Summit Lake Trail 1177 — 013 (Twin Lake).jpg
Steven Pavlov · CC BY-SA 4.0

Bearhead Mountain–Twin Lake, 3 summits is a 5.6-mile out-and-back in Clearwater Wilderness near Upper Fairfax, WA. The route passes Twin Lake before reaching Bearhead Mountain at the turnaround, 2.8 miles in. It climbs 1,669 ft, with sections as steep as 20% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 85/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.

Elevation

0 mi4,383 – 6,057 ft · steepest grade: 20%5.6 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Summit Lake Trailhead 47.03136, -121.82682
Nearest town Upper Fairfax, WA · Official trailhead info (fs.usda.gov)

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Bearhead Mountain–Twin Lake, 3 summits

5.6 mi · ▲ 1,669 ft · 2 hr 42 min

Elevation 4,383–6,058 ft

Out & Back · Clearwater Wilderness

Trailhead: Summit Lake Trailhead · 47.03136, -121.82682

Weather Aug 3: Fog, high 61°F / low 39° · precip 0% · wind 2 mph · sunrise 5:50 AM · sunset 8:39 PM

Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start on Summit Lake Trail, heading SE.
  2. 0.9 miBear right onto Carbon Trail, heading S.
  3. 50 ftPass Twin Lake.
  4. 1.2 miSharp left onto Bearhead Trail, heading N.
  5. 0.7 miReach Bearhead Mountain, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  6. 0.7 miSharp right onto Carbon Trail, heading N.
  7. 1.2 miBear left onto Summit Lake Trail, heading N.
  8. 0.8 miArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail surface

74% dirt26% unspecified

Weather

FogTemperature 61°F39°
Precip0%Wind2 mphUV7Humidity71%
Rained 0.1″ 2 days ago
Hourly temperature
65°35°
Sunrise 5:50 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 8:39 PM
Tue 71°51°
Wed 75°57°
Thu 75°54°
Fri 68°48°
Sat 66°45°
Sun 68°45°

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 1.7 mi in (~67 min). Leave by 7:11 PM for the 8:39 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:34 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

More sunset hikes nearby

Good to know

  • Parking lot at the trailhead

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