Howard Lake Trail

Howard Lake is a 2.8-mile out-and-back from High Bridge: follow the Pacific Crest Trail to the McGregor Mountain turnoff, then continue a short way along the McGregor trail to the lake. The park’s 1.2-mile figure reaches the junction; the lake spur is included in this mapped total, while another hiking description lists 3.3 miles round trip. Expect a steady, moderate climb of about 600 feet and allow around 2½ hours with a break at the water.

Start behind the corral at High Bridge Ranger Station. The trail follows a broad tread beside a small knoll, then turns uphill on rougher switchbacks. Open ponderosa pine gives way to greener Douglas-fir. On the upper climb, a signed Bullion/Cascade Horse Trail junction joins the route; horse parties use this area too. Fire scars remain on older trees, and woodpeckers work the mixed forest.

Above the switchbacks, the trail crosses rocky outcrops where the trees open toward Agnes Mountain and Dome Peak. These are natural places to pause before the short continuation to the lake. Mature lodgepole pines grow on this higher stretch, another sign of the area’s fire history.

The lake is shallow and fringed with water lilies. Dragonflies and aquatic life fill the water, and an active beaver lodge sits nearby. Migration seasons are good for birdlife; mosquitoes can be abundant early in the season. In late summer, western toadlets move across the trail in such numbers that the tread can be covered with them, so watch each step. A large rock beside the lake makes a good place to sit, and the shallow water warms quickly in summer.

Howard Lake is a worthwhile stopping point for people who don’t want the much longer McGregor Mountain summit hike. At the junction just beyond the lake, the right branch continues toward McGregor Mountain; the left follows the Old Wagon/Pacific Crest Trail toward Bridge Creek. A separate one-mile connector reaches the Stehekin Valley Road near Tumwater Camp; returning along the road makes an approximately four-mile loop from High Bridge. That loop is longer than the lake out-and-back mapped here.

The lake was renamed in 2015 for Wilson Howard, an African American prospector who made two mining claims here in 1892. Reach High Bridge from Stehekin along the valley road or by shuttle; the trail starts behind the Ranger Station corral. Leashed dogs are allowed on this route. Howard Lake is day-use only, and nearby overnight camping requires a limited backcountry permit. There is no toilet at the trailhead.