Rosary Lakes
STATS
Fitness Level: Moderate
Experience Level: Easy
Distance: 7.1 miles out and back
Elevation: 712 feet
Open: Late June to early November
Good for: Day hiking, backpacking, and dogs
Usage: Moderate to heavy
Accessibility: Paved road
Quick Take
The trail to Rosary Lakes satisfies the desire to hike through lightly forested woods and beautiful lakes. The hike, while a decent amount of miles to the first lake, is enjoyable with a steady rolling uphill that allows you to gain elevation without any great steepness. Situated as a part of the PCT you will often find through hikers stopping here to refill their water bladders at one of the three idyllic lakes at the end of this trail. Whether backpacking in for the night, or hiking in for an afternoon swim, this trail is sure to make for a simple and fun adventure.
The adventure begins
The Rosary Lakes Trailhead can be found 0.3 miles North of the Willamette Pass Ski Resort. The parking lot is tucked away next to a highway maintenance facility, we almost felt like small parking lot, kind of felt like we weren’t supposed to be there.
Begins with a gentle slope, very open woods, very straight. When the slope starts to increase you are almost to the first lake. Neat trees.
Rosary Lakes
As you come up on the first and largest lake (Lower Rosary Lake), you crest a small rise and are greeted with a prominent view of Pulpit Rock. You will most likely find other day hikers at this spot taking pictures of the rock as it is the most ideal location to capture this feature. The trail follows close to the lake on the eastern side and passes several reasonable campsites. While any of these would be wonderful spots to set up camp, there are more choice options to be up ahead at Middle Rosary Lake.
We found Middle Rosary Lake (any guesses at the what the third lake is called?) to be the most ideal for both camping and general recreation. There are no shortage of campsites and spots for day hikers to post up for lunch surrounding this lake. While these campsites were empty while we were there in September, they will most likely be quite busy in July and August, so if you want one of these sites, it is best to show up early as they are first come first serve. This lake features close up views of Pulpit Rock and is very swimmable with clear water.
We took a peak at North Rosary Lake (disappointingly not called Upper Rosary Lake), but as it was the smallest and most wooded of the 3, we spent most of our time at the Middle Lake teaching our dog how to swim.
Porter Learns To Swim
Despite the overcast skies the weather was nicer than we had expected and the water was passably warm (as far as Cascade lakes go). We had gone all summer without a dip in a mountain lake, and this would be Porter, our Golden Retriever, was historically afraid of water wined helplessly at the waters edge as his humans took a dip. And then something magical happened…
On a whim we chucked a stick out into the lake, Porter, who loves all sticks, was beside himself that this one was out of reach. With much encouraging, and a substantial amount of huffing and puppy wines, he tentatively made his way into the water to get the stick. All it took was one swim and suddenly we had a bonafide water dog that will chase anything into water.
