Heart Lake Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Hellroaring Meadows Trailhead
- Ending point: Heart Lake
- Hike type: In and out
- Distance: 2.0 miles
- Elevation gain: 150 feet
- High point: 5,380 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: Limited summer/fall opening
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
On Yakama Nation land and part of the Mt. Adams Recreation Area, Heart Lake is a small forest lake at the site of a former glacial icefall at the east end of Hellroaring Meadows. Little Mount Adams looms above the lake and is reflected in its still waters. A wall of andesite just west of the lake is sometimes used by climbers. The Hellroaring Meadows Trail leads one mile in to the lake.
From the trailhead, keep on a gentle or level gradient as you head into the glacial valley of Hellroaring Creek. The forest here is dominated by mountain hemlock with a huckleberry understory. Pass above a boggy meadow and mossy creek as you continue up the western side of the valley. At a talus slope squeaking with pikas, a large spring issues to feed the creek. The trail veers right here into a parkland of conifers and wet meadows blooming with lovage, groundsel, lupine, paintbrush, and heliotrope in summer. Come to a short section of trail paved with stones and then make a log crossing of a branch of Hellroaring Creek. Walk across a boggy meadow and then rise up a little slope to reach the shore of Heart Lake, a dark little expanse reflecting the cinder cone of Little Mount Adams rearing above.
On the north side of the lake, a short use trail leads to the top of the 100-foot tumbling cascade of Hellroaring Creek Falls that spills over a former icefall area in the days when this was a glacier-filled valley.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- $20 day-use fee
- In 2023, open July 26th through September 7th (open period may vary from year to year)
- A-frame outhouse at trailhead
- $3.50 toll each way at Hood River Bridge
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Green Trails Maps: Mount Adams, WA #367S
- Yakama Nation: Mount Adams Recreation Area Overview
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mt. Adams Wilderness, Indian Heaven Wilderness, Trapper Creek Wilderness
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mt. Adams Ranger District
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Gifford Pinchot National Forest
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Mount St. Helens - Mt. Adams
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Heart Lake Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Heart Lake Hike
Guidebooks that cover this destination
- Day Hiking Mount Adams and Goat Rocks by Tami Asars
- Washington's South Cascades Volcanic Landscapes by Marge and Ted Mueller
- Best Short Hikes in Washington's South Cascades & Olympics by E.M. Sterling & Ira Spring
- 95 Virtual Hikes of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument by Northwest Hiker
More Links
- Heart Lake Hike (Northwest Hiker)
- Hellroaring Meadows Trail and Heart Lake (Flora Northwest)
- Yakama Nation Mt. Adams Recreation Area
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)