Lost Lake

Easy (around the lake)

3.4-mile loop

100 feet elevation gain

Open mid-May through October


Moderate (to Lost Lake Butte)

3.8 miles round trip

1300 feet elevation gain

An old-growth forest circles Lost Lake, the classic setting for picture postcards of Mt. Hood. For an easy loop, try the 3.4-mile lakeshore trail. If this isn’t enough exercise, climb a neighboring volcanic butte to a former lookout site with a broader panorama.

Lost Lake was known to the Hood River Indians as E-e-kwahl-a-mat-yam-ishkt, or “Heart of the Mountains.” When an expedition of white men had trouble finding the legendary lake in 1880 they declared they were not lost; the lake was. Today the lake is quite definitely found. Forest Service projects have restored the overused lakeshore, added a half-mile-long boardwalk through an old-growth cedar grove, and expanded the campground.

To find the lake from Portland, take Highway . . .

This chapter taken from the book 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon