, the nice lake breezes kept us comfortable even while exposed. We shared the small beach with several other folks. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch with gorgeous visibility of the lake and mountains.

The hike out was similarly pleasant, and the heat only got very uncomfortable in the last 1/4 mile to the parking lot when we came out of the trees and under the power lines. It took a little over two hours. By the time we hit Woody Trail again, we were sharing the trail with the Wallace Falls hikers.

Bugs - Yes. Bug juice was useful. Ripe salmonberries to be found along the trail, especially by the lake. Yum.

A great group of hikers to spend the day with! A wonderful trip.