Cedar Lake Hike

It's easy to get lost in the beauty of Cedar Lake that's why it's one of our favorite wilderness hikes. Even though we might get lost on the way to the trailhead; and I've had trouble finding it several times over the last few years it's worth the effort. From the town of Seeley Lake drive north on highway 83 for approximately 38 miles you will pass highway marker 53 and Lion Creek. There is no sign so look to make a left turn off of 83 onto a dirt road that has a stop sign and mail boxes. If you reach mile marker 54 on highway 83 you've passed the turn off. Drive 2 miles; turn right, drive 1 mile and turn left. Drive 5 miles until you see a sign for the Cedar Lake trailhead to the left. Drive 3 more miles to the trailhead.

It used to be a lot easier to get to this trailhead. All you had to do is take the Fatty Creek road off of 83 and follow the signs to the trailhead. I tried to go this way and ran into a confusion of logging roads. I found my way but you will need a four wheel drive with good ground clearance. The roads keep changing so you might want to check with the ranger station in Seeley Lake for directions.

A few years ago I hiked into Cedar Lake with some friends and we had trouble finding the trailhead back then as well. The trail itself was very hard to follow and was washed out in many places. A lot of trail work has been done since then and it was a real pleasure to hike. These little stone bridges are really nice and the trail is well defined. We can only hope the road into the trailhead will be less confusing in the future.

Cedar Lake is in the Mission Mountain Wilderness area and at one time boasted the highest population of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states. It probably still does although we've never seen one. You should wear a bear bell (jingle bell) and bring pepper spray just to be safe. We've seen bald eagles, deer, mountain lions, and there's also a wolf pack roaming the area.

If you're lucky enough to have an expert fly-fisher and camp cook like my brother Joe along you just might get treated to a fresh trout meal. The fishing's not bad but can be kind of on or off. Remember, if you're staying overnight do not prepare and eat food in the same area that you're going to sleep. Do not keep any food snacks in the tent with you as well as anything that is sweet smelling like toothpaste.

You can hike all around Cedar Lake and it is only about three and a half miles into the Mission Mountain Wilderness. You can backpack for weeks in some prime wilderness country just don't forget to sign in and out at the trailhead if you're going overnight.

"I'll wade across, thank you." Some of the trail work that was done included these log bridges over streams that the trail crosses. But no amount of coaxing by Kate and Jim was going to get Daisy to cross on this log.






"Hey Doug, why do they call these flowers Bear Grass, I don't see any bears?"

Until Next Time,
Doug