Hike of the Week: Wahtum Lake

Wahtum Lake from Chindere Mountain in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Oregon

Wahtum Lake

Tranquil body of water above the Columbia River Gorge



by Craig Romano
photo by Craig Romano
produced by Michael Fagin

September 16, 2005

Quick Facts
Location: Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness, Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon
Land Agency: National Forest Service
Roundtrip: To Wahtum Lake .5 mile, To Chindere Mt. 4.0 miles, Anthill Loop 4.5 miles

Cumulative Elevation gain: To Wahtum Lake 200 feet Loss, To Chindere Mt 1,100 feet

Access: From Portland, head east on I-84 to Hood River. Follow signs south to Dee. Proceed west on Forest Road 13 for 5 miles. Turn right and follow one-lane FR 13 for 4.25 miles. Turn right and follow FR 1310 for 6 miles to trailhead. (Total distance from Seattle 250 miles)

Notes: Northwest Forest Pass Required ($5 day/$30 annual)

Located in the high country south of the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon are miles of secluded ridges saturated in wildflowers, and punctuated with sparkling alpine lakes. From the Gorge, it’s a long slog up narrow river valleys-or a lung-busting grunt up steep slopes to get to this Shangri-La land of flower-carpeted hillsides and panoramic view-scapes. However, there are a few back-door entrances that provide easy access to this backcountry.
Wahtum Lake is one of them. A forest road climbs high to the trailhead-located flesh with the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness-a 39,000 acre preserve that contains all of this wild and beautiful country. A quarter-mile path plunges 200 feet to the tranquil lake. As you can imagine-with this kind of access-Wahtum is a popular place. It is. But set up your tent in one of the designated sites-then don day-pack to escape the lakeside loungers and to seek out the fields of flowers and views.
Best bang for your boot is up 4,673' Chindere Mountain. From this open summit you can look right down into the Gorge-or above at all of the surrounding snow-capped volcanoes. Hood, Jefferson, Adams, and St. Helens hover above the surrounding emerald folded landscape.
For a nice view down to the lake, head to the Anthill Trail. Following a narrow ridge cloaked in bear grass-this trail offers nice glimpses of the twinkling lake below-and makes for a nice loop hike back to your campsite. Of course no one says that you can't hang around the inviting lake all weekend either.