Very scenic and shaded hike. Lots of up and over but very little elevation gain. So much to see on this hike. Especially fungi, be sure to go slow and look under, around, and inside all the voids between the boulders.

The road is pretty long for the distance of the hike. But the scenery is definitely worth it. If you go earlier in the year the lake looks like it would be fun for fishing. During our visit the lake was very low, 10 feet or more below full pool.

My hiking partners and I combine motorcycle rides and hikes so a long, fairly bumpy dirt road is part of the adventure. This would also be a great bicycle ride plus hike for those that enjoy long gravel road cycling.

There are a couple camp spots at the trailhead but it is pretty buggy there. Once on the hike we didn't really notice any bugs.

Short, easy hike with lots to look at and probably not going to see too many people as the road to get there is pretty long.

This report is about the Jordan lakes trail....road is s pretty good ,for a mountain road,has some,but not an over abundance of potholes. We were going 25 miles an hour on it for way more the 1/2 of it. Does have 5-6 blind corners and is very narrow in places,you get your car scratched. There are 2-3 places where lower clearance cars could get high centered. Parking for 8-10 cars at trailhead....first three miles are on the old logging road,very gentle 1200 ft of gain,easy tread,with moss and grass growing on it and few loose rocks,this road could be accessible with a mountain bike easily....there is an old gate,across from the old parking lot,with only it's two metal posts still standing,trail starts behind these posts and is easy to see....someone has flagged the route ,all the way to the lake,which is very helpful,especially thru the very large avalanche blow down that crosses the trail about one mile into the hike. This is a game/fisherman's trail,and for the most part is easy to keep on. It is a slow trail,as there are multiple fallen trees over the trail. We cut several of these and made them step overs instead of crawl unders,but there are still more that are left. An interesting trail as it goes thru meadows,rock slides and forest. We did not make it to the lower lake,as we ran out of time,as you do not want to be on this trail in the dark. Got to within 1/2-1/4 mile of the lake,before we hit our turn around time. Younger,stronger hikers should have no problem. Very remote,doubt lakes are visited by more than five or six hikers each year. Think this hike would be better as an overnight than as a day hike. We cleared over 200 hundred branches,rocks and sticks from the trail ( mostly small ),but there are many more left,do some light trail maintenance if you go. If you like peace and quiet and solitude,this hike is for you. Saw lots of animal scat,and scared some animal by the big meadow,although we did not see the animal,just the bushes moving.

The recent report by DaphneF gives good detail which I'm not going to repeat. But I do have some comments/additions. Yes, Illabot Creek Road has some rough spots in it, but averaged over almost 21 miles of dusty travel, it's one of the best unmaintained forest roads around. Agreed, there's no way to avoid brush slapping the sides of your rig. And the higher you go, the fewer turnouts there are if you meet an approaching vehicle. At around mile 9 (from Highway 530), a unmarked spur road about 500 feet long takes off to the left where there is room for parking and a knob to look out over the Skagit valley, Sauk Mountain and snowy peaks to the northeast. About 1/2 mile further up the main road is another view point, but no parking. An old slide at 14.2 miles creates a chokepoint on the road, and I consider that the worst part of the corridor. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find the entire trail logged out. There's no way this route would be hikeable without chainsaw work, considering the amount of massive old growth that continues to drop across the trail. It's obvious that chainsaws have been used beyond the wilderness boundary (where mechanized equipment isn't permitted) but I'm not complaining. If downed trees haven't been cut through, they at least have been limbed, and steps cut into the remainder making for civilized passage.

My observation at the lake is that the level must fluctuate at least 10 feet. Right now, it's near its lower point, but since Otter Creek flows underground for more than a mile, the rockfall that created the lake acts as a dam and meters out the water. 

Compared to DaphneF's visit, I encountered three other parties there. Quite remarkable for such an obscure destination. Maybe people come for the ripe berries??

This is a short hike up to a lovely mountain lake with good fishing, several shaded campsites above the lakeshore, and a shoreline that invites rambling.  The only challenge is the road in (Illabot Creek Road, FR 16).  It starts out as a well-graded gravel road but degrades as it ascends.  It shortly becomes a narrow, two-track, dirt road with bushes reaching out from both sides, many completely blind curves, and multiple, deep potholes.  Our Subaru Forester handled it well, but came out with many new scratches along both sides from the brushy verges.  We seldom travelled more than 20 mph, often less, as we watched out for surprise encounters with oncoming vehicles (we encountered two motorcycles and one truck) and slowly maneuvered through the minefields of deep potholes.  There are very few places wide enough to allow four-wheeled vehicles to pass, so be prepared to back-up a long way if you do meet an oncoming car or truck.  We were lucky that our encounter with a truck occurred only a few hundred yards before one of the several creek-crossing bridges and the other driver knew we could pass there.  She kindly (and expertly) backed up and waited for us to pass.

As suggested in the WTA hike description, the long drive in seems to discourage visitors to the lake.  We were alone at the trailhead and all day at the lake.  One family group arrived at the lake about 5:00 pm and set up camp for the night, but they were the only people we saw all day other than our brief encounters on the road in.

Once we made it to the well-marked trailhead, the trail was easy to follow up to the lake.  It is quite rugged, climbing at a moderate grade all the way, and constantly twisting and turning through the jumble of rocks comprising the old slide that formed the lake.  This expanse of rocky debris was long ago colonized by moist forest, with Douglas Fir followed by true firs and hemlocks.  Many of these trees are now giants, and many have already passed their prime and fallen.  It is a great example of mature old growth forest, with diverse, mixed conifers of various ages and many fallen logs in various stages of decay.  The fallen trees have opened numerous gaps in the canopy that allow a lot of light to reach the forest floor.  The rocky, rooty trail bed necessitated constant attention to our feet, and to appreciate the giant trees and the boulders with their gardens of mosses and lichens, we had to pause often.  We felt very grateful to the trail maintenance crews from the WTA who had cut through many of the giant logs across the trail, and carved convenient steps up and over others.  The trail is obvious until it reaches the main campsites about half way along the north shore.  After that, it becomes more difficult to discern.  We followed it only to the east end of the lake.  A faint boot path seemed to continue on, but we had neither the time nor the motivation to plunge on past the lake end. 

We enjoyed a thoroughly pleasurable afternoon at the lake.  My husband fished from shore, catching at least a dozen of the small “cutbow” trout that are stocked each year into the lake.  While he enjoyed himself catching these beautiful fish with barbless hooks and releasing them, I wandered along the lakeshore and explored the cascading inlet stream at the east end.  I considered going for a swim in the lake, but the water was still icy cold below the thin, warmer surface layer.  Hardier souls would probably have plunged in, but I chose to simply wade around looking for aquatic life.  The lake is surrounded by very steep, forested slopes, with evidence of rockslides in several places along both sides, and I enjoyed scanning the open slide areas for wildlife.  The best scenic view is looking east from the west end of the lake toward Snowking Mountain, but the shimmering lake in its deep basin was lovely to look at from all along the north shore.

We were pleasantly surprised at the lack of flies in spite of it being a warm, sunny day with little wind.  We never needed bug repellent, even when we were standing or sitting still.  The lakeside looks like great fly habitat, especially in the wet meadows, but the day we were there, the flies were not. 

This is not a wildflower hike but a few flowers were blooming along the trail and in the small, wet meadows along the north shoreline.  The trail in is lined with blueberry, huckleberry, elderberry and thimbleberry bushes, and we happily munched on ripe blueberries and huckleberries as we hiked in and out.  With all those berries, this must be good bear country.  We were lucky enough to see a gorgeous, big, brown black bear on the road, shortly after we started the drive back down.  It had been grazing on berries at the roadside and loped away through the bushes as we rounded a bend.  That was a great end to a lovely day in the North Cascades.

Needed a place to backpack with my husband who likes camping and fishing, but not hiking, and this was a good place. Major downside is the road which took 80-90 minutes to get up. There are a decent amount of potholes and some areas of low stream flow across the road. Definitely easier with some clearance, but you might be able to chance it in a low rider depending on how slow you want to go and how much you like your car.

Got to the trailhead just before 1pm, 5 other cars parked there. We were nervous because we were getting a late start for backpacking on the weekend, and did not know the campsite situation, having never been here before. There are many logs down on the trail, but the larger ones have little steps cut into them. Trekking poles were helpful to stabilize with a backpack, but not sure if would help much on just a day hike. We passed 2 day hiking groups, both hanging out at 2 more obvious (first one small) campsites. I think we got the "last good campsite" mentioned in the description. We followed the trail a little after that campsite with our backpacks on while waiting for day hikers to disperse, and it becomes more difficult with larger trees down that were a pain to navigate with a backpack on especially for a "low clearance" person, so we turned around and claimed a campsite after the day hikers left. 

It was nice and shady, with a small amount of old can trash in the firepit, which we packed out with us the next day. There was also a pile of dog kibble, a dog chew, and an old tortilla, which we also packed up with our trash/bear bag that night in order to not lure anything in. There were fish jumping (but not biting) and the lake was refreshing for a quick dip. Visible fishing line and bobbers in some trees from unlucky casts. Lots of good hammock spots. The lake seemed pretty high with some trees underwater (maybe 10 ft high? Have not been here before so do not have a good comparison. It went down a noticeable amount while we were there). Some bugs, but no bites with bug spray. First time camping in Washington backcountry with no other tents in sight, what a great experience!

Packed up in the morning and saw 3 groups on the way out (at least 2 looked just like fishers/day hikers). Three cars from the day before hand were still in the lot, but we never saw the other backpackers. Can only assume there are a few more campsites down towards the farthest end of the lake. 8 cars total when we got to our car around 11am. 

Would definitely recommend if you don't mind the long drive in and short hike, but for me it would only be worth it to backpack to (or if I fished maybe spend the day fishing). With how few campsites there seem to be, there is a definite chance that they might be all filled up depending on how popular the day is. Since the areas around the campsites are mostly downed trees, it would be difficult to make do unless you are a hammock camper. Maybe there are more spots underwater that will become obvious later in the season.