Parking
Take Hurricane Ridge Road to the Lake Angeles Trailhead, adjacent to the Heather Park access just north of the Heart O' the Hills entrance station. A park entrance pass is required.
Overview
About Lake Angeles Trail
Why go
- A glacial lake, central island, and cascades reward the climb.
Heads up
- About 2,400 feet of uphill, with most of the route under forest cover.
Lake Angeles Trail is a 7-mile out-and-back from the Lake Angeles Trailhead to a 20-acre alpine lake, with 3.5 miles each way and about 2,400 feet of climbing. Allow roughly five to six hours for the hike and a stop at the water. It is a good choice if you want an alpine basin enough to earn it; most of the climb is under trees, so the lake is the main open-country payoff. The maintained trail is rated moderate, but that much uphill can feel hard if long climbs wear you down. The standard hike ends at the lake.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Olympic map
Full mapElevation1,942–4,327 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
6 active Olympic alerts
- InfoNo potable water at Hurricane RidgeMentions Hurricane Ridge, referenced in this guideNo potable water is available at Hurricane Ridge; bring your own drinking water.Official details
- CautionUS 101 Hoh River Bridge reduced to one laneUS 101 at the Hoh River Bridge is restricted to one lane of alternating traffic; obey the signals and 25 mph speed limit.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Olympic Tour Guide
Your drive to Lake Angeles Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Olympic National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Olympic audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Lake Angeles: A Lake Worth the Climb0:00 / 0:26
“You’re approaching the Lake Angeles and Heather Park trailhead, for long climbs rather than a roadside view. For the shorter mountain outing, I’d choose Lake Angeles: a glacial bowl with a little island below the cliffs.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Olympic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Heart O' the Hills: Camp Beneath the Old Growth
- The Songbird That Walks Underwater
- The Motorcycle That Pulled Skiers
- Why the Two Low Tides Differ
- 204 audio storiesacross Olympic’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Olympic Marmot, Humpback Whale, Grey Whale, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 148 trails, 94 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Lake Angeles Trail
The forest climbThe path starts at a moderate grade through shaded second-growth forest, then keeps gaining…
The path starts at a moderate grade through shaded second-growth forest, then keeps gaining elevation. The evenly spaced hemlocks are thought to have grown after a fire more than a century ago. Ferns and fungi fill the damp understory, with trillium and Indian-pipe among the early-season flowers. The route crosses a footbridge over Ennis Creek and climbs the divide between the Ennis and Lake Creek drainages. Above the creek, the forest gets drier and gradually gives way to moss, rock, and stunted subalpine plants.
Take a break at the meadowThe grade finally eases near a pond and broad meadow.
The grade finally eases near a pond and broad meadow. This is a good place to stop before the last climb and look around: black-tailed deer and ruffed grouse are sometimes seen here. The open patch is a welcome change after the enclosed forest, even though the lake is still ahead.
The lake is the payoffLake Angeles fills a deep glacial bowl beneath Klahhane Ridge and Mount Angeles.
Lake Angeles fills a deep glacial bowl beneath Klahhane Ridge and Mount Angeles. It is roughly 20 acres, with a small island near the middle and cascades on the rocky basin walls. From the shore, frame the island with the cliffs and ridges behind it; that view is what makes this a better hike than a long uphill through trees alone. Several backcountry campsites sit at the north end of the lake. The trail reaches the lakeshore, then the day-hike route turns back the way it came.
Access and facilitiesStart at the Lake Angeles Trailhead, beside the Heather Park access on Hurricane Ridge Road,…
Start at the Lake Angeles Trailhead, beside the Heather Park access on Hurricane Ridge Road, just north of the Heart O' the Hills entrance station. A park entrance pass is required; fees are collected at the station year-round. The nearby Heart O' the Hills Campground is a separate stop with restrooms and potable water. There are no toilets at the lake, where the outlet stream is the listed water source.
Snow, permits, and the longer optionThe route is usually most dependable from early summer into fall.
The route is usually most dependable from early summer into fall. Snow can linger above the lake in spring and early summer, cover steep slopes, and hide the tread; an ice axe, self-arrest skills, and map-and-compass navigation may be needed. Pets are not allowed on park trails. Camping at the lake requires a wilderness permit and bear canister; campfires are prohibited above 3,500 feet. Continuing to Klahhane Ridge adds about 2.9 miles and 1,750 feet of gain beyond the lake, so treat it as a substantially harder extension, not part of this 7-mile hike.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Olympic
710 sightingsOlympic MarmotMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
30 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
42 sightingsGrey WhaleMost seen around noonSighting map
23 sightingsMountain LionMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
71 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
306 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Olympic. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
