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Spada Lake
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Scout Route
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Trail Information
Difficulty - Mandatory
1 -
EASY
Difficulty - Optional
1 -
EASY
Status
Open
Distance
9.25 mi
Duration (one-way)
About 1 hour, 30 minutes
Highest Elevation
2051 ft
Shape of Trail
Out & Back
Typically Open
Year Round
Best Direction
N/A
Official Trail Name
NF-6129
Nearest Town
Gold Bar
Nearest Services
Gold Bar
Management Agency
WA Department of Natural Resources
District
Highlights
Forest
MudSpada Lake trail crisscrosses over Olney Creek as you climb up to Sultan Basin and Spada Lake Reservoir, surrounded by the Bald and Blue Mountains in this peaceful and windy wooded forest. Enjoy the quiet scenery of Spada Lake, or make a day of it and hike to Grieder and Boulder Lakes, which begin at the South Shore Recreational Site.
Trail Difficulty and Assessment
Recommended Vehicle:
2WD Vehicle with High Clearance
Concerns:
Summary:
The trail is well-maintained as shown at Waypoint 2.
Community Consensus
4 votes
6 votes
0 votes
Easier
Spot On
Harder
The weighted average of your fellow members agreement of our trail rating. As trail conditions change this helps us keep the community aware of changes.
Mandatory
1 -
EASY
The hardest part of the trail that you
cannot bypass - you have to drive it.
Optional
1 -
EASY
The hardest part of the trail that is
purely optional - you can bypass it.
Dirt and/or rocky road. Potential rocks and/or tree stumps less than 5" tall and/or vertical ledges less than 5" tall and/or near vertical ledges or waterfalls less than 6" inches. Good tire placement likely. Can be steep, but with good traction. Read More about our Rating System
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Jasmine & Jon Hughes
Official Crew
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Trail Navigation
Travel on maintained forest service roads with occasional potholes. Take Sultan Basin Road to NF-6129 and stop at the Recreational Sites or day hike.
1. Trailhead (0 mi)
Head Southeast on Sultan Basin Rd. Paved road ends and the switchbacks begin. A good climb to start the trail! Look out for Olney Creek on your left.
2. Pullout #1 (0.3 mi)
Head Southeast on Sultan Basin Rd. Switchbacks continue, see Olney Creek from a higher view.
3. Bridge #1 (0.7 mi)
Head Southeast on Sultan Basin Rd. First of three bridges on this trail.
4. Bridge #2 (1.3 mi)
Head Southeast on Sultan Basin Rd. Bridge two of three.
5. Hill #1 (2 mi)
Head Southeast on Sultan Basin Rd. Be aware of target shooters here. Stay Right.
6. Hill #2 (2.5 mi)
Head Southeast on Sultan Basin Rd. Be aware of target shooters here. Stay Right.
7. Olney Pass (2.9 mi)
Head Southeast on Sultan Basin Rd. Go Right at sign to begin NF-6129 (South Shore Road).
Please fill out the entry form under the bulletin board before continuing for the Sultan River Watershed. It is free to continue on but it's required to fill out the form. Keep the yellow sheet on your dash and place the white in the mailbox. Read the rules as there is no swimming, and special boating and fishing rules. This is a RESERVOIR.
If you wish, you can also park here, and hike down NF-6120 (to the Left) to see the North Shore Recreational Sites.
8. Boulder Pullout #1 (4.4 mi)
Continue on NF-6129. Catch the first peeks of the lake!
9. Bridge #3 (4.8 mi)
Continue on NF-6129. If you are lucky, catch a glimpse of Bald Mountain in the distance at the final bridge.
10. Boulder Pullout #2 (5.1 mi)
Continue on NF-6129. Trail does get narrower here.
11. Recreational Site and Boat Ramp (6.2 mi)
Continue on NF-6129. Take the small driveway to the left to get to the Recreational Site and Boat Ramp. There are picnic tables and outhouses, as well as a paved parking lot. Drive down the boat ramp for a quick glamour shot of your rig! Read the rules as there is no swimming. Special boating and fishing rules apply. This is a reservoir to provide drinking water.
12. Gate to Hiking Trailheads (7.8 mi)
Continue on NF-6129. Keep Left to get to the Greider and Boulder Lake trailheads and South Shore Recreational Site.
13. Parking Lot (7.8 mi)
Take a hike to Greider or Boulder Lake. There are shorter hikes down the trail to other viewpoints of Spada Lake. Have lunch at the picnic tables or climb on the stumps. It is a very quiet place to relax. There are outhouses here.
Read the rules as there is no swimming, and special boating and fishing rules. This is a RESERVOIR.
Not allowed
While there is no overnight camping on this route. Waypoints 11 and 13 have outhouses and picnic tables. Nearest Camping: Wallace Falls State Park 2mi Northeast Of Gold Bar, Gold Bar WA 98251 $$, 7 sites, All Year, No RVs, All ages, Tents Only Camp, 1827 feet elev, tables, grill, water, toilets, fish, trail, hike, walk-in Lake Bronson Club Family Nudist Park From Jct Hwy 203 & US 2, go 8.25 mi E on US 2, then 5.25 mi W on Sultan Basin Rd., Sultan WA $$$$, 24 sites, All year, All Ages, Tents, 759 ft elev, 24 pull thrus, electric, 24 elec-water hookups, water, toilets, showers, dump, laundry, pet friendly extra rules, Call required
Starting Point
Gold Bar
From the West: Follow US-2 East to Sultan Basin Road in Sultan. Turn left onto Sultan Basin Road. From the East: Follow US-2 West. Turn right onto Kellogg Lake Road. Keep right to stay on Kellogg Lake Road. Turn right at the 1st cross street onto Sultan Basin Road.
Check with the Washington Department of Natural Resources for wildfire or access status. Wildfire Hotline 1-800-562-6010 Office (360) 902-1000 WA DNR Fire Twitter Feed Below
Trail Reviews
4.5/5 (32)
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 10/01/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
It went as described. Very smooth and easy. Didn’t have much luck shore fishing. Beautiful views!
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 07/23/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Trail was great... super easy, even for a 2 wheel drive sedan. It seems like they must have recently filled any pot holes. Other than a few sections of washboard it was great. Had I known this, I probably would not have aired down the 4Runner. For a Sunday afternoon, there was hardly anyone out... we drove to the end and down to the water at both lake access points. Fun drive with great screen saver worthy views of the lake and mountains at the end. Honestly I wish the road would have provided a little more for the 4Runner to play with.
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 05/06/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Very overcast and a few light showers. There was a Tesla at the end of the route, so not the hardest trail. It's a nice drive in with a few little waterfalls. Didn't see too many people.
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 05/03/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Dry conditions on this day. Great views of Olney Creek on the way up.
Seasonal Closure
Rated
4/5
Visited: 01/21/2023
Road closed off at last turn off to lake.
Temporary Closure
Rated
3/5
Visited: 01/21/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Easier
Very easy trail and currently closed at last turn off to lake
Open
Visited: 09/07/2022
Difficulty Accuracy:
Easier
Very easy "trail", the forrest road is well kept up.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 05/01/2022
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Easy peasy. Well maintained forest road.
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Partially Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 02/03/2022
Difficulty Accuracy:
Easier
Headed down this trail last weekend just to get out with the wife and pups. Pleasant drive from WP1 to WP7 (Olney Pass) where we found the route east closed due to snow with no evidence of plowing. I assume this is a typical seasonal closure for this area. Turned left and parked down at Culmback dam, walked around, and enjoyed small a picnic. A bit bummed to not make it further down the route but was a pleasant trip none the less with nice views and low traffic. Nice place to take a walk or explore a bit with kids. The dam has some cool features to check out.
Roads were wet with minimal snow down lower building to a couple feet on the sides up at the Olney Pass pull out. Easy driving as the road is well maintained enabling a couple of civics and a Porsche to make it to the dam while we were there.
Open
Visited: 01/19/2022
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Super easy road, little packed snow this time of year, but saw 2 wheel drive cars making it. Road was closed by fence near the lake/damn. No roads open past the lake. Was a let down. about two feet of packed snow still on sides of road, but road clear.
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 11/27/2021
Difficulty Accuracy:
Easier
Easy cruising trail... in PNW clouds and rains. No snow (yet). Great way to spend the morning. The trail is well maintained and most any vehicle could travel it without much concern.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 02/04/2021
Gorgeous all around. Mostly gravel and dirt. Quite a bit of snow when we made our way. Gate to decend fully to the lake was closed but we could see it. Very pretty and great first 4x4 trail.
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Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 01/31/2021
First time reviewing a trail! I drive a 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan with a 3" lift and the Wilkpeaks bring it 4" over stock, so the clearance is awesome - but it's still a FWD Minivan, so I will be taking advantage of the "easy" trails. Grey & rainy day, but it was a beautiful drive. There was a fairly decent area of snow-covered road, but no issues at all. Like others have said - there was a Honda Civic at the lake.
Tons of creeks, waterfalls, and the lake is stunning. Backdrop of the snowy mountains, fog kept rolling through the roads and lake. Awesome day.
Seasonal Closure
Rated
3/5
Visited: 11/27/2020
Overall the drive is a nice one and the road pretty well maintained. Unfortunately at the Olney Pass (Step #7) the trail is closed for the season. You can take the road to the left that leads down to the Jackson Culmback Dam. You can get around and even walk out on to the dam if you are looking to stretch your legs after the drive.
There was a little bit of snow here and there but nothing that could be considered accumulation. As others have said, these roads can (and are) taken by small vehicles. Overall a pretty easy trail to take for any newbie.
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Open
Rated
3/5
Visited: 09/12/2020
A very easy road to explore. As others have said, most any car can take this road. In fact we saw things like a Honda Civic out here.
Not the most scenic trip. Unsure about the fishing in the lake, as we didn't try. The lake was very cloudy, which was interesting. At one point there is a picnic area with a boat launch. My picture is at the boat launch. All told we had a good day exploring this backroad!
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 08/13/2020
Easy to find, easy to drive. Good for newbies - an easy drive over unpaved, dirt/gravel road. A rewarding view at the end of the trail. Beautiful lake. The trail is fully open, there is no need to register (at waypoint #7) anymore, probably due to COVID.
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Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 06/14/2020
Was a fun drive with the family to go hike on the Grieder Falls Trail. The drive up was easy and muddy. Good for any vehicle really. Great to get out and enjoy some fresh air with the family.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 05/30/2020
This is definitely a trail that can be enjoyed in pretty much any vehicle with decent tires as there is more than enough room to navigate around the potholes . We went out in our Grand Cherokee and had no issues anywhere. We saw a few sedans and hatchbacks up there. The water was very high so you aren't able to enjoy the rocky lake shore area currently. Weather was super rainy so we probably only saw 5-6 cars which made it even better. There were a number of waterfalls and the stream/river was raging and beautiful. It's definitely a great trail for anyone from the city to get out and enjoy a little nature without needing to worry about having a built trail rig.
There were a number of off shoots that were gated up on the way in. Plenty of spots to picnic as seen in the original author's video. There is one tiny pull out before the registration board that has a little hill you can "climb" in your stock 4x4. It's really nothing crazy but enjoyable for someone who is just catching the trail riding bug and is out for the first time. At the time, there wasn't any registration needed, in fact, the registration box was all duct tape shut. I would suggest having a pen handy though, if that was to ever change. There was also a port-o-potty at end of the trail, next to the locked up bathrooms.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 05/24/2020
Nice day and the south shore road just opened up on Friday 5/22. We got to the end of the trail around noon and it wasn’t too busy. Great to get outside.
Temporary Closure
Visited: 05/19/2020
Trail is open until you hit Olney Pass and the gate is closed due to covid
Partially Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 03/15/2020
Open to Olney Pass and sign in station. From there you can go west to Culmbach Dam...highly recommend. South Shore Road (NF-6120) still closed due to snow.
Temporary Closure
Visited: 01/01/2020
Note that the road down to Spada Lake is closed until at least 1/15/20 due to construction. Found out the hard way!
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 11/14/2019
Managed to make it one the only sunny day this week. There was a mild amount of road work but it was out of the way. Beautiful drive and plenty of places to pull off and walk around. The trail was slightly wet but not bad. Make sure to fill out the required form a couple miles in, they were out driving around looking for people who didn't.
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Open
Visited: 10/02/2019
I drove to Spada lake on ( Oct/2/2019) . It was a very rainy day on my drive up to Spada Lake the lake was slow and the drive was not particularly challenging. It would be a fun place to drive your family out and have lunch or bring your boat .
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Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 07/14/2019
Lots to see & do, not too rough on a newbie, bonus that there is plenty of road space for letting people pass / pull over. A must visit site!
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Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 06/14/2019
Nice easy drive, beautiful peaceful area. Loved it so much I'm going back tomorrow to do some more exploring. Oh and the fur kid had a great time too.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 05/19/2019
Nice easy trail ride. Just getting into Off-roading and absolutely loved this to 'get my feet wet'. Two options at the fork in the road that I took both, down to the Dam where you can walk across and check out some great pictures of the lake. Further down the other fork you find the hiking trail and boat launch. Both offer great scenery and photo ops.
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Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 03/30/2019
Very pleasant drive to the dam with some awesome mountain views once across the dam itself. This trail is smooth and easy with just a few pot holes and tight turns along the way. All the offshoots and service roads are still closed but you can drive to the dam and then walk around or have a picnic. Can't wait to go back when the service roads are open!
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 11/18/2018
Very beautiful scenery and drive. Also very fun. Good places to stop for activities. Took my dog and had a blast. Will be back for sure.
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Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 11/17/2018
Just took a quick run up to go bow shooting before nightfall.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 06/16/2018
Went for a nice drive up to Spada Lake Saturday night for dinner and a short weekend getaway. The water level was really high, so no exploring the stumps this time. The boat launch at Waypoint 13 was open so we backed up near the water's edge for our tailgate camp dinner as shown in the photo. There were a lot of hikers parked up at the lot for Greider Lake, but they were on the hiking trail so we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. Hill #1 at Waypoint 5 has been blocked off, but this has no effect on the route. On our way to leave, a Dept. of Natural Resources Ranger stopped and asked us if we were fishing or boating. We hadn't so we were good to leave. It's important to follow all of the rules for this trail as this is a reservoir providing water to the neighboring cities. We left the trail and camped in the State Land just off the road with our State Parks pass.
Open
Visited: 12/09/2017
This was a beautiful, easy drive, and good for a casual/solo outing. Perfect weather, cold and sunny. Even so, parts were icy. There were patches of ice beginning around Hill# 1. Quite a bit of packed snow and ice from Hill# 2 to Olney Pass. Majority of the snow was leading up to Bridge# 3 (which made for some good pics). NF-6129 is decently maintained and is passable for most 2WD. With the current winter conditions, it was definitely nice to have a 4x4, though most vehicles with decent tires and patience would be okay.
Got a late start on the day, so I didn't head over until early afternoon. Despite the clear weather, there wasn't much activity. A couple of vehicles parked here and there, some shooters, a few bikes, and a picnic.
Overall a very nice outing for early winter!
From the Community
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Jasmine & Jon Hughes
Mapping Crew - Washington
Centered in the pinnacle of the Pacific NW and growing up cruising around the small town of Quilcene, Jasmine grew with a fascination and passion for outdoors and travel, many of those adventures fueled by the family's 1998 Jeep Cherokee.
Years later, photography grew as a way to capture and share the adventures being had. After a road trip from Seattle to San Diego in a 1996 Jetta, a 4WD truck would be the next step in going further in photographing the wild places of the West. In December of 2016, a manual 1989 Toyota Pickup was purchased and those dreams would continue to flourish.
Jon grew up in a small Wisconsin town. In 2004, his parents decided to purchase a new Jeep LJ. They picked the LJ because of the additional room, as it would be used for a road trip to Florida. After joining the navy, the family Jeep followed Jon down to Georgia and became his own. It took him to Virginia, and then Washington. It wasn't until Washington that things started to happen for Jon and his Jeep.
Jasmine, now his wife, got him more interested in hiking, and ultimately overlanding. Over time, Jon and Jasmine realized that they wanted to use the Jeep to tackle harder trails, and spend weekends in ORV parks. It was through this decision that the mostly stock Jeep received a refreshing upgrade after 15 years of driving. Jon usually drives the Jeep when the trail is in question, and to allow Jasmine to document the trails. Currently, Jon has been in 26 states with the Jeep, via family trips and his time in the navy. Jon hopes to travel to every state with his Jeep, including Alaska and Hawaii.
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