Lake Harriette Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
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- Start point: Varney Creek Trailhead
- Ending Point: Lake Harriette
- Hike Type: In and out
- Distance: 12.2 miles
- Elevation gain: 1790 feet
- High Point: 6,885 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: Mid-summer into fall
- Family Friendly: No
- Backpackable: Yes
- Crowded: No
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Hike Description
Lake Harriette is undoubtedly the jewel of all the lakes in the Mountain Lakes Wilderness. At 70 acres, it is certainly the largest, and for backpackers who prefer to fry up the local catch, there's no shortage of trout in its leaping waters. Mount Carmine, one of the four shield volcanoes that make up the Mountain Lakes volcanic complex, looms just to the east, and Aspen Butte, the highest of these peaks, can be seen from the north shore. The lake is also an excellent base from which to explore the rest of the wilderness, especially a summit of Aspen Butte or a circuit using the Mountain Lakes Loop Trail (see the Mountain Lakes via Varney Creek Hike).
The Varney Creek Trail dives into coniferous forest immediately – a mixture of Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, red fir, and white fir of various ages. The understory is mostly clear except for small chinquapin bushes and patches of pipsissewa. Heading gradually up, you’ll pass the wilderness sign and then traverse through boxwood and snow brush before passing below a scree slope. The route then crosses Varney Creek on two footbridges; here the creek braids through a marshy bottomland in an area of considerable blowdown.
From the creek, the trail switchbacks left and begins another gradual ascent, with Mount Harriman looming above. You’ll pass through several small meadows where lupine and goldenweed bloom and get better views of Mt. Harriman, the second highest of the four shield volcanoes that form this complex. The purple blooms of monkshood and tower larkspur may be seen in the lush bogs, which also support a healthy population of mosquitoes. Chipmunks skitter off into the undergrowth. Mountain hemlock begins to dominate the forest as the trail tread becomes rockier; there are sugar pines in here as well. A spur right gives you a view over to the north ridge of Greylock Mountain. Then the trail veers left and, becoming eroded and ditch-like, ascends to a saddle. A short drop from the saddle takes you to the Varney Creek-Mountain Lakes Loop Trail Junction, where you turn left for Lake Harriette.
Descending through mountain hemlock woods on a rocky tread, you’ll soon arrive at the shores of Lake Como, with the scree slopes of Whiteface Peak above. There are campsites to the right, but keep left to stay on the main trail. Hiking up, there’s a good view of Mt. Harriman from a talus slope. Then you’ll see shallow Zephyr Lake a short bushwhack off to your right. From this lakeshore, the bright scree of Whiteface Peak and Peak 7703 is very evident. When you reach a saddle, you’ll get your first view of Lake Harriette nestled in the bowl below, with Mt. Carmine looming behind and the top of Aspen Butte beyond another saddle. On the shore of Lake Harriette, a short trail leads to campsites on the right. Keep left to circle around the north shore of Lake Harriette, hiking through a grouseberry and pinemat manzanita carpet. You'll find more sites to set up camp near Harriette’s outlet creek, which runs dry in the summer.
Facilities
- Information kiosk at trailhead
- Share trail with horses
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mountain Lakes Wilderness
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Klamath Ranger District
- Oregon Recreation Map Series: Upper Klamath Basin
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Lake Harriette Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Lake Harriette Hike
Guidebooks that cover this destination
- Hiking Southern Oregon by Art Bernstein & Victor Harris
- 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Southern Oregon & Northern California by William L. Sullivan
- 100 Classic Hikes in Oregon by Douglas Lorain
- Oregon’s Wilderness Areas by George Wuerthner
- 75 Scrambles in Oregon by Barbara I. Bond
- Hiking Oregon by Donna Lynn Ikenberry
- Where the Trails Are: Ashland – Medford And Beyond by Bill Williams
- Hiking Oregon’s Southern Cascades and Siskiyous by Art Bernstein
- 76 Day Hikes Within 100 Miles of the Rogue Valley by Art Bernstein
- Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
- Pacific Northwest Hiking by Craig Hill & Matt Wastradowski
More Links
- Varney Creek Trail (USFS)
- Mountain Lakes Loop Trail #3727 (USFS)
- Mountain Lakes (Oregon Adventures)
- Varney Creek Trail to Lake Harriette (All Trails)
- Mountain Lakes Wilderness (USFS)
- Mountain Lakes Wilderness (Wilderness Connect)
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)