High Lakes Trail #6200

The High Lakes Trail, which is wide and smooth and surfaced with a fine crushed rock, is a delightful path through the woods, popular with hikers looking for a casual jaunt. The trail also can be combined with the more difficult Brown Mountain Loop. Easily hikeed in either direction or as an out-and-back, here is a description from the western trailhead: From the Fish Lake Resort access road, The High Lakes Trail ascends gradually for a mile, then descends slightly and passes the Brown Mountain Trail coming in from the right. More gentle climbing resumes for another couple miles until the high point is reached. Along the way, the trail has been painstakingly engineered through some impressive boulder fields of the Brown Mountain lava flows. After a mile of gradual descent and another mile of level traversing through old growth timber, there is a junction where the Brown Mountain Trail turns off to the south at a crossing of Forest Road #3640. Continuing with little elevation change, the High Lakes Trail skirts the north end of Lake of the Woods and passes a picnic/swimming area on the NE corner of the lake. From there, the level trail continues for nearly two miles as it hugs the edge of boggy meadow to reach the Great Meadow Trailhead. Camping, cabins, boat rentals, and cafe (think beer) are available at Fish Lake Resort near the western end of the trail. A similar, but larger scale operation is located just south of the eastern terminus of the trail, at Lake of the Woods Resort.