Day Hike - Goat Lake

Driving/Parking

The drive to the trailhead was uneventful. The majority of the road is in very good condition. The last 4 miles are unpaved and have potholes. A car with good clearance will have no problem. The parking lot was about half full so parking wasn't an issue. USFS park rangers were present so be sure to have your forest pass or national park pass.

Trip Details

Our route to Goat Lake included both the upper and lower Elliott Creek trails. The hike stats were very close to those that are posted elsewhere (e.g. 10.4 miles and 1400 ft of elevation gain). The entire trip took a little over 5 hours including breaks (we had a long break at the lake).

Everything else (sightings, etc.)

The day started overcast and rainy. When we reached the trailhead ~2 hours later the rain stopped. The trail was still pretty dry so we didn't need to deal with any muddy conditions. The weather continued to improve over the day (clouds burned off, sun came out, etc.).

Like most forests in the PNW, the forest is mostly a second growth forest. Around the time you enter the wilderness, which is somewhere near the 4 mile mark, you'll start to see some of the few old growth trees that remain. They are HUGE!

The tree next to the wilderness sign was actually one of the smaller old growth trees. There were much bigger ones nearby. The sign provides a good size reference though.

The lake itself was wonderful. It's a beautiful lake with an excellent view (pictured above). There are a lot of ground squirrels that will try and take your food so be on the lookout for them.

Elliott Creek provided some nice views along our way back. The creek has a fair amount of variety so each view is something different.