Trails had some snowy and icy areas, and lots of deer poop but was a great little out and back on our girls getaway weekend!!!

While In Chelan each September for a conference, I try to find a hike for the very little down time we have. I headed up to Lake Chelan State Park for a quick hike. I wandered around the park checking out campsites before finding the trailhead. It is located in the wide-open RV section right next to the restroom. As soon as I got onto the trail I came across the 3 grazing deer. One stood there and looked at me and ran off with a lot of shooing, the other ran off immediately and the third didn't move from its spot. The trail takes you through a tunnel under Lakeshore Road. There is a chain link fence topped with barb wire on the park side of the tunnel. My guess is that the lock it at night to keep bear out of the Campground. Be sure to get back inside the campground before dark, just in case it does get closed and locked. There was bear scat along the trail so don't let the little kiddos run too far ahead, just in case there's a mama With Cubs. There are 3 blow downs on the Forest Loop, which is primarily Ponderosa Pine. The highest is about 18" above the ground. I'm short and had no trouble. The trail is in good shape. At each junction, there is a trail map. Along the way, interpretive signs provide some good info. Lots of deer, birds and chipmunks. A great 2.3 mile hike for kids. There are two loops, Forest and Savannah, so you can make it as short or as long as you wish. When I returned, The deer that didn't move when I first started on the trail was still in the same location. Hopefully it's OK.

Took a group of students and we all found the hike to have the spectacular views it did claim! Trail was easy enough for teenagers to minimally complain but overall were all impressed!

This is a great little hike to get the kids on for a couple of hours while camping at Lake Chelan. I couldn't find any other kid-friendly trail in the area so this was an obvious choice, as the trail starts by the bathrooms right in the middle of the campground. As usual the kids entertained each other and we stopped for long snack breaks. We looked for signs of wildlife on trail, saw some deer, and got to see all kinds of animal prints by the creek

My boyfriend and I were on a family camping trip near Lake Chelan State Park, so we decided to check out the Little Bear Trail. The trailhead is in the park, near the restroom at the back of the property. Everything was promising when we set out—the trail was in excellent condition and it wasn't very long at all before we saw a charming array of wildlife (young woodpeckers, squirrels chasing each other) and got to read interpretive signs posted near the path. We had only gone about 3/4 of a mile before we heard rustling in the bushes—and saw two bears. One was hidden in the bushes and the other (a medium-sized, cinnamon-colored black bear) was in a tree. The bears weren't far from the trail, probably 10 yards, so we decided to turn around. We went and talked to the ranger, to let him know there were a couple of bears on trail, but he didn't seem alarmed. He said they usually head down the mountain at the end of August but must have headed down early because of fires in the area.