Marten Lake

An enjoyable forest service road that has a little of everything you can expect from a drive deep into the Pacific Northwest woods. Beautiful scenery is found throughout, including two bridges crossing over the beautiful Park & Morovitz creeks. If you stick with it all the way to the top, at around 3,500 ft, there are two lovely dispersed camp spots. These feature an incredible view of Mt Baker's South East slope, where the Boulder & Pork glaciers are clearly visible. The top of the trail also features a small but nice and level parking area. From here, you can venture further on foot via the Rainbow Ridge hiking trail. Additionally, there is a fork roughly 2.4 miles into the route, where if you stay right, you'll access the Swift Creek Trailhead. This features access to the Baker Hot Springs if you are willing to take a 10-minute hike. Be aware that, despite the name of the route, there is no vehicle access to Marten Lake. The lake is backcountry hiking access only. This route can be tackled by most vehicles. Those with less capable vehicles should just follow good principles of forest service road driving, especially making sure to keep their speed down and watch for larger potholes. Also, take care to drive with your headlights on even during the daytime, as the route gets very dusty, and this will help you remain visible to others. Take extra caution on the blind turns & switchbacks that you'll encounter roughly 2.5 miles into the track. With the route having an elevation range of 1,100 - 3,500 ft, it is susceptible to impact by snow and wet weather in the fall and winter.