Soapstone Lake Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Soapstone Lake Trailhead
- End point: Soapstone Lake
- Hike Type: Lollipop loop
- Distance: 3.2 miles
- Elevation gain: 305 feet
- High Point: 605 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
Soapstone Lake lies nestled on the west side of the Coast Range in Clatsop County. The lake supports waterfowl, cutthroat trout, and teems with newts. At its south end there are a series of old beaver dams. The trail to the lake heads past the meadow where pioneer Erik Lindgren from Finland built his homestead out of hand-hewn cedar planks in 1922. Outbuildings included a barn, smokehouse, and sauna. After the property was deserted, the outbuildings became campers’ fuel over the years, and the house was dismantled around 1970 and moved to Cullaby Lake County Park south of Astoria (See the Cullaby Lake Loop Hike).
From the trailhead, walk along an old road bed in thinned secondary woodland of Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western red-cedar, red alder, sword fern, and deer fern. Large stumps attest to the old growth that once forested the area. The trail drops to a footbridge in a gully and then rises. Drop again to a second footbridge and note all the blown down trees in this section of the forest. Reach Soapstone Meadows, which are rimmed by bulrushes, alders and larger Douglas-firs. The trail skirts this meadow, the site of Erik and Johanna Lindgren’s pioneer home. All that remains are a grove of large cherry trees and some rocks used as corner supports for the house. The path drops to a footbridge over the East Fork of Soapstone Creek; you can look for greenish-black, slippery soapstone here. Then head up rail tie steps among large Douglas-fir stumps and a few big Sitka spruce. Reach the Soapstone Lake Loop Trail Junction and go right.
The trail heads uphill and passes a campsite on the left. Soapstone Lake shimmers below. Pass a junction with a spur trail leading out to a logging road not far away. Head up steps on a ridge crest forested by hemlock, spruce, and sword fern. The trail undulates and gradually drops, dipping below a large hemlock and then passing a couple of large spruce trees before reaching the wooden causeway that crosses the marsh at the south end of the lake. Above and below this footbridge are old beaver dams, but the beavers themselves are gone for the time being. Reach the opposite shore and an alder bottomland. Cross a creek that runs into the lake at a scouring rush bog. Large old logs sprouting their own mini-gardens jut into the lake. Look for tiny insect-eating sundew plants on these logs: this is the only place in this part of the Coast Range where they are found. Walk along an alley of alders and reach the lake’s outlet creek, which later joins Soapstone Creek. Cross the footbridge here, reach the Soapstone Lake Loop Trail Junction, and go right to return to the trailhead.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Soapstone Lake Trail (Oregon Department of Forestry)
- Adventure Maps: NW Coast Trail Map & Guide
Fees, Facilities, etc.
- Campsites: under the cherry trees at Soapstone Meadows and above the junction at the lake
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Soapstone Lake Loop Hike
- Soapstone Lake-Clatsop State Forest
- Soapstone Lake with the hounds – 8/16/11
- Soapstone Lake Trail 5-20-08
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Soapstone Lake Loop Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- 100 Hikes: Oregon Coast by William L. Sullivan
- PDX Hiking 365 by Matt Reeder
- 52 Hikes for 52 Weeks by Franziska Weinheimer (Hike Oregon)
- 25 Hikes on Oregon's Tillamook Coast by Adam Sawyer
- Oregon & Washington: 50 Hikes With Kids by Wendy Gorton
- Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
- 50 Hikes in the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests by the Sierra Club, Oregon Chapter
- 50 Hikes in the Tillamook State Forest by the Tillamook State Forest Committee, Columbia Group Sierra Club
- Best Hikes Near Portland by Fred Barstad
- One Night Wilderness: Portland by Douglas Lorain
More Links
- Clatsop State Forest Recreation Guide (Oregon Department of Forestry)
- Soapstone Lake (Tillamook County Pioneer)
- A Pleasant Hike to a Beautiful Lake (John Carr Outdoors)
- [https://tillamookcoast.com/soapstone-lake-trail/ The solitude of Soapstone Lake Trail (Tillamook Coast))
- The Pioneer Finnish Home (Finnish American Historical Society of the West)
- Soapstone Lake (Atlas of Oregon Lakes)
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)