FS-75 to Lonesome Lake

900

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 01/14/2023

Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

This is a very popular trail for snow wheeling. Some stop to day camp at Haller Pass and some push to Lonesome Lake, but either way it can get pretty busy on nicer winter weekends. Up until Haller Pass there are plenty of places to pull off and allow opposing traffic to pass, but it is not uncommon to get behind large groups with many vehicles or less prepared / less capable parties. Sometimes a little patience is required, especially on the way down at the end of the day. On 1/14/23 I went to Haller Pass only and the snow level was much higher than normal for this time of year but the frequent traffic and thaw / freeze has made it more icy than snowy until higher elevations. The trail seemed passable by stock 4x4's trucks and SUVs with sufficient clearance; several made it to Haller Pass while I was there, but have recovery gear and a buddy because the icy sections can still have you sliding off the trail and into deeper snow pretty easily. There is still enough snow at the higher elevations to make this much more challenging than the rating associated with the summer forest road it is.

Dean

400

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/13/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Easy, well maintained forrest road up until 75% of the trail. Small ruts past this point. The area was very dry and dusty. The lake was great and the hike to it was very short. I'm giving it 5 stars for the view and the experience. It might be considered boring due to lack of obstacles but the views from the trail are pretty nice. The pay off is the lake itself.

Joe

300

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 08/06/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Road was good. Some potholes, but no major impediments. Very dusty. The mosquitoes were plenty and fierce near the lake.

David Clark

200

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 02/25/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

At about 2,000 feet, we double-backed, as the snow was deep enough to not feel comfortable continuing on. From what I saw, the trail looks to be fairly passable - no signs of washout, felled trees, etc.

Justin DeBerg

100

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 10/11/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Knocked this out today and only passed 3 other vehicles which was nice! Road was in good condition and had 2-3 inches of snow towards the higher elevations. Good for the family or like myself getting my wife into “off-roading” was a nice warm up.

Aaron Schulz

600

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/25/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Wanted to take advantage of the weather before the overcast sets in, super fun day driving around and getting photos. Met a nice guy with a Subaru and we talked cars for a bit. Cool places to get out and explore too.

Kevin

400

Open

Visited: 08/28/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Very Fun trip to the lake and beyond. Easy drive for anyone to the lake. The last section (turnout just below the lake) is moderately challenging for the uninitiated. Go, enjoy

Jack Wilkinson

100

Open

Visited: 08/10/2021

Nice, easy trail with some super nice views! Took the dogs for a drive, explored a couple of the offshoots from FS75. Definitely a lot of different places to set up camp which is good to know for future excursions to the area.

David M Edge

200

Open

Visited: 08/06/2021

I took a day off work and wanted to get out for an adventure. I recently purchased a Subaru Forester and wanted to see what it could do on the forest roads. My original plan was to take West Fork Road, meet up with FR 75, then come down FR 73 on the other side. West Fork Road is blocked in the first 100 yards or so, but FR 75 was open so, change of plans. It was a foggy rainy day so I did not see a lot from the viewpoints, but I could imagine what I would see from the open sections. The road is very nice and easy. FR 73 is still pretty good but not as good as 75. This makes a really good loop and the Forester did well. The weather started to clear a bit as I was coming down 73 so I was able to enjoy some views. There is a pretty amazing viewpoint a short way above the Lake Eleanor trailhead. Some of the photos are from there.

Kelle Fitzpatrick

100

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/10/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

We've wanted to get to this lake for awhile now but didn't have actual directions to find it. We were lucky today and found it. What a beautiful lake and well worth the drive in to find it. Not alot of people there either - there is a trail that heads straight before the lake and that takes you to quite a look out spot. People were camping up there so we didn't get too intrusive but were able to check out the amazing view!

Patrick Wright

100

Open

Visited: 07/10/2021

Ran out here around 7PM one night and there’s a sign stating that the area is closed due to fire danger.

Jason H Martin

2750

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/04/2021

Trail is open and snow free to the top. The lake is surprisingly full (the steps are partially underwater as are some small evergreen trees.

Michael

300

Open

Visited: 06/19/2021

The path is in great shape, but you’ll encounter snow right before the lake. There’s a patch just before the end that covers 75% of the road, smaller cars might want to turn around there. If you don’t feel comfortable driving through the snow you can just park before it and walk to the lake.

Rafael

100

Impassable

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/09/2021

Had a great time going over the first 5 miles or so but we have found snow quickly with our motorcycles and had to turn around

Cooper Dill

100

Open

Visited: 11/10/2020

Got into some fun snow last weekend

Richard Goins

1800

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 11/09/2020

A little snowy, but nothing crazy. Amazing views!

Ed Keeley

700

Open

Visited: 11/05/2020

Had a few hours to get outside and drive so I took my first trip to the lake today! (11-5-2020) GPX worked great for me with no issues getting onto the wrong road. There are quite a few spurs to turn down and explore but I only had a few hours this time. The road is in excellent shape and no vehicles would have problems with it based on the quality of the road itself. Yes there is a small amount of washboard and some potholes, but it was a very nice road to drive. In the final 3 miles there was a bit of debris in the road and on the side from downed trees but they are out of the road. Starting at 3800' it started to snow and by 4100' it was sticking to the road. Last quarter of a mile to the lake EVERYTHING was white with about 3" when I was there.

Sokha Kheng

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 11/04/2020

Went out and explored FS75 to Lonesome Lake this afternoon and the trail is still in great condition even with the rain that we've been having. I would expect the trail to be great for a few more weeks before we start to get decent snow on the trails?

Amber Potesak

100

Open

Visited: 08/16/2020

Tried to go today but the access gate to FS-75 was closed.

Michael Graham

Official Crew

23300

Open

Visited: 08/14/2020

I'm sorry you had problems @Amber Potesak. I am the writer and was just on this trail yesterday and I don't think you followed the directions to the trailhead correctly. There is no gate on FS-75 to Lonesome Lake, it is open year-around even in the winter. You probably took the first right turn which is "West Fork Road" and yes after some houses there is a gate. When you have some time and the weather is right go another 300 ft and you'll see the sign on the Trailhead for "Lonesome Lake - 15 miles" on the right. Hope to see your trip report when you get back.

Andrew Nix

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/29/2020

First time on this trail. First time on any trail in fact. Weather was great. The views were amazing. The trail was perfect except for one thing. Apparently there was a rock fall in the 2 hours between us going up the trail and us coming back down. A switchback that had been clear on our way up was partially blocked by rocks on the way down. Going around them wasn't an issue but they certainly were not there when we passed that spot earlier. Also, bring bug spray. The horse flies and bees at the lake were insane.

Allen Range

200

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/26/2020

My first TrailsOffRoad trail. Using the GPX file in GAII along with printed descriptions of the waypoints made the trip more interesting. Road was in great shape and most vehicles should be able to make it to the lake right now... A word of caution to full-sized truck owners regarding the Trail on the right at the "Haller Pass" waypoint 6 - it's a little narrow, but the view from the little campsite is worth a few "pinstripes". We hit the start of the trail at around 4pm and only saw 3 cars\SUVs and a motorcycle coming down. The little waterfall was cool and the lake was nice with a family floating on it (reminder to myself to take floats next time).

StuckPx

500

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/16/2020

Wonderful Trail! Thanks for the easy to follow waypoints! Very easy trail, barely anything worth calling out as difficult. Since its mid july, no traces of snow on the trail at all. This is worth while even just for Waypoint #7 - its such a wonderful view of Mt. Rainier. The Lake itself at the end is amazing, a beautiful small alpine lake. However, when we went it was quite crowded, far from being lonesome. Quite a lot of people camping, fairly loud amount of voices. Waypoint 9 - where it says "At this waypoint is the road intersection with FS-7430" should actually read FS-7530 (like it says on the title).

cabbagelord

100

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 06/30/2020

Trail is clear of snow currently. Only very small patches on the side of the road. Lots of good views if you like photography, and the lake does have fish if your wanting to cast a line(granted not large fish by any means).

Ian

100

Partially Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/13/2020

Road is great right up until the last half mile. Deep(ish) snow with deep ruts. Looks like folks have made it through, but was too much for my stock rig rolling solo.

Garrett Wood

100

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 05/15/2020

Tried to get up to the lake with a few rigs and had a lot of trouble with snow just being too icy. My old 4Runner and a buddy in a Toyota Pickup did decent but a friend in a Ranger was having a lot of high centering problems. Ended up camping about 7 miles in. Hopefully will be easier in a few weeks, Fun either way.

Mike & Rochelle Double You

600

Open

Rated 3/5

Visited: 05/10/2020

We went up expecting an easy drive up to the lake.....totally unprepared. Needless to say, we paid the price for it. We made it roughly 4 miles from the trail head before we buried our JL Rubicon to the belly pan in a snow drift. The first guy that tried to rescue us got stuck as well. A group of Toyota's that made it up earlier were coming down the trail and offered to help. After a small tug with his winch, we were free. I wish I had exchanged numbers with them as they were a great group of guys! They said after the first big drift it opened up for a bit then led to another drift that was even deeper that they wouldn't even attempt. Mother's Day 2020 will forever have a great story to it. In addition, it was the day we decided to order a new 10k pound Warn! Who would have thought we'd meet great people and that although the trail to Lonesome Lake wasn't so lonesome, the lake will hold true to it's name.......for now.

Michael Graham

Official Crew

23300

Partially Open

Visited: 11/23/2019

While the road to the lake might be impassible this road is still a popular road used for "Snow-Wheeling". Some of the serious Snow-Wheelers have been able to make it to the lake, but expect to be pushing snow with your bumper all the way to the top. Remember NEVER snow-wheel alone and be prepared to spend the night if recovery becomes an issue. There is no cellphone service in this area so be prepared for some other form of communication and tell someone at home where you are going and when you will return.

Robert (El Gallo) S.

100

Seasonal Closure

Rated 5/5

Visited: 11/20/2019

Looks like it's closed for the season.

Trent Thompson

1350

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 11/02/2019

What a fantastic location - highly recommended. There was snow on the trail toward the top in locations where the sun no longer hits, but is drivable as of 11/2 when we went to the top. The lake is frozen over now, but still beautiful views/scenery, and the drive up have incredible views of the mountains and Rainier along the way. I highly recommend this trail but would probably hold until next season if we get any precipitation between now and the time you go.

RSG-ZR2

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/27/2019

A really nice drive as the road was in great shape and well maintained. Decent amount of snow accumulation about 1/2 mile out as you approach the lake. The steps/path down to the lake were a bit iced over so be mindful. 5 stars for the beautiful views on the way up (especially Rainier), picturesque winter scenery, and stunning lake at the end.

Jarrid

200

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 08/25/2019

Easy drive as far as "trails"go. Its a Forest road so nothing difficult. Lots of logging going on in the area, and the sign for 7530 is missing.

Peter Jancola

2000

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/13/2019

"Trail Review" Is an optimistic term for this. It is a forest service road. I could have run it in my Kia Optima (I would rather not though). 4 star rating for the lake at the end and the nice views along the way. There is a short little side trail at Haller pass that offers a great view and nice photo op.

Jason H Martin

2750

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 06/02/2019

Trail is in good shape as are the directions, though I believe the sign for 7530 was missing, and on the way up we made a mistaken right onto what I think was NF220 but quickly hit impassable snow and had to back up to 75. Ascended in a stock JLUR. Near the top there is some snow but I always had one side on bare ground, 4H got me through fine. The walking paths at the top were freshly cleared by an industrious camper who reported that the fish in the lake weren't biting. Please be careful around the blind corners -- on two occasions an oncoming vehicle came around a corner at speed in the middle of the road. We twice encountered elk on the way down. There's a vault toilet at the top but bring your own supplies.

Tyler

100

Not Reported

Visited: 01/20/2019

This is a forest service road not a trail

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