Lake Creek Campground Trail is one of three places my girlfriend and I hiked over Memorial Day weekend. It's located around mile 27.4 on Entiat River Road in Entiat, Washington. The trailhead is located across the road from the Lake Creek campground. When we got to the campground there were two park rangers there so we asked them where the trailhead was located and they said "Just up the road there" So my girl and I walked back to my car, got our gear, and started walking down the road looking for the trailhead. After we had walked about two hundred yards down the road stopped and told my girl we need to go back to the campground and ask the rangers where the heck the trailhead was exactly because we had somehow missed it. Of course, the rangers were gone by the time we turned around and started walking back. When we got back to the campground we looked around and saw the trailhead directly across the street. We both felt like complete newbies!
The trail itself was moderately difficult but was quite difficult for me as my lower back issues persist. The first 100 yards of the trail were fairly flat, then we came to a little creek where a family was camping out with bikes, blankets, and tents. As the two adults told us we had to cross the creek, their two very cute little daughters took it upon themselves to show us how to cross the creek by walking from rock to rock without getting our feet wet. They succeeded, but we weren't able to navigate the rocks as well as they did so our boots got pretty wet. From there, the trail switchbacks up for about 2 miles pretty steadily. Most of the trail is shaded by trees so even though it was hot, there are not a lot of places where the sun shines directly on the trail. The entire hike takes about 4 hours out and back. We hiked a little more than half before I was ready to turn around. Overall, it was a pleasant hike until we were almost run down by four people on mountain bikes coming down the mountain at break-neck speed. We literally had to jump off the trail as they came whizzing by! The adventurer in me said, "I want to do that!" but the over-50-year-old in me said, "Nope, you would definitely crash and break bones" I think the elevation from the road was approximately 2,342 ft. (according to All Trails) and it definitely felt like in 88-degree weather! On the way down I wished I had remembered to cut my toenails. My toes were starting to hurt about halfway down the mountain. Luckily, I was wearing a pair of hiking boots I bought from my website to give them a test run. They did great because of the reinforced toe area of the boot (see below). The boots did great. I am convinced they are now my go-to hiking boots for the rest of the Summer.
Directions to Lake Creek Trail:
From Wenatchee, WA, travel north on US-97A (west side of Columbia River) for 14.4 miles to Entiat, WA. Just after the bridge turn left onto Entiat River Road (County Road #19) and travel north 27.4 miles up the Entiat River Road to Lake Creek Campground on the left. County Road #19 becomes Forest Road 51 at 27 miles.
From Chelan, WA, travel south on US-97A (west side of Columbia River) for 19.3 miles to Entiat, WA. Just before the bridge turn right onto Entiat River Road (County Road #19) and travel north 27.4 miles up the Entiat River Road to Lake Creek Campground on the left. County Road #19 becomes Forest Road #51 at 27 miles
Here is the link to the All Trails listing: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/lake-creek-trail--2?u=i&sh=qou9jc
