Elevation Change: 500-ish feet, more if you continue up to the falls
Distance: 1.4 miles from campground to the lake
My rating: Just right. Steep, but not too steep.
This is my FAVORITE hike. Because this is the reward:
I've done this hike 3 times, I never get tired of it. It's *just* strenuous enough to put in some work, but it's short. It's only 1.4 miles from the campground to the lake. It's steep enough that I need to stop often for breathing breaks. But it's easy enough that this past summer I took one of my non-hiker friends and she made it and plans to do it again. When we reached the lake we just sat out there for a couple hours, wandering around the shoreline and some of the side trails.
It's a well-populated trail so it's in good shape. Many parts are wide and smooth, some other areas of the trail are a bit rocky, but not too bad. I evidently only took photos on the smooth parts!
There are trails that go around the lake and one of the trails extends further into the wilderness. I've never gone all the way around the lake. If you stick to the left, the trail goes up towards the falls and you can continue up to Lower Strawberry Lake. To get around the lake to the right, it's very slanted--too slanted (not steep, slanted) for me to comfortably strain my leg brace that way so I've never made it around.
We did venture up to the falls one year. I don't remember how much further it is to the falls, another mile or so? I just remember there were a couple of log foot bridges with no railing. Since I don't have balance, I had to throw my pack across to the other side and crawl on hands and knees. It hurt and thankfully no one else was around because it was humiliating. It is what it is and I made it, but don't plan to do it again.
The Strawberry Basin Trail allows hikers to connect to other trails and create a wonderful multiday hiking experience. Starting at the Strawberry Basin Trail hikers can choose to hike into beautiful Strawberry Lake and then continue on to Strawberry Falls, and connect to Little Strawberry Trail #5003 to beautiful Little Strawberry Lake.
The Strawberry Basin Trail is a great starting point for hikers looking for a wide variety of trail options. From a short 1.4 mile hike up to Strawberry Lake to going further to Strawberry Falls and Little Strawberry Lake this trail travels through beautiful ponderosa pine trees past amazing geological features.
Directions (also from USFS):
From the town of Prairie City, OR., turn onto South Main Street. Follow South Main Street to the junction with Bridge Street. Turn left onto Bridge Street, the second turn to the right after turning onto Bridge Street is also known as Bridge Street. Turn right and follow Bridge Street to city limits. At city limits the road becomes County Road 60. Continue on County Road 60 for approximately 7 miles, the road then becomes Forest Road #6001. Follow Forest Road #6001 for approximatley 2 miles to Strawberry Campground and Strawberry Basin Trailhead. This is an OPEN County road to the Forest boundary, then an open Forest Service road to the trailhead. Please respect private property to the Forest boundary.
The Forest Service road is steep and rocky. You don't *need* 4-wheel or all-wheel drive, I've done it in a Honda Civic, but scraped the bottom of the car on some rocks. That said, the Civic has also been over way worse Forest Service roads. I've upgraded to a Honda HR-V. It has all-wheel drive and a higher clearance than the Civic. I digress. The USFS notes that in spring when there's lots of runoff, the road can get rutty.
I love this whole area of Eastern Oregon. Prairie City is tiny and charming. I would love to retire in John Day but it's just too far from medical care! But I love the area. the Strawberry Mountains are gorgeous and then the rest of the area is a mix of forest and high desert and prairies. It's a unique landscape and I'm drawn to it.
Clyde Holladay State Park is a nice park with camping areas. We stayed there one summer, in one of their teepees that you can rent. It's right next to a creek so the mosquitoes were excessive and hungry. While we were there a huge thunderstorm rolled through and lightning started several fires in the area.
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