Alta Lake State Park trails

Location: Pateros, Okanogan County.

Length: Two miles.

Level of difficulty: Gently sloped fire road around the perimeter of the camping areas, and a moderate-to-steep ridge trail (accessible from the parking lot just inside the group camp/third camping loop).

Setting: This 181-acre park is tucked away in a lovely side canyon near where the Methow Valley meets the Columbia River. The area's topography was carved by the Okanogan lobe of the last Ice Age glacier, and the ridge trail travels in switchbacks high above the lake to offer spectacular views.

Alta Lake is stocked with rainbow trout, and is about two miles long, a half-mile wide, and about 75 to 90 feet deep. The lake was named in 1900 by a Mr. Heinz, a jeweler who was mining in the area. Since the lake had no name, he called it after his daughter Alta.

Highlights: This dry grassland community is dominated by sagebrush and bitterbrush (also called antelope-brush), whose nutritious leaves are eaten by deer. Bitterbrush, a yellow-flowering shrub in the rose family, provides nectar to many species of insects and has long tap roots that reach deep into the soil for moisture. California quail scuttle throughout the park. A quail may have three broods a season, but numbers are kept in check by local coyotes, as well as by raptors that visit the park during the winter.

Facilities: Restrooms, phone, water, boat launch, swimming beach with concession stand (generally open April to Labor Day), and campground. The nearby golf course is open to the public, and horses and rowboats can be rented at the resort at the lake's south end.

Restrictions: Leash and scoop laws in effect. Like other sites in Eastern Washington, watch for rattlesnakes and behave accordingly (don't wear sandals while hiking).

Directions: From Highway 97 just south of Pateros, drive two miles west on Highway 153. In 1.8 miles, turn left on Alta Lake Road and continue two miles to the park.

For more information: 509-923-2473 or www.parks.wa.gov.

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