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.
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