Ice Lake

Directions:
From Joseph, follow the Wallowa Lake Highway to the south end of Wallowa lake, avoiding the right hand fork which goes to Wallowa Lake State Park. The trail head is at the end of the parking lot.

The Trail:

Ice Lake is another amazing place in the Wallowa Mountains. Imagine a deep blue lake, surrounded on all sides by jagged granite mountains…this is it.

Follow the trail from the end of the parking lot, veering right at the fork a very short distance up the trail. The trail then follows the West Fork Wallowa River up the Canyon at a very comfortable grade. At 2.8, the trail to Ice Lake forks off to the right and crosses the river over a nice bridge. Now is where the trail gets fun! In order to reach the Lake, the trail now must climb around 2,250 feet up the side of the ridge. Luckily they give you five miles to complete the task, but it still requires quite a bit of work. The trail up to Ice Lake is very nice and gives a lot of variety. There are nice meadows, forests, views and waterfalls all along the way, complete with a great lake at the end. Many nice campsites can be found around the lake, and there are many places to lay around and enjoy the scenery…my favorite pastime!