Timpanogas Lake loop
& Cowhorn Mountain
(this is what the trailhead looks like)
The Timpanogas Lake area has countless hiking and mountain biking trail options, however it is not a very well known, and it can be difficult to find information about the area. There are many lakes you can hike in to and enjoy, June Lake, Indigo Lake, Opal Lake, and of course Summit Lake by way of the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Middle Fork Willamette Trail. All this is at your fingertips from the central hub of Timpanogas Lake. Timpanogas Lake has a campground, as well as a shelter that one can rent out.
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The trailhead for the loop hike starts off of a short spur to the right of the campground. Within 0.8 miles you will come to your first trail split. Keep left and follow signs for Indigo Lake. After 1.2 miles through mountain hemlock and fir forest, you will come to Indigo Lake. This is by far the prettiest lake in this portion of the Cascades, with a beautiful sandy beach, clear water, and Sawtooth Mountain rising 1,000 ft. right out of the water. There is a small 1 mile trail that takes you around the shores of the lake. There is a large primitive camping area at Indigo Lake, so if you are wanting to set up a home base for some fun day hike excursions, you could camp here.
(Indigo Lake and Sawtooth Mountain)
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If you are not camping at Indigo Lake, you can continue to the left of the lake and head uphill towards Sawtooth Mountain. Here you will hike up roughly 12 switchbacks in the next 1.7 miles to a sparsely wooded pass where you will see a trail junction. Here you will catch your first glimpse of uniquely shaped Mt. Thielsen to the south. At the pass you can turn right and go 1.7 miles to the Sawtooth summit trail. If you want to complete the loop, go left on the Windy Pass trail. |
(views of Sawtooth Mountain)
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The Windy Pass trail continues along a wooded sidehill for 2.1 miles. This forest is very unique because there is hardly any undergrowth so you can see through the forest for long distances, making this prime territory for hunting wild game. At the 2 mile mark, start keeping your eyes open for a faint trail on the right. This faint trail connects you 0.2 miles to the Pacific Crest Trail.
(view of Cowhorn Mountain from the Pacific Crest Trail)
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If you would like epic views from the top of Cowhorn Mountain, you will take a right once you are on the PCT. (If you just want to complete the loop and bypass Cowhorn Mountain summit, you will simply continue on the Windy Pass trail and not go up to the PCT). After 0.3 miles on the PCT, you will see rock cairns marking the scramble trail up the Cowhorn Mountain summit. The ridge crest trail is a non-technical climb to right before the summit, however at the timberline the trail becomes scree and it steepens. Be careful here, there is quite a bit of exposure on both sides of the trail. The last 500 feet are an extremely steep, hand over hand scramble to the very top.
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(cairns marking the trail up Cowhorn Mountain)
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(summit of Cowhorn Mountain)
(Diamond Peak and Summit Lake from Cowhorn Mountain)
From Cowhorn Mountain's summit, you can see 360 degree views, and it is fantastic! You can see Crescent Lake, Summit Lake, Diamond Peak, Mt. Thielsen, and many of the small lakes below like Windy Lakes, Oldenburg Lake, and Darlene and Suzanne Lakes. It is quite an amazing sight and this short detour is highly recommended!
(Mt. Thielsen from the top of Cowhorn Mountain)
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After the summit, you will continue back down to the PCT about 0.4 miles, then head north on the PCT for 0.3 miles to the connector trail. (If you want to make this a longer hike and spend the night at Summit Lake, you would simply head 7 miles north on the PCT). Once you have hit the Windy Pass trail again, you will continue on for another 2.7 miles with a downhill trend. Right after a small pond to the right, you will see a trail split. Take a left here on trail #3642 1.1 miles back down to Timpanogas Lake. Once you hit the lake you will stay at the shoreline, pass the Timpanogas snow shelter, walk through the campground, and go down the short spur back to your car. |
(Timpanogas Lake)
Overall, this is a fantastic hike, whether you are doing it as a day hike, or are heading in to spend the night and do short day hike excursions from camp, this is a spectacular area! You will most likely not see a single person once you get past Indigo Lake, except for the occasional thru-hiker on the short section of the Pacific Crest Trail that this hikes takes you on. This loop has a few fairly steep sections, and the summit trail up Cowhorn Mountain is definitely on the difficult end of the spectrum. But the loop trail is well maintained, with a smooth trail, not many rocks and roots, and it generally gets maintained for blowdowns once a year season.
Approximate hike time: 5 hours 15 minutes w/ an average pace of 2.3 mph
Suggested seasons: July through October
(Best time to go is late August, September and October. Avoid July to mid-August due to horrendous mosquitoes in the area!)
Trail usage: Light
Directions: From the town of Oakridge turn at the sign for Hills Creek Reservoir. Proceed for 0.5 miles then turn right onto Road 21. After 32 miles turn left onto Road 2154 and drive 8 miles to Timpanogas Lake.
You will need your Annual Northwest Forest Pass, or pay $5 for parking if you don't have one.
Suggested seasons: July through October
(Best time to go is late August, September and October. Avoid July to mid-August due to horrendous mosquitoes in the area!)
Trail usage: Light
Directions: From the town of Oakridge turn at the sign for Hills Creek Reservoir. Proceed for 0.5 miles then turn right onto Road 21. After 32 miles turn left onto Road 2154 and drive 8 miles to Timpanogas Lake.
You will need your Annual Northwest Forest Pass, or pay $5 for parking if you don't have one.
*All pictures are taken by Franziska Weinheimer
*Disclaimer: the trail descriptions, mileage, GPS tracks and difficulty ratings depicted on this website are never 100% accurate. Always hike at your own risk, using your own knowledge, equipment and common sense. Franziska Weinheimer/Hike Oregon are not responsible if you or anyone in your party gets injured or lost while attempting one of these or any other hikes.