Clear Lake Trail

Clear Lake Resort has cabins and campsites for rent. You can rent rowboats, for $15 per hour or $30 for the day, to take out on the lake. There is also a restaurant here with good food. To the left of the restaurant is a swimming area, but beware the water is VERY cold.

The cabins run from $64-$117 per night. The four campsites run $18 per day.

Pets are welcome. There is a shower facility.

Reservations can be made at the Linn County Parks & Rec website, linked in this guide

Instead of going to the Clear Lake Resort, turn right into the free parking area/picnic area. You will find a large log shelter here, great for eating lunch. You will find the trail head for walking around the lake just past the shelter.

This log picnic shelter was built in 1937 by members of teh Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC program was created during the Great Depression to provide employment.

As you hike along the four mile Clear Lake Trail, you'll discover a diverse landscape. This landscape is very different from what it was 3,000 years ago. At that time there was no lake, only a densely forested drainage dissected by a rumbling white water river.

About 1,000 b.C., Sand Mountain erupted. Lava flowed out toward what is now called the McKenzie River and burned the forest as it moved. When the lava reached the river and struck the cold water, it stopped. The McKenzie quickly backed up behind the wall of lava and Clear Lake was formed. The forest that had lined the riverbanks was submerged under 120 feet of water. Remnants of these trees still stand today incredibly preserved in the depths of the near freezing temperature of the lake.

New ecosystems were created by the eruption, which providd habitat for new wildlife species. Fish species that had lived in the river had to adapt to life in the newly formed lake. Different kinds of vegetation took root along the lake shore and also in the cooled lave fields.

Clear Lake is on the upper McKenzie River and is generally considered the headwaters of the McKenzie river. Clear Lake is actually fed by numerous springs...Great Springs, Fish Lake creek, and Ikenick Creek. The water of Clear Lake is exceptionally clear and one can see nearly 100 feet to the bottom.

This is the official headwaters of the McKenzie River. If you are in a boat DO NOT go further then this bridge as Sahalie Falls is a scant half mile down stream.

The Clear Lake Trail intersects with the Sahalie Falls Trail here. It's a .7 mile detour to Sahalie Falls (which has a 2.6 mile loop of it's own). Keep straight to continue around the lake.

At this point, you can stand with one foot in the forest and the other on the edge of the lava flow. The forest looks like the whole landscape might have looked thousands of years before the eruption. The lava field is a landscape in its early youth. thousands of years into the future, the lava will have broken down, and a new forest will stand here.

Perched on a hill overlooking the south end of Clear Lake, Coldwater Cove is the favorite of many and disappoints no one. The crystal clear water of Clear Lake is a joy to boat on, but no motors are permitted. The area is nicely treed with Douglas fir and hemlock.

$16 Single Site $30 Double Site $8 Extra Vehicles.

Campground is open from 05/27/10 to 10/11/10. weather permitting

Sites may be reserved from 05/27/10 to 09/11/10

There are several ospreys that return from wintering in Mexico and South America to spend their summer months nesting at the lake. You may see one catch a fish and take it to the nest at the top of the tree ahead of you. If you do see ospreys using the nest stay on the trail so you don't disturb them. As you walk on, be on the lookout for other osprey nest trees on the lava field.

This old-growth grove stands in sharp contrast to the lava field and supports a different living community. you may see trees with rectangular holes excavated in them. These were made by one of the more spectacular members of this community, the pileated woodpecker. The pileated is the largest woodpecker in the country. It has a pointed red crest on its head, and it uses its sharp beak to feed on carpenter ants and other insects under the tree bark. Smaller, round holes you see were created by other woodpeckers that live in the area.

You are standing at the source of the McKenzie River. The turquoise blue color of the pool is caused by the remains of many generations of fresh-water plants called diatoms. Diatoms are mostly made of white silica which covers the bottom of the spring. The brilliant color comes from the light reflecting off the silica layer and back through the water.

The creek below you flows from Fish Lake just north of here. Fish Lake dries up completely in the summer and forms a grassy meadow. Fish Lake Creek only flows when the lake is full.