Baker Lake is a great destination for beginner packrafters or for a shakeout trip experimenting with new pack/camp/gear setups. Loads of water access, campsites, toilet facilities, beautiful views, calm waters (if you time the wind and boat traffic correctly), and a well maintained wilderness-character trail paralleling the eastern shore.
I posted versions of this trip report on the Mountaineer’s site and nwhikers, but I’ll reproduce it here. Both of those sites are great resources for WA state packrafting trip ideas and reports (nwhikers for lakebagging and Mountaineers for whitewater.)
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I took the flatwater packrafting course students on an overnight trip to Baker Lake last weekend. We had blue skies, zero wind, and zero bugs. Perfect conditions.
Our goal was to get some practice packing the rafts, rafting with packs, and managing gear and transitions on a multi-sport trip. Many folks start packrafting with dreams of doing big “landscape traverse” type trips, combining backpacking and paddling over an extended distance, and it can be surprising to experience just how encumbering hiking with all the paddling gear can be. Additionally, efficiently transitioning from “hike mode” to “paddle mode” takes practice, so I created a mellow itinerary with a lot of wiggle room.
Saturday
- Hike from South Baker Lake trailhead to Anderson Point and claim campsites - 1.8mi +130’ gain
- Hike from Anderson Point to Maple Grove - 2.2mi +250’
- Paddle back to Anderson Point, check out the west shore including the mouth of Sandy Creek and practice self/assisted rescues on the way - ~4mi
Sunday
- Paddle around for sunrise, return to camp for breakfast
- Paddle back out, explore inlets and the island on the west shore - 2mi
- Hike back to trailhead after packing up camp - 1.8mi +360’ gain
A few notes on conditions and campsites:
- The water level was 722’, 6’ below full pool at 728’. This was a good level for easy beach access without having to schlep boats for a long distance over soft sand/silt. At full pool shoreline access would be much more restricted, since much of the bank’s rim is slightly overhanging and filled with brush. There are number of informal (steep and loose) water access trails from the Anderson Point campsites, but we found the best access to be right at the tip of the point where a root ball has made a nice ramp. Shore access at Maple Grove is trivial, with a pair of floating docks to stage gear.
- The bridge at Anderson Creek is completely washed out, and getting across is a rock-hop. This was no issue for us, as the water was running low, but it could be a dicey crossing at higher flows.The bridge is scheduled for replacement next year.
- Anderson point has a ton of tent sites (probably 20+), several bear lockers, and two pit toilets, though both are in varying states of disrepair. Maple grove also has numerous sites and a much nicer privy with a pedal powered conveyor belt to separate liquids and solids.
- Baker Lake gets busy with powerboats during the summer, particularly during the kokanee season. It’s recommended to paddle the lake during the shoulder season when most of the car campgrounds along the western shore are closed. The hike and boat-in campgrounds along the eastern shore are open year round, as is the PSE operated boat launch at the sound end of the lake.
