Fragrance Lake Trailhead

Fragrance Lake Trailhead offers a rewarding hike, but be prepared—it’s mostly uphill on the way in. Parking is limited, so it’s best to arrive early to secure a spot. The trail is rated moderate, though it may feel more challenging depending on your fitness level. Coming back down can be tough on the knees, so keep that in mind. Along the way, you’ll find plenty of benches to rest and enjoy the forest setting. Once you reach the lake, it’s absolutely worth the effort—peaceful, scenic, and beautiful. You can also choose to walk the loop around the lake, which adds a bit more distance to your hike. Overall, plan for about two hours to complete the hike, and you’ll be glad you made the trip.

A great hike but boy are we tired! 😵 This is def a moderate hike, with some steep portions, and rather good elevation gains! (1000+ft) The drive to here and the entire hike to the lake, and then the bay overlook on way back down, is 100% worth our aches and pains. Absolutely gorgeous. Do be aware there is a day fee, paid via honor system (no one on site to monitor or collect). Bring cash for that ($10 as of today). This is a dog hike, so Fido is gonna love it. Even saw someone carry their kayak down, because they enjoyed the lake even more. Glad we packed water and snacks. The hike up made us hungry. Even good for kids, many families along the way. See the All trails sets of the hike. Get out! Hike more!

This hike is absolutely stunning! Breathtaking views, a serene lake, and a chorus of birds filling the air. It’s dog-friendly and great for kids, though the incline adds a bit of a challenge—but totally doable. No bathrooms, and parking is limited and Discover pass is required, so plan accordingly. A must-do adventure! Tons of nature to explore, mushrooms and moss all around.

Brutal hike to the top, but well worth the view in the end. Hike is more than 2 miles, FYI. Prepare for longer hike time than whats liated online. The hike back is much quicker due to downhill ( you practically run down).

The trail was not very steep and was quite pleasant. It was about 4 miles round trip, but it started to feel never-ending and overwhelming after a while. The hike to the viewpoint was around 1 mile, and from there to Fragrance Lake was another 1.1 miles. It took us about 3 hours and 30 minutes round trip, including breaks.

Beautiful, pretty short hike. Good ocean view in a .2 mile detour. Moderately difficult given steep switchbacks. Don't go if its just rained recently as the switchbacks will be quite slippery. If you do the loop, theres a chess set on a stump under a covered overhang on the north side of the lake.

Easy to intermediate. Benches to rest on. 5-7 steep inclines. Traversing steep spots. Flat in some areas. Go to the look out point. Parking in small lot at base of trail head typically full on weekends/holidays/summer. Keep driving past lot and a bigger lot with restroom on your left. Also across the street Larabee state park, parking, with a hike down to beach, and restrooms. Campers hike Fragrance trail. So very busy when Larabee opens for camping season. Takes about an hour to hike to the lake. Longer for those who don’t hike regularly. Shorter for experienced hikers.

What a pristine kept area for hiking. They've done an amazing job keeping this lake as it was 100 years ago. I've been coming here since I was born. Back when I was a kid it was an extreme popular trout fishing lake. I suggest parking at the more secure lot near the ranger station. Always active and gives me a piece of mind. After being away traveling over the years I really wanted to take a gander at fragrance lake. I suggest taking the gravel road to the final trailhead if you're looking for a more moderate hike although I feel like it's a longer route. I prefer to take the interurban trail down to the original trailhead that not only leads you to an epic viewpoint to detour to, but also much more to look at amd embrace the beauty of the PNW