Church Creek — Saturday, Sep. 20, 2014

Olympic Peninsula > Olympia

There are two ways to access Satsop Lake. One is via the Church Creek Trail out of the South Fork Skokomish River Valley. The other is by way of the Church Creek Trail out of the Wynoochee Lake area. We approached Satsop Lake via the latter trailhead, which is a much shorter and kid-friendly way to get to small, but quaint Satsop Lake -- and when camped at Coho Campground, the only feasible way to go. My report is for the Wynoochee Lake access point. The Church Creek trailhead is unmarked. We used directions provided at the campground, which were correct but lacking in the finer details. Here's how to find the trailhead: 1. Drive FS Road 23 for approx. 1 mile to FS Road 2372. 2. Turn left on Rd #2372 and drive approx. 8 miles to the unmarked trailhead. 3. RESET your odometer at Rd #2372 to track the 8 miles. 4. Just beyond a hairpin turn, you'll see an old campfire ring and what looks like a trail (or even old road at the beginning) heading off to the right -- this is the trail! There is currently a rock spraypainted with the letters "AH" at the trailhead. You'll also notice an old log that crosses the trail -- it has been cut and a section removed -- this was key in figuring out where we were. Just beyond this log there is a homemade sign posted up on a tree to the left of the trail that says "Satsop Lake." **NOTE: Google Maps lists the FS as 2222 -- this is incorrect. The roads have posted signs stating #23 and #2372. The trail is pleasant and meanders through older forest for about half a mile to Satsop Lake. The sign board at Coho Campground with a list of "points of interest" around Wynoochee Lake states that the trail is "near" 5 small Satsop Lakes. While this is true, the other lakes are along the stretch of road near the trailhead, but always out of sight. The trail actually only goes to the one lake, which is likely why someone posted the sign "Satsop Lake" in the singular. The lake itself is remarkably clean, even in mid-September. Fish were seen and I imagine the fishing would be pretty good here. There is one campsite perched above the lake -- it's not the perfect campsite but you could make do. The Church Creek trail continues around the lake, weaving through tall grasses and around some deadfall near the head of the lake. I was able to take my 3-year-old niece through this while giving her a piggyback ride, but it's not ideal travel for young children. Good trail then picked back up when heading into the woods and we turned around to catch back up with our family members. My niece enjoyed hiking the trail and throwing rocks into the lake. Swimming would also be an option, but there are places where the lake drops deeply fairly quickly. All in all a pleasant little hike to an unexpectedly pretty little lake.