Spirit lake

Today was a search of some ripe huckleberries for us and the kids. We went in search for them at Spirit lake in the western Cascades on the west edge of the Waldo lake basin. It is only a short half mile hike with very little elevation change. Making it perfect for kids of all ages. Granted the youngest didn’t walk, and instead I carried her in the kiddo backpack. I don’t think I could have kept a toddler moving in one direction for that distance. We didn’t find a lot of huckleberries, but there was enough to have a nice snack of them. The lake has a good population of brook trout in it. The average size is about 10″ with reports of ones up to 15″ being caught. I wasn’t able to get more then one bite, but the ones surfacing for mayflies looked to be about a foot long. For more information of fishing at Any cascade lake please check out Fishing in Oregon. Tons of information in it on almost every waterbody in Oreogn

Directions: Proceed east from the Oakridge Ranger Station on Hwy. 58 to Oakridge. From downtown Oakridge proceed east on Salmon Creek Road (24) for about 13 miles to the junction of Road 2422. From here proceed left on 2422 for 9 miles to trailhead on right. Across from the Waldo Meadows Trailhead.
Difficulty: Easy
Recommended Season: June – October
Elevation change: 169 feet