Crawfish Lake, North Fork of the John Day Wilderness, NE Oregon

Trail Name:  Crawfish Creek Trail (Crawfish Lake)

Trail Number: 1606

General Location: North Fork of the John Day Wilderness

Access:  Elkhorn Drive Scenic Byway- Forest Road 73, FS 216

 Trailhead Condition: Good 

Trail Condition: Good

Hazards:

General Description:
The Crawfish Basin is the result of ancient glaciation that carved Elkhorn Ridge into a series of lofty crags and spectacular alpine basins. At 6900 feet, Crawfish Lake covers about forty acres in the Crawfish Lake Basin, a two mile-long hollow on the western side of  Elkhorn ridge. The basin is reached by the Crawfish Creek Trail (#1606) which swings past the lake as it climbs from a lower trailhead lying at 6100 feet a mile or so southwest of the lake to an upper trailhead at 7100 feet that lies a bit more than a mile to the north of the lake. East of the lake the basin stretches toward Elkhorn ridge which rises sharply for another 1500 feet. Besides the lake, the Crawfish Basin also contains a large meadow and pond. No official trail accesses these areas, nor does a trail connect with trail #1612 which runs above the basin along Elkhorn Ridge.

Other Nearby Attractions:
Anthony Lakes, Anthony Lakes Ski Resort (closed in the summer) North Fork of the John Day Wilderness, many other trailheads in the Elk Horn Mountains. The Elkhorn Crest National Recreation Trail #1611 connects with the Crawfish Basin Trail #1612 to follow the craggy heights of Elkhorn Ridge for nearly fifty miles.

Reporter's Personal Take on This Trail:
Our first solo packing trip with llamas taken in the North Fork John Day Wilderness the first part of Sept. 2013. Our original plans were to hike into a different area of the wilderness but a fire kept us out of that area, so we went into Crawfish Lake. There are two trailheads for the Crawfish Lake Trail (1606). One starts at 6180' and is a gradual 1 1/2 mi to the lake at 6803'. The trailhead we used was the more northern trailhead at 7100' with a steeper gradient in one section of the trail. The total trail is 3 miles from trailhead to trailhead. There are plenty of camp sites on the western side of the lake.

This is a great short trip for first timers. The trail has moderate use. It was bow hunting season when we went in, so had colorful bandanas on the llamas - Cole and Katie.

Submitted by:
Dan and Sandra Van Liew
Heppner, OR Sept 2013