Best Lake Trails near Cascade Locks, Oregon

It was an INTENSE!! hike at 6:20am to 5:30pm. It was AMAZINGLY!! beautiful feeling when u get to the top

A tough climb but worth it! An excellent challenge for body, mind, and spirit. I suggest taking as many breaks as you feel you need; your legs will thank you on the descent. Bring plenty of water, and more than you think you'll need on hot days. It took me about 4 hours to reach the summit, and 3.5 hours to hike back down. I did soak in the views of the gorge and mountains in Washington along the way, and spent about an hour on the summit gazing at Mt. Hood.

Hiked July 11. Well marked trail (except near the rock falls) with 2 waterfalls, a lake and views all along the trail. Went up Defiance, down Starvation. Because of the closed Wash out trail at the end we had to take on another steep ridge and cross over a log on the creek- added about 2-3 miles onto the hike. Total hike time was 9 hours and 20 minutes with 2 hours of stopping time for pics and lunch. The summit is a huge ugly power station but u can sit on the rocks that has a view of Mt Hood (too cloudy for us to see it) with the power Station at your back.

Previous reviewer got confused. The Starvation ridge trail #414 is very much open, it's the short Starvation ridge cut-off trail that is closed. Starvation ridge trail #414 can be taken from the Mount Defiance trail #413 instead of from the cut-off trail until it reopens. Hope this helps.

Consider yourself a champion after completing this hike! I've seen several folks say they used the Starvation Ridge Trail to either ascend or descend, but that trail is still closed, clearly marked as such. You need to do the full hike on the Mt. Defiance Trail, only. Excellent views of Mt. Adams, Hood & St. Helens. Bring lots of water, as portions are exposed in the burn area.

Brutal hike! I did to the top 12miles back and out w 5k elevation gain

I’m pretty convinced this is closer to 14 miles, and absolutely convinced I don’t want to do it again. The route down was really tricky, and the total trip took me 10 hours with a stop for lunch. 3L of water, snacks, and a sandwich was plenty of fuel, but I wouldn’t have necessarily wanted to take less than that.

It’s a good training hike— really steep coming up (I came up Starvation), and glacially slow picking your way down the same grade (I came down Defiance, which was more poorly maintained, washed out in a few places, and offered a good look at recovering, post-burn forest). The views are best on Starvation, where you can see an osprey nest, pass Lake Warren, and get a really beautiful volcano view. The summit boasts a clear shot of Mt. Hood, and a good look at the hills beyond, but the experience is partially marred by the massive radio tower up there.

All in all: this is a hike for the journey, not the destination— and the journey is really physically demanding, particularly post-summit.

Definitely a really hard hike for beginners! Took me 9 hours to do the whole trail but that includes 40 minutes of rest and another 40 minutes because I went on a wrong trail in the beginning.

I took Mount Defiance going up and Starvation coming down. There’s a nice lake there too, perfect for camping and staying the night.

Great hike, very beautiful but kicked my ass. Bring lots of food and water. Maybe one half a mile of flat stretch. The rest is either very steep up hill or down.

Did this hike last week...and I’ll probably never sign myself up to do it again. Near the bottom, I thought to myself “I’m glad I did this, but I’m even more glad to be done.” We started with Starvation Ridge, and had plans go back down Mt. Defiance trail, but we made a wrong turn and ended up back on Starvation. The uphill is brutal, the downhill is brutal. I’d recommend anyone with bad knees to steer clear! We had amazing views of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams (I think) on the way up and Mt. Hood at the summit. I was a little disappointed, anticipating an open peak with a 360 view of the the cascades, but that wasn’t the case. Either way, beautiful with tons of wild flowers! We had the trail mostly to ourselves and only saw two other people coming down as we were going up and one more going up as we were coming down. Brings lots of food and water! I would’ve surrendered myself to the trail had I not had my two sandwiches, an apple, an orange, a granola bar, nuts, and two liters of water. After all was said and done, difficult, but worth it!

Hike up via Mt Defiance Trail and down Starvation Ridge Trail. Unexpected rain reaching the top was wet walk through fog coming down. Caught a glimpse of Mt Hood through clouds. Lancaster Falls and Warren Lake, overall a good hike.

The fire didn’t get to this one and the trail Is in real good shape. Except for a slight wash out almost as soon as you begin on the connector the route is great.

A very tough hike—relentlessly steep. I went up Defiance and down Starvation Ridge in a little over 5 hours. Do your knees a favor and bring hiking poles. Parts of the trail are pretty overgrown but overall it’s in good shape. Sections of Defiance got scorched along the ridge line but Starvation was mostly spared.

Need 2 trekking poles for descent. 2 liters of water, 3 for a hot day. Loop completed with lots of breaks, picnic at Warren lake and stop at the top in 8 hours. Tougher than Table Mt. (from Bonneville TH) and Larch (from Multnomah Falls TH). Should be able to Dog Mt. without difficulty before attempting this. Do not take Starvation Ridge Cutoff Trail. Part of it is washed out and penalty for failure would be severe.

My son and I started at Defiance and came down Starvation (where there is a part of the trail that has been washed out just before the end of the trail. BE CAREFUL). Hardest hike hands down in the Gorge! 2nd time I have done this, started at Defiance this time. Up hill for 4 miles. The down trees - burnt - eerie feeling. But Nature wins, and it is already growing.
- we also saw a bald eagle flying so close to the ridge , we could see his eyes - really amazing.

This was the hardest trail I've yet to attempt, including Kilimanjaro. Maybe it was just not my day, but this was grueling for me. I've been walking daily for almost 10 months, but just started hiking a few weeks ago. Hamilton Mountain Trail was challenging, but easy enough. Dog Mountain, too. I'm slow as molasses but i got up and down Dog in less than 4 hours. But Defiance was rough. I went up Defiance and down Defiance and met a young man, a runner, who goes up Starvation and comes down Defiance in 3 hours. Youth is wasted on the young... This trail has only recently opened back up so you'll see lots of fire debris and damage and have lots of places you have to navigate fallen limbs and trunks and such. There certainly are better views, but for the workout and the challenge this is doable even for a slow, getting older and no better fellow who just plods along.

Completed the Starvation Ridge / Mt. Defiance Loop in 5 hours and 55 minutes, carrying a 25 pound pack. I hiked up Starvation at a moderate pace and came down Defiance a bit faster with a few bursts of jogging.

I hiked up Starvation Ridge and came back down Mt. Defiance. The trip took me just shy of 7.5 hours (carrying a 25 pound pack) which included a 20 minute stop at the top and a few short breaks for water and pictures. There is some debris on the Mt. Defiance Trail from the the forest fire, including a few logs and branches you’ll need to climb over or under.

It's BACK!!

I've done this hike numerous times. Currently, the trail is closed. This hike is the most difficult in the Gorge, especially if you go past Warren Lake to the summit of Mt. Defiance. The first 400 vertical feet of the trail are a little exposed. There are some narrow spots and a partial washout of the trail that is dangerous. This section is very slippery in spots due to loose gravel in the summer. You should not do this first section without trekking poles for stability. After you get past the first section the trail enters a wooded area and intersects with a cutoff trail that heads west to the Mt. Defiance trail. Turn left here. The trail continues through the woods on several switchbacks until you come to a viewpoint adjacent to a power line tower at about 1,200'. At this point you have climbed to the base of the ridge that will take you all of the way to Warren Lake at 3,900' or, if you choose, all the way to the summit at 4,900'. Not long after you leave the viewpoint area you are again in a wooded area that begins to ascend the ridge. Very soon you encounter very steep conditions with numerous short switchbacks. The next 1,000' is the steepest part of the trail and it quickly gets your attention. At 2,400' you reach a short flat section with a viewpoint looking down at the Columbia River toward the west. The trail immediately begins a slightly less steep ascent through first a grassy somewhat open area and then through a rocky section that can be icy in the winter months. At 2,700' you reach a large fallen log in a level spot that is perfect for a break, richly deserved! The trail then descends slightly and crosses a lava field and immediately starts another ascent. The trail ascends steeply without any switchbacks until you finally reach a series of switchbacks at 3,000'. Following the last switchback the trail climbs very steeply for about 100' and then crosses a much larger lava field. Past the lava field you continue to climb through an open area of small trees that are only 5-10 years old. The trail switchbacks steeply back into the forest and then heads straight, although it continues to be moderately steep. After about 1/2 mile the trail actually levels out! You soon come to a viewpoint where you have a great view of Mt. Defiance. The trail actually descends at this point for most of the additional half mile to Warren Lake. Before you arrive at the lake you will reach a junction. Be sure to turn right here, NOT LEFT! In a quarter mile you will arrive at Warren Lake. There are a couple campsites at the lake and logs to sit on. If you continue past the campsites you will begin a steep, rocky ascent to the summit of Mt. Defiance, which is ANOTHER nearly 1,000' vertical feet! At the summit the view is spectacular to the West, North and East, including Adams, Ranier and Hood. Give yourself 7-10 hours to the summit and take lots of water and your trekking poles.

This is an extremely difficult trail with very little reward. The dense forest and trees leading to the top were nice and tranquil, but very few vistas for the effort. However, due to the Eagle Creek Fire the area leading up the ridge was affected by the fire, so there may now be views of St Helens and Adams when approaching/ascending to the plateau. I counted 38 switchbacks on the way down, with the longest switchback being around a mile. This ascends 4000+ ft and an extra 700 if you decide to go up green point ridge, where that trail isn't very well maintained and the junctions are not marked by numbers. There is a wicked view of Mt Hood if you bushwack your way off that trail (green point ridge), but there are few views of the mountain. It is also supposed to connect and wrap around to rainy and north lake, but again, very poorly marked and the trail signs have no numbers. After recovery of the eagle creek fire, this could very well become an epic wildflower hike, but that's 20-30 years down the road.

Went up defiance, came down starvation. Took about 7.5 hours with lots of stops. Starvation was much steeper than defiance-coming down was extremely difficult! Actually, painful. Pretty technical in some spots. Next time I'll go up defiance and come down defiance, starvation trail=no thanks.
Amazing views at the top, we could see St. Helens, rainier, Adams and hood from various points. This is a probably one of the hardest hikes in the gorge(for me) and I've done a lot of them! Much harder than dog mountain so don't even compare :)

Took this as a two day trip, camped somewhere in the middle. was the longest hike I had ever done. the scenery seemed to change so much and I was in awe the entire time. I hope one day to go agian.

Did a 21 mile overnight to Tanner Butte. Trail was snowed in on Memorial Day once we got about a mile from the the designated campground. We stopped off the trail just before a meadow, and found a good site, about 1.2 miles from the tanner lake campground. To hike to Tanner Butte's summit, it is a steep bushwhack , with some snow in may. Highly recommended going to the top though, because the view is AMAZING! We stopped at Dublin lake on the way back to refill hydration bladders. Lake was beautiful, but no real view of the gorge or Cascades. Lake was buggy, even at about 2:00. Great trail, But very steep. I would definitely do it again

Is the lake thawed out yet??! Thinking about hiking Sunday and fly fishing for some trout!

Very hard hike never pushed myself so hard to finish something The trek down was worse then going up. First and last time on that mountain for this inexperienced hiker. Proud of myself for completing such a difficult hike but never again.

Great hike. Bring hiking poles. On the way down, there are some parts that steel and full of tiny rock pebbles, which makes it hard to have traction with the ground.

If you like steep and long, this hike always does the trick. It's a great conditioning hike for mountain climbers.

This trail is no joke! It starts with a mild incline, I was feeling a little disappointed and then BAM! The incline gets very intense without warning and the incline only increases for the next 8-9 miles. Wouldn't recommend doing the Starvation ridge loop. I didn't see the loop cut off, so ended up doing this one backwards (wouldn't recommend). But the views are amazing! Some spots a little to covered by trees to get a clear picture.

Would recommend completing dog mountain, and starvation ridge first before attempting this one.

Bring plenty of water! I went through at least 5 bottles just on the way up. And there's no real good place along the way for a lady to "pop a squat"...

Descending down can be difficult, I'm very lightweight so placing a few rocks in my pack helped even out my weight distribution. I didn't slide or fall but I saw others that did even with a pole or stick.

This hike took me in total 4hrs to complete. (would have been shorter if I didn't miss the damn cutoff). Going without stops this hike can be completed under 3hrs

Did this hike yesterday. Weather was awesome. We did the defiance trail out and back. Very long and strenuous hike with good views of gorge.