Threemile Lake Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Threemile Lake South Trailhead
- End point: Threemile Lake
- Hike type: In and out
- Distance: 1.8 miles
- Elevation gain: 275 feet
- High point: 200 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: Yes
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
This little gem of a trail is officially maintained and yet way off the radar of most visitors to the Oregon Dunes. Part of the adventure is the drive on Sparrow Park Road, which leads to an ORV area. Some of the potholes are massive enough to swallow small cars, which should probably not attempt this excursion. The trail itself leads through a lush coastal forest to reach a secluded beach on the south shore of Threemile Lake, a pristine dune lake that warms enough to offer a relaxing swim in the summer. Yellow perch flourish in the lake, so it’s definitely worth carrying in a rod!
The sign that was at the trailhead has long disappeared, but the trail itself dives straight into the Sitka spruce/Douglas-fir woodland and makes two short switchbacks up. You’ll then traverse along a slope of salal, rhododendron, evergreen huckleberry, red huckleberry, sword fern, and deer fern. Keep your eyes open for a young coast redwood, perhaps 80-100 feet tall, right next to the trail. Whether this is the world’s northernmost naturally growing redwood or the work of a mischievous human visitor, it’s an unusual sight here. The trail begins to wind down the slope now. In February and March, the newts are migrating, so watch your step! The path then traverses above a small lake and crosses a footbridge. Then you’ll pass above a swamp and reach a shore pine and a beach at the south end of Threemile Lake.
There’s a very isolated feeling here: no roads or other trails reach the lakeshore except for the Threemile Lake North Trail. You can see the large dune at the north end of the lake which includes the Threemile Lake Overlook (see the Tahkenitch Dunes Loop Hike). And no, Threemile Lake is not three miles long; it’s more like 1 ½ miles. The lake was named for its distance from the shifting mouth of the Umpqua River to the south although that distance is closer to six miles at this time.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Tahkenitch Area Trails (USFS)
- Green Trails Maps: Oregon Coast Central #456SX
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Siuslaw National Forest
- Pacific Northwest Recreation Map Series: Oregon Central Coast
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Share Sparrow Park Road with ORVs and monster trucks
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Threemile Lake Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Threemile Lake Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Day Hiking: Oregon Coast by Bonnie Henderson
- 120 Hikes on the Oregon Coast by Bonnie Henderson
More Links
- [https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/siuslaw/recarea/?recid=42593 Threemile Lake South Trail #1356 (USFS)
- Threemile Lake South Trailhead (USFS)
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)