Backpacking and Camping at a Remote Alpine Lake in the Dense Forest of Oregon.
For this adventure, Sara and I headed to a lesser used region of Oregon’s Mount Hood National Forest for some lakeside camping and outdoor fun with our trusty hiking dog, Denali.
Located on the shoulder of Oregon’s tallest peak and accessed via a rocky 4×4 road, the Veda Lake trailhead offers an opportunity to hike into some alpine solitude and pristine camping on the banks of a 4,000 foot alpine lake. Considering it was peak summer backpacking season and the majority of Mt Hood’s more well known trailheads were overflowing with a multitude of likeminded campers, we jump at the opportunity to take a lesser traveled path.
Sure, it’s not as Instagram-worthy as the more popular Trillium Lake down below, but that’s okay. We got those pics on drive past, then proceeded to our more course. Sometimes it really is the “journey, not the destination” and Veda Lake didn’t disappoint.
Route Overview Oregon Veda Lake Fall 2024
If you’re curious about the reason for the name of this lake and it’s proper pronunciation, much like I was during the video, it’s actually simpler than you might think. It’s named after two Oregon locals who packed out juvenile trout to the lake back in 1917 in order to stock it. Their names, Vern and Dave, were eventually honored by a forester who combined the first two letters of their names. And there you have it – Veda Lake. To this very day, the lake is still a quite sought after, if not harder to get to, fishing spot with a healthy population of trout and very large crawfish.
For gear on this trip, Sara decided to bring out several pieces of budget backpacking gear that she tested out on a previous camping trip down in Arizona – a sleeping pad, two person tent, and two person sleeping bag complete with pillows. She found each of these for about $30 a piece on Amazon. And you know what? They work pretty well. Although, this was the first time we tested out this tent and gear during a sudden fall rain storm…
Trailhead Used
Dry Fir/ Veda Lake Trailhead
Government Camp, OR 97028
GPS 45.24813509493207, -121.78770434540877
This is a small parking area with room for 2 or 3 vehicles. While 4×4 traction is not necessary, I wouldn’t advise it for low clearance vehicles. The road progressively gets rockier and more aggressive as it proceeds, before eventually transitioning back to a flatter dirt road near the trailhead.