Bloom Lake Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Bloom Lake Trailhead
- End point: Bloom Lake
- Hike Type: Lollipop loop
- Distance: 3.0 miles
- Elevation gain: 675 feet
- High Point: 1,690 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
Little Bloom Lake nestles above the Quartz Creek drainage in the Coast Range, a short hike up and an excellent diversion from the heavy beach traffic on Highway 26. The trail mostly follows old logging roads in the Clatsop State Forest, with a foot trail fashioning a loop around the north shore of the lake. The forest here is secondary with a few old trees, both the coastal lowland species like Sitka spruce and western hemlock as well as some higher elevation conifers such as noble and silver fir. This is an excellent leg-stretcher on your way to or from the north coast.
Cross the South Fork Quartz Creek on a footbridge and head up under a canopy of alders. A sign tells you that Bloom Lake is 1.25 miles up the trail. Switchback up through salmonberry, elderberry, Douglas-fir, alder, hemlock, vine maple, sword fern and devil’s club and then descend to an alder/ salmonberry thicket. The trail rises again, passing large stumps with springboard slots. Silver firs also appear in the woods. You're on an old logging spur that joins a more recent road bed, where you turn left and head up. Down to your right, you may see a dark forest pond that sometimes hosts beavers. Soon, the road levels and is lined by hemlock saplings. At a trail post, head right into the woods.
Meander through lush, mossy forest under hemlock, Douglas-fir, alder, vine maple, and some noble firs. Notice numerous large stumps: the area was logged over 100 years ago. The trail winds down. The largest trees here are smooth-barked noble firs. Drop into an alder/salmonberry grove with views through the alders to Bloom Lake. Continue past a trail sign to the outlet creek of the lake. Head up next to the creek on somewhat soggy ground to a large rotting log, which serves as a bridge where the creek flows out of the lake. Then follow the path along the north shore of the lake. You'll notice more Sitka spruce here. Come to a campsite with two large trees, one a noble fir and one a Sitka spruce. (Those who use this campsite usually drive in.) From the campsite, a trail bears right out to a spur road, but you should keep straight. A spur leads left to the sedge-lined shore of Bloom Lake, where you can scope for muskrats, herons, and ducks like buffleheads and mallards. The lake's inlet creek is near here.
Return to the path, and go left to reach a gravel road, a spur off the August Fire Road. Bear left - it's about 250 yards on the road before you pick up the abandoned road bed to close the loop. Walk past a pond on the right redolent of skunk-cabbage. Where the road dips and then curves up to the left, the Bloom Lake Trail resumes off to your left. There's a large berm to negotiate, and then the track passes between skunk-cabbage bogs. The trail rises through the salmonberries and then passes around an old slide to reach a one-plank footbridge over a creek. The creek has eaten away the road bed here, so don't hike to close to the edge. The route now begins to drop, and you can get glimpses of Bloom Lake through the alders to your left. When you reach the loop junction, stay right to return to your vehicle.
Maps
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- none
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Bloom Lake Loop Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Bloom Lake Loop Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- 25 Hikes on Oregon's Tillamook Coast by Adam Sawyer
- Hiking from Portland to the Coast by James D. Thayer
- Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
- Best Hikes Near Portland by Fred Barstad
- 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
More Links
- Clatsop State Forest Recreation Guide (Oregon Department of Forestry)
- Three Mountain Lakes for Young Hikers (Trailkeepers of Oregon)
- Lost, Spruce Run, and Bloom Lakes-09/26/2020 (wanderingyuncks)
- Bloom Lake Hike (Forest Hiker)
- Bloom Lake Trail (Portland Monthly)
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)