Goose Lake, in the U.S. state of Washington, is located within the

Gifford Pinchot National Forest Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a National Forest located in southern Washington, managed by the United States Forest Service. With an area of 1.32 million acres (5300 km2), it extends 116 km along the western slopes of Cascade Ran ...

. Travel to Goose Lake is by dirt road, along Forest Road 60, also called the Carson Guler Road, typically free of snow by late June. Fed by several streams, Goose Lake was dammed by a lava flow from

Big Lava Bed The Big Lava Bed, located in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in the southwestern area of the State of Washington, originated from a 500-foot-deep crater in the northern center of the bed. The Big Lava Bed is the youngest feature of the Indi ...

, directly to the south. The lake is 58 acres in size and includes a boat launch and campground with 18 primitive campsites. Popular for fishing in summer and early fall, Goose Lake contains

brook A brook is a small river or natural stream of fresh water. It may also refer to: Computing *Brook, a programming language for GPU programming based on C *Brook+, an explicit data-parallel C compiler *BrookGPU, a framework for GPGPU programming ...

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

, and

coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroa ...

History

Goose Lake formed when the Big Lava Bed dammed up a nearby stream. The blocked stream formed the lake. On the southeast side of the lake, there is a ghostly stand of dead trees rising from the water.

Recreation

The lake is a popular spot for brook, brown and coastal cutthroat trout fishing. Goose Lake Campground offers a concrete boat ramp for launching small boats,

kayaks A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

and

canoes A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

. The campground also offers activities such as

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, and berry picking. Nearby places include the

, south of the campground; a trail takes hikers through a landscape dotted by pine forest and

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

formations. The

Indian Heaven Wilderness Indian Heaven Wilderness is a protected area located inside the Gifford Pinchot National Forest of southwestern Washington state. The wilderness consists of of broad, forested plateau, with meadows straddling numerous volcanic peaks and at lea ...

is located nearby and is known for its abundant

huckleberries Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a Nort ...

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

lands and pine forests,

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s, and as well as a variety of

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

. Huckleberry picking is a popular pastime too.

Accessibility

The lake is reached via 8 miles of narrow gravel road from the east from Trout Lake on State Route 141 north from SR 14, to the town of Trout Lake. Continue through the town on State Route 141 to where it ends and Forest Route 24 begins. Drive on Forest Route 24 to the junction with Forest Route 60 (Carson Guler Road) and follow Forest Route 60 (Carson Guler Road) for 1 mile to Goose Lake. From the West,

Carson Carson may refer to: People *Carson (surname), people with the surname *Carson (given name), people with the given name Places ;In the United States * Carson, California, a city * Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois *Carson, Iowa, a city * ...

, take the Wind River Righway, north to the Old State Highway. Heading towards Panther Creek Campground, continue past the campground on Forest Route 65 to the 4 corners, junction of Forest Route 65 and 60 (Carson Guler Road). From here, turn right on Forest Route 60 (Carson Guler Road), and continue on to Goose Lake.

History

Recreation

Accessibility

See also