Takhlakh Lake and Meadows Trail is a 3.2 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Packwood, Washington that features a lake and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from May until November. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
This is a beautiful route around a gorgeous lake with great campsites. The lake is a great place to fish and makes for a fantastic trip for the whole family.
A federal Northwest Forest Pass is required to park here
Gifford Pinchot National Forest Mount Adams Ranger District 2455 Highway 141 Trout Lake, WA 98650 Tel: 509.395.3400
From Randle, drive south 1 mile on Highway 131 to Forest Service Road 23. Veer left on Forest Service Road 23 and drive 33 miles to Forest Service Road 2329. Turn left and drive 2 miles to the signed trailhead at road's end.
I hiked from the campground at Takhlakh Lake up to the top of the lava flow alongside the meadows, which offers amazing views of Adams, Rainier, and the Goat Rocks. I encountered a rattle snake coming back down the lava flow trail. Just a warning to stay aware and keep your ears perked because they love hot rocks like this.
Had such a great time on this hike. Might have helped that we had low expectations based on previous reviews. There were mosquitos but wearing a long sleeve shirt and leggings, I used bug spray about halfway through and was fine. The view of Mt Adams was amazing and the lava rocks were really cool. Labeled appropriately as easy, but there were lots of roots, and some mud. “Meadow” seemed a little misleading as most of this hike is in the forest. Great hike for my partner who hadn’t hiked since last summer. There is a vault toilet at the start of the hike, at the day use area for the campground. Most people had masks!
I enjoyed this hike - I went on 7/10/20, and it was a bit overgrown in places, and lots of mosquitoes. But, overall a great little hike, especially around the lake and the lava outcrop. There was one portion where I lost the trail, but it was close to the road so I walked that and caught back up to the trail.
Yea NO. First hike I've bailed on in years. Hiked 7/3/20. Bugs were atrocious; even my dog was over it. The little lollipop loop around the meadows isn't actually a trail and a scramble up to nowhere for absolutely nothing. Crowded but it was expected due to campground and holiday. If you're a mask preacher, this is not your area.
There is heavy snow on the road about 2 miles to the trailhead. I’d recommend you park in the road and walk to it. It’s an easy walk, I had micro spikes with me but they weren’t totally necessary. This time of year the weather is beautiful and there’s no bugs. I was the only person at the lake on this perfect day.
Definitely snow. We went early May. Great views, and worth going back.
Took a few days to visit Mount Adams at Takhlakh Lake. The snow is semi melted so the roads are passable in any vehicle (we made it in a prius). Hardly saw any other people which was great. Took a 1.1 mile hike around the lake which is rated as great for families but half of the trail is covered in snow, some places a few inches amd others a few feet so it can be hard to find the trail at this time. We also did the offshoot trail of about the same distance up to Goat rocks to see views of Mount Rainier. Camp ground officially opens on the 22nd of June.
My fiancé and I had our first camping trip here. We ended up having to change to barbless hooks because we would catch our limit of trout within an hour! So beautiful. The hike is pretty easy, a fun look you can take two times a day. Would recommend bug spray, or lots of citronella!