Ice Lake Trail - Oregon - 8/30/2025
After a couple of weeks here in Lewiston Idaho I decided to find a good hike nearby. There really weren't any good hikes, Hells Gate is pretty boring, everything worth hiking is at least two hours away. After some researching I found the Ice Lake trail in Oregon just outside of Joseph. At 16 miles in length, and about 3600 feet of elevation gain this would be just about perfect.
I arrived just after 8 AM, and had to park almost a quarter mile from the trailhead. This shouldn't have been a surprise with the holiday weekend, and the beautiful location. The weather was nice, and cool, and almost a little chilly. At the trailhead was a sign with information on acquiring a free permit. I just had to fill out a little card, drop the carbon copy in the box, and affix the permit to my bag.
The area is very popular for backpacking, and most of the people I passed on the trail had their large packs heading up to the lake. As a day hiker I flew past most of the hikers up, and down the trail, and I could tell they were envious of my lightweight hiking vest. I brought 2.5L of water which was completely unnecessary, as there was an abundance of water all along the trail in the rivers, waterfalls and lake. At least I was well prepared. The majority of the hike was a very steady incline with about 3600 feet of elevation gain, an easy hike by my standards. When I arrived at the absolutely gorgeous, and peaceful Ice Lake I dipped my feet in the water cold water. The cold water felt magical on my feet. There was a ranger walking the trail checking for permits, he asked me if I was climbing the Matterhorn. I didn't realize that was an option, and it was tempting, but it would have added an extra 3 miles, and another 2000 feet of elevation gain. If I had started a couple hours earlier it would have been an option, oh well there's always next time. Most Matterhorn climbers actually set up camp at the lake, and then climb the peak the next morning. All in all I would highly recommend this, it's one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever done. The length, and elevation gain, will scare away most day hikers, so you'll end up having the lake to yourself.
