To swim in Spirit Lake seemed like something that I had to do. Alas it was not to be. After hiking Mount Margaret we did this little hike. It billed as the ‘only legal access to the lake’. This much was true but swimming was going to be more work than it was worth. Negotiating the logs was just too daunting.

We did read some cool fun facts about the eruption, which we didn’t know. The trail down to the lake is an old overgrown road. It isn’t as bad as that sounds, but isn’t exactly wonderful either. We hiked this trail in late afternoon and it was virtually completely in shade. A few berries, a lush seep half way down, and eventually the promised lake. Spirit lake is beautiful and impressively yoked in gargantuan logs left over from the eruption.

Our biggest pleasure from this hike was the under-advertised Harmony Falls. Just before the lake was an awesome little waterfall. Icy cold water spills over a handful of hydraulically carved rocks. There isn’t much room to swim. But it is gorgeous, the day was at it’s end, and all was right.

Harmony Falls/Spirit Lake: This hike has been on my bucket list for years and I was not disappointed. It’s a mile down to Spirit Lake and then a mile back up. Of course, we did this hike on the hottest day of the year. The first half going in was shaded so, luckily, the last half coming out was shaded. This trail was very “ashy” so expect to get your feet dirty. Once you reach Spirit Lake, there is a bit of a scramble over the logs to get to the water. You can avoid this if you want to just take in the view, but the water is so worth it. It’s clean, it’s clear, it’s refreshing.  Our timing was perfect as we had the entire lake to ourselves. Since we were wet from our dip in the water, the hike out in the heat wasn’t as bad as we were expecting. I definitely recommend getting there in the morning because when we hit the trailhead on the way out around 2:00pm, carloads of people leaving Windy Ridge showed up. This hike was worth it. Definitely moved up into my top 5.

I stopped off at Harmony Falls on my way back from hiking Smith Creek about a mile further down FR 99.  I'd driven far enough that I figured I may as well get two hikes for the price of one.

As I mentioned in my report for Smith Creek, both FR 25 and FR 99 are bumpy but in decent shape.  They're fine for any car, but likely unpleasant if you're trying to pull a trailer or drive something with very low clearance (ie, sports car).

The trail is in good condition, though a bit eroded during the steep upper half mile of the trail.  The views of the Mount Margaret Backcountry, Spirit Lake, and later Mt St Helens are fantastic the whole way.

FR 26 from the north (off FR23 or Cispus Road) is also closed due to a wash out 8 miles in, several miles shy of Norway Pass trailhead, and then Meta Lake and Harmony falls trailheads.

No access till 99 opens, which we were told has a wash out as well, late summer early fall plan to open per Ranger District.