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Spirit Lake Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

The driftwood-piled shore of Spirit Lake, with Coldwater Peak (left) and Mt. Margaret (right) in the background (bobcat)
Alder thicket at the upper end of the Harmony Trail (bobcat)
Common paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), Harmony Trail (bobcat)
View across Spirit Lake to Mt. St. Helens (bobcat)
Track of the Harmony Trail to the shore of Spirit Lake (bobcat) Courtesy: Gaia GPS
  • Start point: Harmony TrailheadRoad.JPG
  • End point: Spirit Lake
  • Hike Type: Out and back
  • Distance: 2.4 miles
  • Elevation gain: 545 feet
  • High point: 4,075 feet
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Seasons: Summer into fall
  • Family Friendly: Yes
  • Backpackable: No
  • Crowded: No

Contents

Hike Description

NOTICE: FR 25 is closed between FR 93 and FR 99 due to a collapsed section of roadway. In 2023, the only access to this hike is from the north, via Randle.

On May 18th, 1980, the eruption of Mount Saint Helens, in the largest landslide ever recorded on the planet, drowned the rustic Harmony Falls Lodge on the shores of Spirit Lake. The remains of the retreat, which most guests accessed via boat across the lake, lie buried under almost 200 feet of water and debris in the “new” Spirit Lake. A trail led down from the ridge above, and the remains of this trail were rehabilitated after the eruption, passing just above cascades that led to the now submerged Harmony Falls, to reach the only currently permissible access to the shore of Spirit Lake. This hike can be brushy early in the season as the blast zone environment, without the former conifer canopy, encourages exuberant growth of various shrubby species. Note also that you are not permitted to swim in the lake as the famous log rafts on Spirit Lake really do move without warning and dire injury is a distinct possibility.

The Harmony Trail #224 descends a brushy slope of Sitka alder, thimbleberry, and devil’s club, with a few young silver firs beginning the reforestation. A couple of switchbacks offer views to the devastated slopes of Mount Margaret, across the east arm of Spirit Lake, where the massive displacement caused by the eruption landslide pushed a tidal wave of lake water 800 feet up the slope and brought the dense forest down to become a sea of floating logs. West of Mount Margaret, The Dome and Coldwater Peak dominate the high ridge. Mount Teragram’s distinctive summit block is just to the right of Mount Margaret. Steep elk tracks cross the trail and descend into the thickets of alder. The trail passes through a dripping grotto and then switchbacks down to an open flat whose forest cover also became part of the lake’s giant log raft.

This sandy plain is the haunt of numerous chipmunks and golden-mantled ground squirrels. Lupine and penstemon bloom here, and you’ll get views to the Mount Saint Helens crater and lava dome. You’ll pass above the cascades on Harmony Creek (these are not 100-foot Harmony Falls, which are now submerged). Switchback again to get a view across the lake to Harrys Ridge. Another switchback takes you down to a lower tier of the cascade, which splashes into a willow-lined pool.

Keep left at a junction with a user trail, and then drop through rocks and driftwood to the shore of the lake. You may get here when there’s a giant log raft as far as the eye can see, or the migrating logs have blown against the opposite shore, leaving an expanse of open water. After over 40 years of floating up and down the lake, the logs have become worn and rounded, like beach driftwood.


Maps

  • Maps: Hike Finder
  • Green Trails Maps: Spirit Lake, WA #332
  • Green Trails Maps: Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument, WA #332S
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Gifford Pinchot National Forest
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument & Administrative Area
  • National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Mount St. Helens - Mt. Adams

Regulations or restrictions, etc

  • Northwest Forest Pass (or America the Beautiful Pass) required
  • Dogs not permitted
  • Stay on trail
  • No fishing or swimming in Spirit Lake

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks

  • Best Hikes With Kids: Western Washington by Susan Elderkin
  • Day Hikes in the Pacific Northwest by Don J. Scarmuzzi
  • A FalconGuide to Mount St. Helens by Fred Barstad
  • Day Hiking: South Cascades by Dan A. Nelson & Alan L. Bauer
  • 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon by William L. Sullivan
  • Hiking Washington’s History by Judy Bentley
  • Best Short Hikes in Washington’s South Cascades & Olympics by E.M. Sterling & Ira Spring
  • 95 Virtual Hikes of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument by Northwest Hiker
  • Washington Hiking by Scott Leonard
  • Pacific Northwest Hiking by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill

Links


Contributors

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Oregon Hikers Field Guide is built as a collaborative effort by its user community. While we make every effort to fact-check, information found here should be considered anecdotal. You should cross-check against other references before planning a hike. Trail routing and conditions are subject to change. Please contact us if you notice errors on this page.

Hiking is a potentially risky activity, and the entire risk for users of this field guide is assumed by the user, and in no event shall Trailkeepers of Oregon be liable for any injury or damages suffered as a result of relying on content in this field guide. All content posted on the field guide becomes the property of Trailkeepers of Oregon, and may not be used without permission.