Goat Rocks Backpacking Trip: Lily Basin Trail & Goat Lake
A late-season backpacking trip with spectacular fall color, expansive mountain views, and a scenic day hike to Goat Lake and the saddle below Hawkeye Point.
TRIP PLANNING
- best months: mid-July to September
- location: Goat Rocks Wilderness; nearest town: Packwood
- land management: Gifford Pinchot National Forest: Cowlitz Valley Ranger District
- trail conditions: Snowgrass Trail #96
- hike description: Washington Trails Association – Snowgrass Flat
- wilderness permits: self-issued at the trailhead
- parking pass: NW Forest Pass required
ITINERARY
- day 1 – Snowgrass trailhead to campsite: 5 miles, 1,535 ft. gain
- day 2 – day hike to Goat Lake & saddle below Hawkeye Point: 6.6 miles roundtrip, 1,215 ft. gain
- day 3 – hike out to Snowgrass trailhead: 5 miles, 1,535 ft. loss
Day 1
I had just been to Goat Rocks in August for a two-night backpacking trip, when the trails were dry and dusty, but I didn’t mind going back again so soon. A friend of mine had been wanting to visit Goat Rocks for a long time, and when she was finally available to go, I was happy to return to one of my favorite places.
I had never been to Goat Rocks this late in the season, and I was especially hoping we would find some fall color. We had originally planned to stay for three nights, but the forecast for our last night changed to temperatures near freezing, wind gusts up to 30 mph, and a 65 percent chance of rain or snow. We decided to cut the trip to two nights instead.
The first two miles of the hike are easy, with a relatively flat trail. When we reached the bridge over Goat Creek, we stopped for a break, and I filtered more water for the rest of the hike. After another half mile, the trail gets considerably steeper for the next two miles, so we stopped several times to take breaks along this section.
photo credit: M. Koenig
As we made our way through the forest, I started noticing that the huckleberry shrubs were turning shades of red and purple. I wondered what the fall color would look like once we reached the subalpine meadows.
We passed the junction with the Bypass Trail, and I was excited because I knew we didn’t have much farther to go. My friend commented that my pace suddenly picked up to double-speed. Haha, I guess I can hike faster when I want to.
When we reached the junction with the Lily Basin Trail, we turned onto it in search of a campsite. The fall color was stunning, with western pasqueflower (aka “hippy on a stick” in seed head stage) showing some bright yellow-green color on the foliage along with the red hues of lower-growing huckleberry shrubs.
There were plenty of available campsites near the junction, but I wanted to stay a little higher so we would have good views of the surrounding peaks. We continued for another half mile and ended up getting a campsite I had stayed at in 2021 with a group of friends. The camp area was extra large, with several separate places to pitch tents and multiple campfire rings spread throughout. There was still a fire ban in place, though, so we didn’t have a campfire on this trip.
We arrived at camp around 6:00 p.m., walked to a nearby creek to filter water, and then set up camp. From our campsite, we had great views of Goat Rocks, Mount Adams, and Goat Ridge. By the time we cooked dinner, it was getting dark. My friend was camping in a hammock, and I was in a tent. Before we went to bed, we spent some time admiring the night sky filled with stars and the Milky Way.
That night was eerily quiet, with no sounds around us as we fell to sleep. With an overnight low of 42 degrees, I was warm and comfortable all night in my tent.
Day 2
Our plan for the day was to hike to Goat Lake and continue up to the saddle below Hawkeye Point. We hiked through more meadows, across a couple of talus slopes, and made our way up to higher elevation.
photo credit: M. Koenig
Water was a little more scarce this late in the season, although there was still plenty flowing in some of the creeks we crossed. A waterfall cascading through a talus-filled section of the trail was barely flowing this time, a noticeable change from earlier in the season.
The fall color made this trip feel completely different from all of my other visits to Goat Rocks. I’ve seen these same meadows in summer, but seeing the huckleberries turn red and purple, and the hillsides covered in shades of yellow and oragne added an entirely different dimension to the landscape. I absolutely loved it.
When we reached Goat Lake, we stopped for a long snack break and took the opportunity to filter more water for the rest of the hike. Unlike most of the times I’ve been to Goat Lake, there was no ice or snow on the lake, but the water was still a gorgeous blue-green color.
After our break, we continued along the trail above the lake. Two mountain goats were making their way across the steep slopes above us, although we didn’t notice them until we were already higher on the trail. Fortunately, I was able to get a few pics of them, although they’re so tiny in the photos that they’re hard to see.
The Lily Basin Trail continues beyond Goat Lake, crossing some steep slopes with drop-offs. None of the sections are dangerous, but there were a few places that made me slightly nervous due to my poor depth perception.
Hikers coming up from the Goat Ridge Trail passed us as we continued higher.
The scenery on this hike was much more expansive than anything I had seen at Goat Rocks before. We could see much more of Mount Adams, with the valley stretching out below us and Goat Creek meandering through it.
When we reached the junction with the Goat Ridge Trail, we turned right and continued up a rocky section of trail on the Lily Basin Trail.
Around this point, I started having a new type of knee pain that I hadn’t experienced before, and it concerned me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue because I didn’t know how my knee would react to the additional climbing. But I’m really glad I kept going.
There were several tents set up high on the ridge with amazing views of the entire area.
The final push to the saddle was just ahead of us, and my knee pain was lessening for the moment.
When we reached the saddle, Mount Rainier came into view, along with an entire range of ridges and peaks, including Angry Mountain and Johnson Peak. Wow!
Far below the next ridge, I could see Packwood Lake, a place where I’ve backpacked several times. On those early-season trips, I’ve looked across the lake toward snow-covered Johnson Peak. Now I was standing here looking directly at Johnson Peak, although there wasn’t a trace of snow on it this late in the season.
We stopped at the top of the ridge saddle for a long lunch break, taking in the views of ridge after ridge stretching out in every direction. The ridge was rocky, with Pedro’s Pinnacle to our left and the imposing slopes of Hawkeye Point to our right.
Eventually, we started making our way back toward camp, stopping briefly at Goat Lake again before continuing down the trail.
Not long after we arrived back at camp, Mount Adams was bathed in alpenglow. It was a beautiful end to an incredible day.
Once again, we ended up cooking dinner in the dark. The wind had started picking up, making it feel much colder, so we didn’t linger around camp for long after dinner. About an hour after I went to bed, we heard a loud thump, almost like something large had been dropped onto the ground. We never figured out what it was, but there wasn’t another sound until the wind picked up again.
The gusts were strong enough that I could hear them coming through the trees before they reached my tent. I wasn’t using any additional guylines, but the tent only shook slightly in the wind, so I wasn’t concerned.
The overnight low was 49 degrees, so it ended up being another surprisingly warm night. My 10-degree quilt was definitely overkill, so I unclipped it to let in cooler air.
Day 3
In the morning, it was noticeably cooler than the day before. We took our time having breakfast and then started packing up for the hike out.
Once we reached the forested section of trail, I started hiking a little faster.
photo credit: M. Koenig
I was making good time until I tripped on a small root and fell, twisting as I landed and scuffing up both knees. My shin hit my trekking pole, leaving a bumpy swollen bruise.
A couple we had talked with during the trip came by and offered to do a first-aid assessment. I told them I felt fine, then dusted myself off, put my pack back on, and continued down the trail. I was moving a little slower at first, but the pain didn’t last long and I was soon back to my usual pace.
We eventually reached the trailhead and headed out, stopping in Packwood at the Mountain Goat Coffee Company and then Packwood Brewing for lunch — I highly recommend both.
Another amazing trip in Goat Rocks, and hopefully not my last!