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Trip Report    

Backpack - Baker Lake

Beautiful trail, weaving through moss-covered forested areas along the lake-side, with stunning views of Baker reflecting on the lake peaking out from time to time. However, all camps along the trail were VERY busy!

Ian Henry Ian Henry
May 22, 2022
  • Sat, May 21, 2022 — Sun, May 22, 2022
  • Baker Lake
  • Backpacking
  • Successful
  • Road rough but passable

  • The trail is in great condition between the trailhead and Maple Grove. Minor stretches of mud, but easily bypassed. From Maple Grove to Silver Creek, there are a LOT of blowdowns still. Most of these are relatively easy (for an adult) to climb over, although a few required us to remove our packs and climb under (or up and over on a wet & slippery tree). One required navigating a tricky muddy slope. 

We arrived at the trailhead around 11:30am on Saturday. Road to the trailhead was full of potholes, but pretty typical. Parking lot was full, with cars overflowing along the side of the forest service road.

We first hiked in to Maple Grove, where we stopped for lunch. The trail is in great condition between the trailhead and Maple Grove, no major obstacles or mud. The trail was busy; the stretch between TH and Maple Grove seems popular for day hikers and trail runners. We stopped at Maple Grove for lunch around 1pm for lunch. There were a couple of backpackers set-up there already, and several more arrived while we were eating lunch.

We carried on another few miles to Silver Creek. This was slower going because of the number of blowdowns we had to navigate around. The camp was mostly full by the time we arrived, primarily one large group of older folks that were clearly having a good time, beers in hand. We opted to move on to Noisy Creek. Alas, Noisy Creek Camp was also full: a large group of Boy Scouts with a half dozen tents. We back-tracked and eventually found a "primitive" site right off the trail between Noisy Creek and Silver Creek. We got lucky: had we not found this spot, it's very possible that we would have had to hike back to our car.

The whole route is beautiful. The trail itself is in great condition aside from the blowdowns, and weaves through moss-covered forested areas along the lake-side, with stunning views of Baker reflecting on the lake peaking out from time to time.

The only trouble is the crowds: there are relatively few campsites, given the popularity and accessibility of this trail. The terrain outside of the camps is quite hilly and the forest is dense, so if your desired camp is full, you have very few back-up options for camp. Plan accordingly!