Lost Lake Butte Trail is located near Lost Lake within Mount Hood forest. It is about 4 miles round trip in terms of distance and the elevation gain is gradual. Thus it is very family friendly. At the end of the trail, it has a gorgeous view on Mount Hood. It is one of the reason why the trail is very popular.
On this gorgeous weekend with sunny weather, we headed over to Lost Lake to enjoy the sunny day. We got to Lost Lake around 10:30 in the morning after 2 hours of drive. The day use permit was $9. The Northwest Forest Pass does not work here because the property is privately owned and not maintained by Oregon government.
There were already many people here in the lake and the parking lot was quite full. Luckily, we were able to find a parking space just beside the Lost Lake General Store. The general store sells many snacks and drinks, as well as necessary camping stuff. The only thing we did not like is the washroom. The washroom around Lost Lake seem poorly maintained and smelled very bad all the time.
The Lost Lake Butte Trail was a bit hard to spot, but we were able to find it. The trail head was near the entrance to the Lost Lake area. The first portion of the trail took us through some of the camp sites and people were setting up picnic table and grills for lunch.
The trail was quite easy with gradual climb. The elevation gain overall was about 1200ft. After about 50 minutes, we got to the top of the trail. Surprisingly, we did not see anyone here at the top. Perhaps everyone was enjoying their time at the lake. The view of Mount Hood was simply gorgeous and we really enjoyed our time up there with breeze of wind. The only thing that bothered us was the amount of flying bugs buzzing around. It was quite annoying.
The area at the top was not big either. If there were many groups of people up there, make sure you watch where you step and don't fall off the cliff. The surface was occupied by multiple large rocks, so watch your footing as well.
Overall, we enjoyed doing this hike at Lost Lake. After the hike, we enjoyed a nice lunch under the shade at the picnic table in front of the lake. Then we also enjoyed our time on the lake with small rowing boat. We recommend doing this hike in the morning and then enjoy a peaceful afternoon on the lake.
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