One of my semi annual Dusty Lake trips. The Dusty Lake and Ancient Lake Trails sit in Washington’s Columbia Basin, tucked into the dramatic basalt cliffs and coulees carved by Ice Age floods. These hikes take you into a landscape unlike the rest of the Cascades—dry, stark, and otherworldly. The trail to Ancient Lake is fairly gentle, winding through sagebrush and past columnar basalt walls until you reach a cluster of small desert lakes fed by waterfalls that tumble down the cliffs. In spring, the contrast of desert wildflowers against dark rock makes the area especially striking, while in summer it offers a warm, dry escape when the mountains are still snowed in.
Dusty Lake lies a bit farther on, reached by branching trails that climb over ridges and drop into secluded basins. This lake is larger and more remote, with quiet coves that attract anglers and backpackers looking for a peaceful overnight. Both routes reveal the hidden oasis quality of the Quincy Lakes Wildlife Area: pools of water cradled in an arid plateau, alive with birds, frogs, and flashes of green vegetation. Whether you hike just to Ancient Lake for a quick half-day outing or continue on to Dusty Lake for solitude, these trails showcase the unique beauty of Washington’s scablands and the unexpected life they hold.
I have camped at both Ancient and Dusty, but Dusty offers a little more solitude. The pictures below are from the overnight trip I led with the Peninsula Wilderness Club in 2019. We camped near Dusty Lake and did a short dayhike from there. Not my favorite thing to have so many people on a trip. I like my people, just not all at once, LOL.
