Name: Clear Lake & Waterfalls Double Loop
Start: 2025-09-20T10:00:00-07:00
End: 2025-09-20T10:00:00-07:00

Past Activity

Clear Lake & Waterfalls Double Loop

Start date: 09/20/2025
Start time: 10:00 AM

Description:

Double loop hike combining the McKenzie River waterfalls loop with the Clear Lake loop.

The hike begins at the Clear Lake Lodge (Located on Hwy 126, 4 miles south of the Hwy 20 Junction) on Saturday, September 20, 2025, at 10:00 am.

The hiking route will start at the Clear Lake Lodge going north, then make our way over to the Great Spring and the east side of the lake. Around noontime, near the south side of the lake, we will find an area along the trail to have lunch and rest. After lunch, we will make our way down the McKenzie River to Sahalie and Koosah Falls, then return to the Clear Lake Lodge. The plan is to return to the lodge by 4pm.

Bring a bag lunch. Plan for changing weather; bring a rain jacket, sunhat, sunglasses, and wear layers.

NOTES:
# If you are driving from the Eugene area, plan for 75-miles and an 1.5 hour one-way drive
# Day use parking is $9 per vehicle. Bring your Annual America the Beautiful Pass or a Senior Golden Age Pass. Clear Lake is a Linn County facility, but apparently the national passes are honored there.
# For carpooling to the trailhead, it is suggested to park behind the McDonalds in Springfield (5701 Main St, Springfield, OR ) and carpool from there, leaving no later than 8:30am.
# Lana Lindstrom is the Assistant Leader. We both drive a gray RAV 4, look for us behind the McDonalds with the hatch door open.

Event Leader: Mark Hougardy
Event Leader Phone: 541-206-9532
Event Leader Email: hougardy@gmail.com
Assistant Leader: Lana Lindstrom
Event category: Trips
Area Type: Mountain
Departure Location: See Trip Description
Rating: Moderate
Roundtrip total drive miles:
Season: 2025
Permits Required:
Event Status: Passed
Supplies and Equipment Required: Bring a bag lunch. Plan for changing weather; bring a rain jacket, sunhat, sunglasses, and wear layers. Water. Personal first aid stuff.
participant prerequisites:
Conditions:
Total Distance: 9
Member Fees: —
Elevation Gain: 600
Non-Member Fees: 8
Committee: Trips
Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

Well, we tried, but the Hiking Gods once again bested our efforts to explore Clear Lake. Smoke from a nearby fire raised concerns about the air quality at the trailhead, so we ended up going to Thurston Hills in Springfield. We hiked between 5 and 6 miles and enjoyed the scenery. One nice find was seeing a football-sized paper wasp nest.