Wapiki Lake Hike

Lake Wapiki Hike - Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Wapiki Lake is a deep sub-alpine lake in Indian Heaven Wilderness. It is located in an ancient volcanic crater, and nearby Lemei Rock is all that remains of this long-extinct volcano. The lake is reached by a short 0.3 mile spur trail (#34A) from Lemei Rock trail #34.

The Lemei Trail rises gradually up the east slope of Lemei Rock, one of Indian Heaven’s several Pleistocene shield volcanoes. Nestled in Lemei Rock’s old crater is Lake Wapiki, a glassy expanse that invites a dip and explorations of its satellite tarns and heather meadows. Huckleberries form the understory almost every step of the way, and the best time to visit is late August into September, when the clouds of Wapiki’s voracious mosquitoes have waned and the berries are ripe for the plucking.

·        Start point: Lemei Trail-head

·        End Point: Lake Wapiki

·        Distance: 7.0 miles

·        Elevation gain: 1625 feet

·        Difficulty: Moderate

The trail has a gentle incline on the bed of an old forest road. The forest here is composed of medium-sized Douglas-fir, western hemlock, red-cedar, silver fir, and an unusual number of western white pines. Pass a spring right on the trail and rise into the mountain hemlock zone. About a mile into the hike, in a western white pine clearing, you pass the Lemei-Filloon Trail Junction. The Filloon Trail #102 is about a mile long and leads to the Little Goose Campground and Horse Camp.

Enter the Indian Heaven Wilderness, drop a little before rising past a substantial Douglas-fir, and then switchback twice up a slope. Switchback again and then hike on the level through a small boggy area with white rhododendrons. The trail continues up in mountain hemlock, silver fir, and noble fir forest and veers left at the old junction to reach the new (2017) Lemei-Wapiki Lake Trail Junction, three miles from the trailhead.

How to Reach: From Portland, travel east on Interstate Hwy 84 to Exit 64 at Hood River. Turn left, and pass under the freeway and cross the toll bridge into Washington State. Turn left onto SR14 and drive approximately 1.5 miles to state road 141 Alt. Turn right onto SR141 Alt. and follow it another 2 miles and merge bearing left onto SR141. Then travel north on SR141 for another 19 miles to Trout Lake and the junction to Mt. Adams Road, which heads north to other hike destinations.