Pinnacle Lake Trail

this place was real hard for me and I lost my microspike!

We tried going up to this hike today but had to turn around due to snow. We passed a hiker who came down from the trail and he said some parts were so snowy he went waist deep. Unless you are prepared currently too snowy for a nice hike.

Nice trail. Road up to trailhead, 6 miles of muddy, potholes, bumpy. Used 4x4 truck. It says 4.4 miles but Fitbit says 6 miles round trip. Lots of root climbing & mud. Snow & muddy waters 1 mile from top. Bring poles, waterproof shoes. Lake was beautiful. Took 3.5 hours round trip, average hiker.

Hike on 10/14/17. There were more snow than I expected. My initial plan was to go up to bathtubs lakes but with 2 feet with snow I decided to head back. Started at 6:40am and was back 9:40am. I had the trail just to myself until 9am. If you want to avoid crowds this is the right trail. Easy to get out of trail, but not a big deal, just have to pay attention. GPS helps. Will definitely go back again to go all the way up.

Beautiful hike but it's easy to get off the main trail. When you find yourself at a small pond, keep going, you have two more small ponds to pass and then you will find yourself at the lake.

Bumpy ride up to the trail head, truck or SUV recommended.
It's a nice hike up to a beautiful view at the lake.
-follow the pink flagging tape trail markers
-kids can do the hike
-not very crowded which was nice
-not many bugs

The Trail head is a few miles uphill from the main road. It's a gravel road to the trail head full of giant pot holes. I drive a Corolla and was able to go slow a maneuver through them only scraping the bottom once. I made it about a mile up and couldn't pass washed out area without risking getting stuck. i saw a Subaru Outback back it across and several trucks. We ended up parking the car on the side of the path and walking up. It's not a short walk. over 3.5 miles and it was starting to get dark by the time we reached the trail head so we turned around. The 7 mile hike up the road was beautiful though. Encountered a water fall, streams, mountain views, and snow! another warning is teh parking lot is really small and there aren't any restroom facilities.

Nice easy hike. This morning it was raining and so there were lots of large pools and puddles on the trail. My foot sank down a good 6 inches into the mud. No bugs and by the time we got to the lake there was fog so we didn't continue on to bathtub lakes.

Prepare yourself for mud, also bring your bug spray! There were too many bugs to actually enjoy the time spent at the lake. Wasn't too many other hikers on the trail though.

I'd call this lake disappointment. The trail up was good. the lake was terrible. I have never ever seen so many bugs. there flying in my ears. eyes, and nose. and then they followed us most of the way down. we practically ran down. and the road up to the hike was so long and so bumpy and narrow. I'll never do this hike again.

This is a nice hike that is not too easy but short enough to keep it from being hard. It was misty and very muddy. I can see this is probably muddy most days. It is a small lake but has nice features. I could see some off trial options here if one was adventurous. . But lots of ridges to get misdirected on. Ill hide this one again.

I went about a year ago. it was a difficult hike then. we actually went to the far side of the lake and camped. it was perfect. fresh water running down the mt to filter, blueberries everywhere but they grew like clover. very short on the grd. tasty if I may say. definitely a good spot to fish as well. a small rainbow trout was delicious cooked in a banana peel. late in the year when it's hot without the worry of snow being up top, this hike is one of my favorites. better for an overnight or 2 is highly recommended.

This trail was very muddy and lots of small obstacles that made it more of a moderate hike. Quit a bit of snow on top still. The road up is not for small cars. It's really in need of some care.

It’s a rough, narrow and bumpy road to the trailhead. Got there in my Jeep Liberty with no problems. The first half of the hike was a rough and steep tangle of roots, with a few down trees to cross. The second half was mostly flat terrain with a lot of snow, about 2 ft. in May. Depending on the time of year, I would recommend waterproof hiking boots. Didn’t see too many other hikers on the way there, by the time we reached the partially frozen lake, we had it to ourselves. It was very rewarding, the lake was beautiful and isolated.

Maybe we took the wrong trail, but I doubt it. This hike was NOT easy. Climbing over rocks and massive tree roots in Themis and then scrambling over the rocks at the end. The lake is a pretty payoff. I'll be sure to do this one again when it's warmer and drier out.

Very easy short hike, good view of the lake though.

Sunday 8-10-2014: My wife and I hiked to Pinnacle Lake. The weather was sunny and 85 degrees. A perfect day for a hiking. We arrived at the trailhead at 10:30 am and there were 3 other cars. We hiked to Bear Lake first and were not impressed. Then we hiked to Pinnacle Lake. The bridge over Bear Creek was out of commission. But it was easy to cross Bear Creek using the log there. Then the trail became steep, rocky and rooty. After switchbacks the trail became much easier. It took us almost two hours to get to Pinnacle Lake. The lake was beautiful. There were several other people around the lake. We had lunch in the shade and started down at 1:10 pm. It took us 1 hour 40 minutes to get down.

Wow. Wish I had planned on staying longer, there was so much to explore. At first fork take a right and the biggest lake is maybe a tenth of a mile. More lakes at the top. Very pretty. Hard steep hike, but it only take a half hour to an hour to climb up so just a really great workout.

Great short hike. I like a rocky rooted trail and this was it. Choose well where you step or you will be sliding/tumbling taking bumps and bruises along the way! The viewpoints of surrounding peeks are gorgeous and looking down at Bear Lake from above is a beautiful site, it reminds you just how high you are. Jackets were needed on top as you can easily feel the temperature drop. Nice lunch break at Pinnacle lake before heading back down.

my husband and I did this hike we are both in our late 20s . I was great. challenging enough to feel like you accomplished something but not so hard you wanted to give up . great for your butt and thighs. it had some difficult areas and my ankle was aching by the the time I got back but totally worth it. don't be fooled by the first lake you see keep walking for about 10 mins and you will be rewarded!

I recently started hiking with a 79 year old friend and she wanted to attempt Pinnacle Lake this weekend. We were at trailhead about 8 AM and there were 2 other cars ahead of us. Trail started and first 3/4 mile was fine but bugs were voracious. Bug juice is a must right now on this trail. After first 3/4 mile into trail, I would rate it as difficult as many, many, many long stretches of rocks and roots and a lot of stepping up higher than knee hieght on roots and rocks. Very hard on knees and back if carrying a loaded pack. Trail was muddy in several places but usually there was a way to not get so muddy, but muddy none the less. We did not get all the way to the lake due to a bad fall on the trail at about 1.2 miles in, we had to turn back to the car. We plan on attempting this hike again later in the year after some additional conditioning hikes.

Went in June and it was very muddy with snow at the top for the last half mile or so.. Still very enjoyable hike.

The road is washed out so you have to walk about a mile just to get to the trailhead. The trail to Pinnacle Lake is steep and rugged - climbing over roots and rocks - which can also be slippery. The views along the way and the destination are well worth the hike. The hike up took only about an hour but the walk there and back added unexpected time. The walk and hike out and back took about 3 1/2 hours.

Great day hike or overnight. Beautiful lake right against a granite rock wall.