Lakes of the Coast Range

Soapstone Lake

  • Easy (Soapstone Lake)
  • 2.8-mile loop
  • 260 feet elevation gain


  • Easy (Lost Lake)
  • 1-mile loop
  • 50 feet elevation gain


  • Difficult (Spruce Run Lake)
  • 5.2 miles round trip
  • 1350 feet elevation gain

The Coast Range doesn’t have many lakes, and drivers don’t see any. These three are hidden just south of Highway 26. Soapstone Lake is the best hike for kids, through a homestead meadow and across a brook. Lost Lake is the only one with a boat ramp, so kayaks can keep pace with hikers around the shore. Spruce Run Lake is a pond, but the hike here is the most athletic of the three, climbing a mossy rainforest canyon. You could easily do all three hikes in a weekend, and if so, there’s a lovely campground on the Nehalem River you might try.

To find the Soapstone Lake trailhead, drive Highway 26 . . .


This chapter taken from the book 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Oregon Coast & Coast Range.