Dusty Lake, Eastern Washington – Trip Report

If you’re looking for a hike in Washington that feels more like something in Arizona, head out east past Leavenworth to an area called Dusty Lake. Nestled in between Buttes, this easy 1 to 2 hour hike lands you in rattlesnake country where the fishing is good and the sun is oppresive.



We zipped in on a Friday night and did the hike with Headlamps (not recommended, especially for those who don’t know the route). It made it easy as it was cool enough to keep you from suffering the daytime highs of 90 degrees or so.


The ground is only littered with sage brush (and dust) and apart from the buttes around is very flat. Think Old West. There are very few trees (an experienced guy in our crew brought both a deck chair and umbrella) which most people ended up fighting over. Fires are permitted, but the lack of anything to burn means that you should pack in wood yourself.

We hiked into the slightly farther away Dusty Lake and then took a day hike over the buttes to the ancient lakes where there’s a waterfall and bass fishing. Dusty Lakes is main trout, and big ones at that. The locals know it as they carry in their belly boats and spend the day enticing the lunkers out (you can only keep one per day).

One thing you’ll need a lot of is water. The air is dry and the heat and wind can shrivel you up if you’re not careful. Bring water purification of some form or plan to boil. I shook my head on the day trip out as many families were heading out across the plains without any extra water, a very dangerous thing to do in that area.

All in all, the hike is very impressive because of its landscape. The only downside is that this little valley is surrounded by farm land. A friend kindly named it “Monsanto lake” because of white staining from what is most probably agricultural run-off. The fish seem healthy enough, but I wouldn’t make too many trips out there because of that alone,

For a day or weekend hike, the area is beautiful and the potential for teasing out a 16+ inch trout will be too much for most anglers.

Take a look at the “Guys hike” that a few of my bud and I went on in early May.