This is a road report. A friend and I hiked from the parking lot at the intersection of FS12 and FS13 to Blue Lake. The parking lot is 50 yards past the turn off from 12 to Schreiber’s Meadows (13). There is a sign at the intersection that clearly states that FS12 is closed at the bridge in one mile. However the barriers on the bridge have been moved and there were two vehicles at the Blue Lake trailhead. (Other people have driven part way to the SF Nooksack, but that road is collapsed along Wanlick Creek. Bear hunters overlapping with PNWT thru-hikers. The hunter with whom we spoke was surprised to find so many people out there.)
We hiked about 6 miles up the road to Blue Lake trailhead. The privy was unlocked, no TP. No maintenance. The trail to the lake is short. The blue berries are ripe, and big and delicious. Lots of wild flowers and butterflies. Fish were rising in the lake. The lake is beautiful. It would be a good place to camp.
We turned around and hiked 6 miles on the road, back to the car. Lots of bear poop but no bears. Lots of grouse and butterflies. Water sources are available along the road but filters or treatment is advised.
The hike on the trail is unchanged, and there is Dock Butte too, but the USFS needs to either maintain the road (which will otherwise eventually washout out or collapse at a sink hole), or build a permanent barrier at the intersection and just make it a longer hike.
Comments
Muledeer on Blue Lake
Sad, another good hike for young families and creaky knees lost to unmaintained forest roads. We hiked that every year when our kids were little, and Dock Butte when they were older.
Posted by:
Muledeer on Aug 16, 2024 01:17 PM
Willow's Humans on Blue Lake
Thanks for the update, I was wondering about the road. I agree with Muledeer... this is a great little hike for families (or in our case, a senior dog who doesn't realize that she can't handle super long hikes anymore). We're losing a lot of hikes to washed out roads, and I wish that more could be done to save them. Might aid in fire suppression too, if more roads are accessible. But what do I know.
Posted by:
Willow's Humans on Aug 16, 2024 01:48 PM
Lucy on Blue Lake
I want to make sure I understand your report on the road to the trailhead. At the junction of 12 and 13 there is a sign clearly stating that the road to Blue Lake is closed. I hiked Scott Paul 2 days ago and it seemed obvious that the CLOSED sign was meant to keep people from traveling further. But you saw cars at the Blue Lake TH? I'm not sure where the Wanlick Creek is. Why is the road closed if people are able to drive to the TH? I might be missing something in my interpretation of the conditions. Thanks for your report. Blue Lake and Dock Butte are lovely places to visit.
Posted by:
Lucy on Aug 16, 2024 07:51 PM
pmhayden on Blue Lake
The (new replacement) sign at the FS12 and FS13 junction state that the road is closed in one mile at the bridge. The bridge was apparently blocked by jersey barriers. These have been moved and some people drive over the bridge. The embankment on the NW corner of the bridge is sloughing off into the creek, but there is still room to get over the bridge (for now). Its not going to be a cheap fix, and probably won’t happen until there is a timber sale to justify the repairs. The road forks at the head of Wanlick Creek. The right fork went west to the South Fork of the Nooksack River. That road is open for a mile, and entirely gone in places after that. But you can follow it to the river and Pioneer Camp. The left fork is drivable to blue lake. There are a couple areas starting to slough off due to runoff, but driveable. There is the beginning of a sink hole that will slowly grow and there the road will someday collapse under an unlucky driver. There is no way to know how large the washed out area is under the road surface. So, yes, you can now cross the bridge again, but the sign says the road is closed. Nevertheless, we parked at the junction and hiked the road. Its a nice hike, but adds about 6 miles each way to a formerly 3/4 mile hike, on a hard surface. It would probably cost about $2 million to repair the FS 12 road system to Blue Lake, the SF Nooksack River, and Pioneer Camp (Bell Creek). So its not going to happen. Maybe that one bridge will be shored up, but I doubt it. Still, maybe both hikes will just become longer official trails. There is always hope. Sorry for TMI.
Posted by:
pmhayden on Aug 16, 2024 08:19 PM
Lucy on Blue Lake
Thanks for the info. I have no intention of driving up the road but it's helpful to know the conditions of the road in order to understand what it will take to repair the damage. Ugh!
Posted by:
Lucy on Aug 17, 2024 07:29 AM
Krab on Blue Lake
The closed bridge that people are driving over is incredibly dangerous. Only drive over this bridge if you are ok with your car potentially ending up in the creek 20 ft below. The washout is part of the bridge support & there is just enough room for a car to squeak through. We biked the road & hiked to blue lake a few weeks ago & I appreciate whomever cut all the logs off the FS road. If you end up in the creek from driving past the road closed sign in addition to the possibility of severe injury I would think the recovery costs of towing you out of the creek would be pretty steep.
Posted by:
Krab on Aug 17, 2024 05:26 PM
CLW84 on Blue Lake
USFS now lists repairs as scheduled for 2025 or 2026. Fingers crossed this takes place.
Posted by:
CLW84 on Aug 08, 2025 08:20 AM
Lucy on Blue Lake
Wonderful news. I hope it happens. Thanks for the info.
Posted by:
Lucy on Aug 08, 2025 08:09 PM