- Clearwater Wilderness
-
Clearwater Wilderness Location Pierce County, Washington, USA Nearest city Buckley, WA Coordinates 47°03′28″N 121°49′27″W / 47.05778°N 121.82417°WCoordinates: 47°03′28″N 121°49′27″W / 47.05778°N 121.82417°W Area 14,192 acres (57.44 km²) Established 1984 Governing body U.S. Forest Service Clearwater Wilderness, a small 14,300-acre (58 km2) wilderness created by Congress in the 1984 under the 1964 Wilderness Act establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System. It is located in northeast Pierce County, southeast of Tacoma in the South Cascade Range in Washington, US. Its southern border is Mount Rainier National Park and it affords many spectacular views of Mount Rainier.[1]
Contents
Description
Bearhead Mountain, the highest peak, is 6,089 feet (1,856 m) high. Below are the headwaters of the north-flowing Clearwater River. Old-growth forests of Douglas-fir, Western Hemlock and Western Red Cedar, reachable by hiking trails, are nourished by many streams and eight small lakes, including Summit Lake. Forest understorey is made up mostly of ferns and moss. The rainy season between October and May receives 90 percent of the annual rainfall, which can be as much as 25 feet (7.6 m), while snow can remain as late as July in high areas.[2]
Cascades wildlife typically includes bears, deer, squirrels, skunks, raccoons, marmots, and a few herds of elk.
Trails
- Summit Lake trail is an easy 2.5-mile (4.0 km) hike (5 miles (8 km) round trip) up 1,500 feet (460 m) to a beautiful, blue Summit Lake where to the south there are wonderful views of Mount Rainier.[3]
- Clearwater Trail is an 6 miles (10 km) 2,000-foot (610 m) descent to the peaceful Clearwater River. The trail continues to Lily Creek and climbs to a small lake, Cedar Lake, ringed by forests.[4]
- Summit Lake and Bearhead Mountain trail is a moderate 9 miles (14 km) hike 2,000 feet (610 m) up to the highest point in the wilderness area, offering wonderful views of Mount Rainier from a meadow filled with wildflowers.[5]
- Carbon Trail meanders south for 9.4 miles (15.1 km) to join the Summit Lake Trail.
The National Wilderness Preservation System website provides a list of things to consider when planning a trip to a wilderness.[6]
Notes
- ^ "Clearwater Wilderness". Nature of the Northwest. http://www.naturenw.org/wild-clearwater.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
- ^ "Clearwater Wilderness". National Wilderness Preservation System. http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=wildView&wname=Clearwater. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
- ^ "Summit Lake". Hiker Bob Trail Guides. http://www.hikerbob.com/guide.php?hike=S012. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
- ^ "Clearwater River". Hiker Bob Trail Guides. http://www.hikerbob.com/guide.php?hike=-151. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
- ^ "Summit Lake and Bearhead Mountain". Hiker Bob Trail Guides. http://www.hikerbob.com/guide.php?hike=S220. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
- ^ "Things to Consider When Planning a Trip to Wilderness". The National Wilderness Preservation System. http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=thingstoconsider. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
External links
- Clearwater Wilderness
- Clearwater Wilderness Trail Guides - Good map
- Washington Reserves: Clearwater Wilderness
- College of Forestry and Conservation - Clearwater Wilderness
- Photos
Protected Areas of Washington Federal National ParksNational MonumentsEbey's Landing National Historical Reserve · Fairhaven Historic District · Pioneer Square Historic District · Vancouver National Historic Reserve Historic District
National Recreation AreasNational Wildlife RefugesColumbia · Conboy Lake · Copalis · Dungeness · Flattery Rocks · Franz Lake · Grays Harbor · Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer · Lewis and Clark · Little Pend Oreille · McNary · Nisqually · Pierce · Protection Island · Quillayute Needles · Ridgefield · Saddle Mountain · San Juan Islands · Steigerwald Lake · Toppenish · Turnbull · Umatilla · Willapa
National WildernessAlpine Lakes · Boulder River · Brothers · Buckhorn · Clearwater · Colonel Bob · Glacier Peak · Glacier View · Goat Rocks · Henry M. Jackson · Indian Heaven · Juniper Dunes · Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Ridge · Mount Adams · Mount Baker · Mount Rainier · Mount Skokomish · Noisy-Diobsud · Norse Peak · Olympic · Pasayten · Salmo-Priest · San Juan · Stephen Mather · Tatoosh · Trapper Creek · Washington Islands · Wenaha–Tucannon · Wild Sky · William O. Douglas · Wonder Mountain
State Alta Lake · Anderson Lake · Battle Ground Lake · Bay View · Beacon Rock · Belfair · Birch Bay · Blake Island · Blind Island · Bogachiel · Bottle Beach · Bridgeport · Bridle Trails · Brooks Memorial · Cama Beach · Camano Island · Camp Wooten Environmental Learning Center · Cape Disappointment · Centennial Trail · Clark Island · Columbia Hills · Columbia Plateau Trail · Conconully · Crawford · Curlew Lake · Cutts Island · Damon Point · Daroga · Dash Point · Deception Pass · Dosewallips · Doug's Beach · Eagle Island · Fay Bainbridge · Federation Forest · Fields Spring · Flaming Geyser · Fort Casey · Fort Columbia · Fort Ebey · Fort Flagler · Fort Okanogan · Fort Simcoe · Fort Townsend · Fort Ward · Fort Worden · Ginkgo Petrified Forest · Goldendale Observatory · Grayland Beach · Griffin Bay · Griffiths-Priday · Harstine Island · Hope Island (Mason County) · Hope Island (Skagit County) · Ike Kinswa · Illahee · Iron Horse · James Island · Jarrell Cove · Joemma Beach · Jones Island · Joseph Whidbey · Kanaskat-Palmer · Kinney Point · Kitsap Memorial · Kopachuck · Lake Chelan · Lake Easton · Lake Sammamish · Lake Sylvia · Lake Wenatchee · Larrabee · Leadbetter Point · Lewis and Clark · Lewis and Clark Trail · Lime Kiln Point · Lincoln Rock · Manchester · Maryhill · Matia Island · McMicken Island · Millersylvania · Moran · Mount Pilchuck · Mount Spokane · Mystery Bay · Nine Mile Recreation Area · Nolte · Ocean City · Olallie · Olmstead Place · Osoyoos Lake · Pacific Beach · Pacific Pines · Palouse Falls · Paradise Point · Patos Island · Peace Arch · Pearrygin Lake · Penrose Point · Peshastin Pinnacles · Pleasant Harbor · Posey Island · Potholes · Potlatch · Rainbow Falls · Rasar · Reed Island · Riverside · Rockport · Sacajawea · Saint Edward · Saltwater · Scenic Beach · Schafer · Seaquest · Sequim Bay · Shine Tidelands · Skagit Island · Skull Island · South Whidbey · Spencer Spit · Squak Mountain · Squilchuck · Steamboat Rock · Steptoe Battlefield · Steptoe Butte · Stretch Point · Stuart Island · Sucia Island · Sun Lakes · Tolmie · Triton Cove · Turn Island · Twanoh · Twenty-Five Mile Creek · Twin Harbors · Upright Channel · Wallace Falls · Wanapum Recreational Area · Wenatchee Confluence · Westport Light · Yakima Sportsman
Ahtanum · Capitol · Elbe Hills · Green Mountain · Loomis · Loup Loup · Tahoma · Tahuya · Tiger Mountain · Yacolt Burn
Admiralty Inlet · Badger Gulch · Bald Hill · Barker Mountain · Bone River · Camas Meadows · Carlisle Bog · Castle Rock · Charley Creek · Chehalis River Surge Plain · Chopaka Mountain · Clearwater Bogs · Cleveland Shrub Steppe · Columbia Falls · Columbia Hills · Cypress Highlands · Dabob Bay · Dailey Prairie · Davis Canyon · Entiat Slopes · Goose Island · Gunpowder Island · Kahlotus Ridgetop · Kennedy Creek · Kings Lake Bog · Kitsap Forest · Little Pend Oreille River · Marcellus Shrub Steppe · Methow Rapids · Mima Mounds · Monte Cristo · Niawiakum River · North Bay · Oak Patch · Olivine Bridge · Pinecroft · Point Doughty · Riverside Breaks · Rocky Prairie · Sand Island · Schumacher Creek · Selah Cliffs · Skagit Bald Eagle · Skookum Inlet · Snoqualmie Bog · Spring Creek Canyon · Trout Lake · The Two-Steppe · Upper Dry Gulch · Washougal Oaks Natural Area · Whitcomb Flats · Willapa Divide
Cattle Point · Clearwater Corridor · Cypress Island · Devils Lake · Dishman Hills · Elk River · Ellsworth Creek · Granite Lakes · Hat Island · Hendrickson Canyon · Klickitat Canyon · Lake Louise · Loomis · Lummi Island · Merrill Lake · Morning Star · Mount Si · Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area · Shipwreck Point · South Nemah · South Nolan · Stavis · Table Mountain · Tahoma Forest · Teal Slough · Washougal Oaks Natural Area · West Tiger Mountain · White Salmon Oak · Woodard Bay
Other Former state parksLyons Ferry Park · Mukilteo Lighthouse Park · Wenberg County Park
Blanchard Forest · Cascadia Marine Trail · The Enchantments · Goose Island · Sehome Hill Arboretum · Withrow Moraine · Yellow Island
Categories:- IUCN Category Ib
- Cascade Range
- Old growth forests
- Wilderness Areas of Washington (state)
- Protected areas of Pierce County, Washington
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