Labor Day Backpacking

[adamc]

I'm looking for a two night trip over Labor day weekend. Something more relaxing without a ton of elevation would be great. I'm thinking about doing the Gunsight Butte-Badger Lake Loop since it would be nice to do some swimming. Any thoughts on this hike or other suggestions?

Thanks so much!

[romann]

I think Badger Lake can be very busy on Labor Day weekend - there's a road down to the lake. Backcountry lakes will be much quieter, there's many to choose from in Olallie Scenic Area, Roaring River Wilderness, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Indian Heaven... I don't want to name the lakes/campsites here for obvious reason. Great hike finders:
http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org ... Lake_Hikes
http://nwhiker.com/

[VanMarmot]

I'd suggest Indian Heaven, as it's getting to the time when the bugs are starting to expire. The well known lakes - Junction, Blue, Placid, etc. - can be really busy on a major holiday weekend. But here are a lot of small lakes away from the main trails - for example, Lakes SE of Tombstone Lk or Lake Toke Tie - that you can get to with easy XC travel and expect a little privacy.