Burnt Lake is one of Oregon's many beautiful hike-in lakes and is located in the Mt. Hood Wilderness less than an hours drive from Portland. This lake is great for many people as it is about 3.6 miles from the trail-head and isn't too steep most of the hike. The fishing, scenery, and camping combine for a great experience and an awesome time. Whether you are a ultimate hiker, or an ultimate camper, this lake provides something for you. With the trails around the lake including Zig-Zag lookout and nearby Cast Lake (both of which we hiked to), everyone can hike or fish or camp as much or as little as they desire.
Note that the road leading to the trailhead is very bumpy with many potholes in it and if you take a car with lower clearance your car will scrape at least once.
Burnt Lake is a fairly popular place to hike as this picture was taken on a Friday morning at 9:50 am upon arriving at the trailhead. Coming back the next morning there were at least 3 times the amount of cars, forcing many to park along the sides of the roads.
An hour and ten minutes after leaving the trailhead we reached a waterfall that is about 200 ft from the path that provides a great stopping point for breakfast (I ate a Nature Valley granola bar which I believe the view made taste better.)
After reaching the waterfall the trail begins to climb up to Burnt Lake although it still isn't a very challenging part of the hike. The hike to burnt lake is very kid and dog friendly because of the well beaten paths and relatively short distance. We saw several kids at the lake and on the way up to the lake and also saw 7 dogs while around the area.
Along the trail up to the lake there are many spots where the trail crosses small streams which provide excellent spots for filling up water. In general the area is a very easy place to access water so don't overload on the water, it just adds unnecessary weight.
After crossing many streams and the ascent up to the lake Burnt lake comes into sight.
The view from Zig-Zag lookout, an old fire lookout, is absolutely gorgeous especially when the weather is clear and Mt. Hood is very close. The hike up to the lookout takes less than an hour although it is steep, but the view of Mt. Hood is rewarding and makes the effort worth it. The flowers in the meadows on the way up to the peak are awesome and well worth time to view.
Beyond the lookout about a half hour is another small lake. The scenery isn't quite as good at this lake and the mosquitoes are more abundant but there are less people and the fishing is fantastic.
In a little over an hours time my uncle and I caught seven fish (we only kept 5 to eat). The fishing at Burnt Lake the next morning turned out to be very good as well.
The scenery as previously mentioned is stunning and sunset brings out another level of beauty beyond belief and Burnt Lake provides an awesome reflection of the mountain and in my opinion this is hands down the most beautiful place i have seen in Oregon.
Camping at Burnt Lake can be tricky because of its popularity and because there are only seven designated campsites at the lake. The weather in July didn't require an heavy duty shelter and we used a tarp/poncho to lay under. The temperatures were chilly in the morning but not cold enough to prevent using just about any sleeping bag to stay warm. One should also note that fires are not allowed within a half mile of Burnt Lake. If you can't find a spot to stay at Burnt Lake there are also spots up by the lookout and also at Cast Lake.
One of the stream crossings with my hiking partner AKA uncle Stewart in the background.
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