2011 Edition
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GETTING THERE: Take I-5 north to Exit 21, and head east on Route 503 towards Cougar.
About 6.5 miles past Cougar, turn left onto Forest Road (which is paved) 83. The June
Lake Trailhead is on the left in 7 miles. The turnoff for the trailhead is well marked
with a sign. In late fall and winter, Route 83 is closed at Marble Mountain Snowpark.
We extended this hike by continuing over the lava field 1/4 mile to the Loowit Trail.
Take Loowit trail west (left) and continue just over a mile to reach another 40-foot
waterfall - Chocolate Falls. In the right conditions, the falls' water is so saturated
with ash from the volcano that it indeed looks like chocolate milk. However, the hike
to Chocolate Falls involves several traverses over lava fields and may be difficult for
young spore. With a side hike to Chocolate Falls, your total trip will be 5.7 miles out
and back, with 1,150 feet of elevation gain.
It was a rainy day here in the City so we thought we'd set out to Mount Saint
Helens to see if things were any better out here. They weren't.....
We found June Lake with no trouble and there was a nice magical waterfall there
just the way we like. This is an easy, pleasant (but with waaaaaay too many people)
3 1/2 mile out and back hike.
Our plan to continue on to Chocolate Falls was foiled when trail 244 appeared to
be completely unmarked. Lots of bouldering on an unmarked trail is not what we
were prepared for so we opted to not try. We did follow the other trail the 0.3 miles
to where it hooks up with the loop trail, thinking maybe we can get to Chocolate Falls
through the back way. But this trail became increasingly overgrown and the wet
foliage was rapidly soaking us to an uncomfortable degree. I think we need to do
a little more research on this one and try again when we have more appropriate
equipment. Still, it was a nice hike even considering the rain and poor visibility.
The road to the June Lake trailhead is short, narrow but paved. There's parking
for about a dozen cars. In the Summer and especially Summer weekends, finding a place
to park could be a problem. A Forest Service pass or equivalent is required.
You can't tell from this picture, but this would be a difficult creek crossing.
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