Crystal Lake–Hook Lake, 7 lakes
1.9 mi · ▲ 30 ft · 39 min
Crystal Lake–Hook Lake, 7 lakes is a 1.9-mile out-and-back near Pyatts, IL. The route passes Crystal Lake, Ring Lake, Hook Lake and 3 more before reaching Marsh Lake at the turnaround, 0.9 miles in. It is mostly level, with 30 ft of elevation gain, and mostly dirt. It scores 75/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.
Elevation
Getting there
Directions
Crystal Lake–Hook Lake, 7 lakes
1.9 mi · ▲ 30 ft · 39 min
Elevation 424–459 ft
Out & Back
Trailhead: 38.00610, -89.42210
Weather Sep 20: sunrise 6:44 AM · sunset 7:00 PM
Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading N.
- 50 ftPass Crystal Lake.
- 50 ftPass Ring Lake.
- 0.3 miTurn left, heading W.
- 50 ftPass Hook Lake.
- 50 ftPass Chain Lakes.
- 450 ftTurn left, heading W.
- 300 ftTurn right onto Lost Forty Trail, heading NW.
- 50 ftPass Reed Lake.
- 0.1 miPass Marsh Lake.
- 0.3 miPass Marsh Lake.
- 300 ftReach Crystal Lake, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.5 miTurn left, heading NE.
- 300 ftTurn right, heading S.
- 450 ftTurn right, heading S.
- 0.3 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
Weather
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.3 mi in (~8 min). Leave by 6:32 PM for the 7:00 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:22 PM — 4 min before dark. Car visible from the viewpoint
Good to know
- Toilets at the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from this trailhead
- Beaver Lake–Pine Lake, 10 lakes 7.5 mi · ▲ 59 ft
- Hidden Lake–Blackberry Lake, 8 lakes 4 mi · ▲ 116 ft
- Heron Lake–Crystal Lake, 10 lakes 3.5 mi · ▲ 30 ft
- Pine Lake–Blackberry Lake, 7 lakes 3.3 mi · ▲ 58 ft
- Wesseln Lake–Pine Lake, 17 lakes 9.1 mi · ▲ 56 ft
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