Larch Lake from camp.
by Sarah Shaffer
A trip whose attractions offer a little bit of everything: lakes, passes, forests, rivers, and great views. As of
Larch Lake from our campsite. The reflections were phenomenal.
August of 2017 many areas along this trail have been burned by fire, this includes a bridge crossing over the Entiat River .2 miles before you reach Myrtle Lake, you may have to detour a couple of miles to find a log crossing up river to cross before meeting back up with the trail system.
The trail is in need of some maintenance. Roughly 60 or so downed trees along the trail that we had to cross over with packs. The Cow Creek Meadow and Larch Lakes areas were both intact with living green trees, all other areas along this trail are mainly recovering from fire.
There are many creek crossings along this trail, so if you have a dog along for the journey they will have some water stops.
Maps: View our topo map below, which details the route as far as Myrtle Lake. Note: use ‘Print Preview’ before printing to properly scale this map to a full sheet of paper.
Activity: Hiking
Nearest Town: Entiat
Skill Level: 3
Fitness Level: 4
Distance: About 20.3 miles roundtrip
Elevation: Starting elevation: 3100 ft; maximum elevation: 6700 ft; gain: 3600 ft
The burnt out bridge .2 miles from Myrtle Lake.
Access: From Wenatchee, take highway 97A North toward Entiat. Turn left onto the Entiat River Road. Drive 38 miles to the end of the road–after
Cow Creek Meadows. A glorious place for lunch.
about 15 miles, you will pass the last gas station and store and, after 32 miles, the pavement ends. Just past Cottonwood Camp, you will find the Entiat River trailhead.
Trip Instructions:
–Follow the Entiat River Trail 3.6 miles to the juction with trail #1404 to Myrtle Lake (to the left). It is only 0.2 miles to the head of the lake, and would make a 8 miles round trip for mountain bike ride or hike.
–Continue another 1.1 miles from the Myrtle Lake junction before turning left at the junction onto Larch Lakes trail #1430.
–You will reach the first lake after 2.8 miles and 2000 ft elevation gain.
–Past the lakes and a meadow, climb another 900 ft to a ridge, where hikers will receive great views of the Entiat Mountains amd Crane Mt.
–From here, the trail drops down to Pomas Pass, and then down the Pomas Creek basin. There are two creek crossing which, depending on the year, may be crossed on logjams.
–Continue down another 1.5 miles from the pass to where the Pomas Creek Trail #1453 joins the Ice Lakes Trail #1405.
–Another 0.9 miles and you will be back on the Entiat River Trail. Continue another 7.9 miles back along the trail to reach the trailhead.
Additional Information: Some of this information has been compiled from the trip report listed on the Washington Trails Association website and was updated on 8/24/17 by Sarah Shaffer. To
Camp for night 1. Ash and dust surrounded us along with pretty Fire Weed.
read the complete description on the WTA site, click here.
Leave It Better Than You Found It. This should be every outdoor user’s goal. Pick up trash left by others, pull some noxious weeds along your route, throw branches over unwanted spur trails, don’t ride or walk wet trails when you’re leaving ruts/footprints deeper than ¼ inch…
Disclaimer. Treat this information as recommendations, not gospel. Conditions change, and those contributing these reports are volunteers–they may make mistakes or may not know all the issues affecting a route. You are still completely responsible for your decisions, your actions, and your safety. If you can’t live with that, you are prohibited from using our information.
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