It’s hard to imagine a better place for a first backpacking trip with kids than High Lake.  An easy, 1.3-mile path leads past wildflowers and woods to a picturesque lake swarming with small trout. Both High Lake and its neighbor, Slide Lake, are set in giant rock-walled bowls carved into the crest of the Strawberry Range by Ice Age glaciers. The glaciers are gone, but snow lingers until late summer in the scenic pass between the two lakes.

To find the trailhead . . .

Other Options

If you’re backpacking, consider . . .

This chapter is an excerpt from 100 Hikes: Eastern Oregon