Fourmile Lake Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Fourmile Lake Trailhead
- End point: Island Lake
- Hike type: Loop
- Distance: 17 miles
- Elevation gain: 1,500 feet
- High point: 6,400 feet
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Seasons: Summer, fall
- Family Friendly: In short stretches
- Backpackable: Yes
- Crowded: No, except on summer weekends)
Contents |
Hike Description
This loop allows you to visit the largest lake in the Sky Lakes Wilderness, Fourmile Lake, as well as a number of lakes in the South Blue Lake Group and the southeastern parts of the wilderness. This is a moderately-graded loop on generally good trails (but whose naming and numbering can be confusing because two different national forests are involved). It is rated "difficult" only because of its length. However, as a two- or three-day backpack, it would be a very mellow experience. In years with "normal" rain and snow, expect volumes of mosquitos in July and August.
From the trailhead parking lot, go west to the last of the campsites, and you should come across the Twin Ponds (#993) Trail. Follow it northwest for 3.3 miles, past Swan Lake (formerly Squaw Lake), to its junction with the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Head north on the PCT for 1.5 miles to a junction with the Cat Hill Way Trail (#992).
Follow the Cat Hill Way Trail northwest up the slope. This way trail crests at about 6300 feet and provides another of those elusive views - this time of the east side of Mount McLoughlin (which doesn't look as cool as its west side - the view you get from I-5). About 0.5 mile north of where the way trail crests, you'll come to a poorly signed junction with a trail that drops northeast into Blue Canyon. The Forest Service calls this the Meadow Lakes Trail but gives it the same number (#976) as the Blue Canyon Trail coming from the Blue Canyon Trailhead. Fight the bureaucratic confusion, and just follow it downhill for about 1.5 miles to a junction, between Blue Lake and Horseshoe Lake, with what most maps show as the #982 trail (but recognized currently as the Blue Canyon Trail #976).
Follow this trail (the #982 a.k.a. the #976) about 3.5 miles east, past Pear Lake to reach Island Lake and the Judge Waldo Tree. (There's a short spur left to the tree and then the lake - see the Judge Waldo Tree Loop Hike.) From here, reach the junction with the Red Lake Trail (#987), and follow that trail briefly (0.2 miles) south to its junction with the PCT. Continue south (straight) on what is now the Badger Lake Trail (#3759), and follow that trail south for 5.3 miles past Long Lake, Badger Lake, and Woodpecker Lake to the east side of the Fourmile Lake Campground. There is a trail around the campground to the trailhead, but it's easier (and less confusing) to do the short walk along the road through the campground.
Fees, Regulations, Facilities, etc.
- No fee at the trailhead
- Vault toilet, picnic tables, campground
- Wilderness rules apply
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Siskiyou Mountain Club: Sky Lakes Wilderness South
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Sky Lakes Users Guide
- Pacific Northwest Recreation Map Series: Upper Klamath Basin
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Klamath Ranger District
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Fourmile Lake Loop Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Fourmile Lake Loop Hike
Guidebooks that cover this destination
- 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Southern Oregon & Northern California by William L. Sullivan
- Where the Trails Are: Ashland - Medford And Beyond by Bill Williams
- Hiking Southern Oregon by Art Bernstein & Victor Harris (partial)
- Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
- Oregon's Wilderness Areas by George Wuerthner
More Links
- Fourmile Lake Trailhead (USFS)
- Twin Ponds Trail #993 (USFS)
- Cat Hill Way Trail #992 (Hiking Project)
- Blue Canyon Trail #976 (USFS)
- Red Lake Trail (USFS)
- Badger Lake Trail #3759 (USFS)
- Fourmile Lake Loop (Sky Lakes Wilderness) 03-Jul-2015 (Boots on the Trail)
- Blue Canyon Loop, Fourmile Lake Campground (NW Horse Trails)
Page Contributors
- VanMarmot (creator)