Warning: Hornet's Nest on Trail

The road to get here is paved the entire way but there's a ton of potholes. It's passable but go slow.

For this hike you start and the top and decsend down to the lake. The top half of the trail is very narrow with a lot of foilage and a lot of bugs. Probably best to wear long sleeves. After the trail opens up closer to the bottom there is a log with some caution tape. There is a hornet's nest here. We had 3 stings with 5 people. The hornets were very aggitaged and chased us. 

The bottom is amazing but keep in mind that there is no shade or shoreline so in order to touch the water you must climb on the logs - be careful and respect your own abilities if you choose to venture out onto the logs. The way up ranges from easy to very difficult depending on your physical fitness level. 650 feet of elevation gain over 1.25 miles is about an *average* grade of 10%. The water is clear, crisp and felt amazing 

Google map told me to use Forest Road 26 out of Randle. It was pretty rough and narrow at some points. Use Forest Road 25 which has better road conditions. No one on the trail on a cloudy Sunday morning. Only a few wildflowers left. I didn't see bugs on the trail probably becuase it was drizzling. A nice short trail to see Spirit Lake up close.

The road from Randle is passible, but take it slow and watch for dips in the asphalt.  On the trail down to Spirit Lake, the biting flies were horrible.   The first half of the trial is close in with foliage and the flies were brutal.

Once you get to the bottom, and out of the brush, the flies disappear and we had a nice lunch beside the lake.  Going back up was even worse, though.

If you go, wear long pants and sleeves.  My group had dozens of red bites by the time we got back up.

A beautiful easy hike to the shore of Spirit Lake. No bathroom at this trailhead but there are bathrooms at other viewpoints along 99. We went on a cloudy day so no view across the lake but the fog added a mysterious and cooling layer to our hike. There is a small steep section going down near the lake, watch your footing as the trail is sandy with gravels. It's an amazing experience being there looking at all the floating logs from the eruption. 

Super easy hike and well worth the trip back up the hill!

No bathrooms at the trailhead but some right before and after.

The trail sign said 1.5 miles to the lake so I'm not sure the actual length of this hike. We completed our after doing Loowit falls. 

Not much fall colors left, water lever lower than i remember.

If you haven't driven down FR25 then just know it's rough but paved. Take your time