Akokala Lake

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by

Jake Bramante
Akokala Lake

Akokala Lake is a quaint little lake tucked into the drainage just north of Bowman Lake. It can be accessed either from the more popular and well maintained trail from Bowman or as a longer more adventurous route from the Inside North Fork Road. The trail from Bowman is mostly wooded and goes over Numa Ridge, pops out briefly into a burned area, then ends up at the lake where there is a campground. The route from the Inside North Fork Road starts out in North Fork meadows and wanders through previously burned areas rewarding you with deer, birds, flowers and downfall. The lucky visitor may even spot moose, elk, bear or wolves.

Akokala Lake
Red-tailed Hawk

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Comments

12 responses to “Akokala Lake”

  1. William Hoen Avatar
    William Hoen

    Great video, enjoyed the information. I am doing similar videos, but related to Oregon. I always enjoy what you have posted. Keep it up! I like how you added the trail into the video. Nice touch.

    Reply
    1. hike734 Avatar
      hike734

      Thanks so much and glad you like them! I swung by your site and saw some of your videos. Nice work! I did the little “Indiana Jones” red line trick using Adobe’s After Effects. Other than that, I’m a Final Cut X guy. 😉

      Reply
    2. hike734 Avatar
      hike734

      Thanks! I’ll check out your stuff. What camera gear do you use and how do you carry it around?

      Reply
  2. Mark Hufstetler Avatar
    Mark Hufstetler

    A note for anyone brave enough to take the Akokala Creek Trail up from the North Fork Road: there’s a very cool old homestead cabin in the trees a little south of the trail, at the top of the first low hill about a half-mile from the road. Well worth a little bushwacking to see!

    Reply
    1. hike734 Avatar
      hike734

      Thanks for the tip Mark! Definitely going to look into that myself. 😀

      Reply
    2. Juli Wilson Avatar
      Juli Wilson

      The Akokala Creek Trail from Bowman’s campground is marked at 5.8 miles (one way). Do you know how long it is from North Fork Road? I haven’t been able to find information on that trail. Thanks!

      Reply
      1. Jake Bramante Avatar
        Jake Bramante

        Akokala Creek out and back is 17.8 miles. 6.8 miles gets you to the junction with the Akokala Lake trail and then another 2.2 to the lake. (.2 miles get lost in the rounding, but the 17.8 is accurate) You should check out my Day Hikes map guide. Shameless I know, but it’s a map on one side and a guide on another. This trail is on it and there are mileages between junctions as well as color coded trails so you can see what kind of a day you have ahead of you. 😉

        Reply
        1. Juli Wilson Avatar
          Juli Wilson

          Great! Thanks … we’re heading there in August and putting together our hike preferences.

          Reply
    3. Sharon Avatar
      Sharon

      I am particularly interested in visiting this homestead.
      Anyone have more current information on accessing this location?

      Reply
  3. Sue Davidson Avatar
    Sue Davidson

    LOVELY! We did this with the family (including Bowman, 15 mos) as an overnight backpack trip last summer. Beastly day but really lovely lake and campground sites. Thanks for another report.

    Reply
  4. Keith Bradford Avatar
    Keith Bradford

    Yo Jake!

    My Daughter and I met you (and was it your Uncle?) in July 2011 as we were settling in on our first night in the back country…. we still have your card. This was my Daughters maiden voyage into Backpacking and, in spite of all the mosquitoes, we really enjoyed Akokala lake, and the rest of our journey as well. My Daughter is off to college this year and our journey will be one of my favorite memories, and I think one of here too.

    Huge congrats on making such an epic journey, what an experience that must have been. Curious how the late snow in 2011 affected your schedule? We had trouble getting registered since the sites not snowed in were filling up.

    Enjoyed the video, the pics, and the narrative … Any other pics of the area?

    Regards,
    Keith Bradford
    Raymore, Mo

    Reply
    1. hike734 Avatar
      hike734

      I do remember you guys! That was a particularly buggy day for me and I was emotionally pretty tired as the trail never seemed to find an end. You definitely went in and out the right way. My schedule had to stay pretty fluid for campsite availability and trail closures because of bears, high water, snow, etc, but I was able to get what I needed to. I think that anyone can come into the park and have a great trip. My only bit of advice is to come later on in the year when things are more open instead of congested… (early September especially!)

      You can check out other trails close by for more pics of the area, but for Akokala Lake, what I have here is pretty much it… for now.

      Reply

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