After finishing my hike at Storm King Mountain and thinking about the time I had left to catch the ferry, I chose to take a short hike at Anderson Lake State Park near Port Townsend which was close to the ferry. I had read in advance about this lake several years ago being closed around Labor day but found it still open until at least October 30th. After talking with the Camp Host there I learned that it may stay open year round this time. He said he was coming back in January.
There are several trails in this park but I chose to hike the Lake Loop Trail (A) which connects with Trail (F) and heads back to the parking lot with a small portion back on the gravel road which is the entrance road I drove in on. I believe these two trails combined are around 2.5 miles in length. Most of these trails are in the trees so its nice and shady but parts of the trail are starting to get covered with black berry bushes. You can still easily find your way but take a copy of their maps near the lake since several of the signs on the trail are faded bad and can't be read.
The most important thing to remember at this time about this park is to stay out of the lake. This included your pets especially. There is a Toxic Algae Bloom in this lake that will make animals and humans sick and can even cause death if not treated promptly after ingesting any water from this lake. The summer is the worst time but I have read that its still bad in winter. Several things I have read about this lake show that the concentration is worst in this lake then almost any other lake in Washington State so as a warning again. DO NOT yourself or allow your pets to enter or consume any water from this lake.
The trail was pretty nice and the trees are pretty old so its was a nice quiet hike all by myself. As I got around the backside and hooked up with Trail "F" I crossed over a creek bridge and underneath I got a good visual on how bad the toxic algae in the lake is. The whole creek was covered in it as you can see from my picture.
As I finished up the trail and headed back to the parking lot I meet up with the Camp Host and spoke to him a little about his job and about the lake. It was a nice little hike and something to bide my time while I waited for my ferry. Checkout the video of this hike or over 400 other hikes on my Vimeo Channel listed above on my W.T.A Dashboard or click on the direct link below. As always get out and see this beautiful state and enjoy your hiking.
Take Care,
Mike
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