Miles: 3.1 miles RT
Elevation Gain/Highest: 130ft/2960ft
Map: Green Trails Mt. St. Helens 332s, NatGeo Mt. St. Helens/Mount Adams
Favorite Eats After Hike: Fargher Lakehouse, PNW Pizza Co or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike details:
Off the beaten path in the Kalama Recreation Area, this short hike to a pair of large marshy lakes (or ponds) created by the Coldspring Creek drainage that runs down from Mount St Helens and beaver activity has a big nature payoff. The trail is relatively flat and wide and offers quite a bit of shoreline for relaxing and viewing elk, beavers, Cascade frogs and western toads, Mallard ducks and Kingfishers, black-tailed deer and black bear to just name a few possible fauna.
You can learn more about the area here on the USFS website.
My trip report:
6/29/2020
This was our first hike today, one that my good friend Elizabeth had on her list to return to. The road in was filled with folks dispersed camping and the road was rough at the end.
We started out on the Kalama Ski Trail, wide and flat. There were a few trees down but nothing major. In a short distance a smaller trail crossed but we continued straight. In .18 miles, the ski trail came to a deep dry creek crossing and we took a route down on the left to continue up a boot path to intersect with the Kalama Ski Trail again. A tall sign for Goat Marsh was on the right and we followed past it, leaving the ski trail.
At .31 miles, we came to a wooden fence and signage for the Goat Marsh Research Natural Area. The trail remained wide and level another third of a mile until we could see the beginning of the Goat Marsh area on our right. The clouds hung low so we did not have views of Goat Mountain but the trees reflected in the water and the scene was tranquil over the first lake (or pond).
Stopping a moment at the shoreline, we followed around on the soft pine needle carpeted trail as it lined the marshy lake area, grey spines jutting up from the water surface layered with lilypads. As we came to the second open water area, we could see elk grazing off in the distance. My app told us Mount St. Helens rose off in the distance but we had somber cloud cover today.
At 1.3 miles the trail is being eroded by trees falling into the lake but it was possible to make our way up and back onto the trail. At 1.5 miles the trail fizzles out and there were some good spots for sitting and watching for wildlife. I was curious if there was maybe a boot path up to Goat Mountain from here but a brief time searching did not produce anything that looked obvious. Maybe for another day!
Directions: Take exit 21 at Woodland off I-5 and turn east on SR 503 towards Cougar. A mile before Cougar (28 miles), turn left on FR 81 signed for Kalama Recreational Area and Merrill Lake NRCA. Stay on this road (mostly paved) for 11.5 miles to a T signed for Ape Cave, continue onto FR 8123 (a much rougher road). In a short distance, the traihead is on the left, marked for Kalama Ski Trail. There is room for two cars, no pass needed. Be careful, there is a large parking lot earlier on 81 marked for the Kalama Ski Trail, you want the much smaller second one on FR 8123 although the ski trail would eventually connect.
Click here for the other hikes we did and more in the area.
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