Strawberry Mountain, Big Tree Botanical Area Interpretive Site — Thursday, Jun. 26, 2025

We combined these two pleasant hikes along with an ATV track and even some newer not-in-the-guidebook trails to make a nine mile wander from Lost Lake campground.

The Strawberry Mtn trail poses few challenges and many flowers. The cool morning of the Okanogan Highlands made for a gorgeous start to the day. The former fire lookout location is treed so the views weren’t particularly great though a picnic bench has views to the SW of Mount Bonaparte. Its lookout can be seen poking out above the trees.

From here we took the old access road, now ATV track back down. The sunny hillsides and wildflowers made this worthwhile. Once on the gravel road we walked north back towards the campground. The local Okanogan Highlands Alliance has two little loop trails, Upland Trail and Wetland Trail, that loop through the forest for ~1/2 mile with well done interpretative signage.

Back at camp we continued eastward following the Big Tree Trail. This is largely flat and exceedingly well groomed. It wanders through a few bedrock outcrops that are so quintessentially Okanogan Highlands. At the third road crossing the ‘big tree’ section really begins. This 0.8 mile loop has several spectacular 900 year old specimens. Autumn will be an amazing time to come and enjoy this trail and these trees. And day culminated looping back to Lost Lake.

Easy, well groomed, with great camping on a lake😊