Elk Summit Campground and Trailhead

Elk summit is 20 miles up a gravel road where a high clearance vehicle is recommended. 2 wheel drive would be okay in dry weather, but if it was raining you might have a bit of trouble in a few places. Once you get there you'll notice riparian meadows wich is beautiful Moose habitat. I didn’t see any myself on the two days I camped there, but they are supppsed to be quite common. A mile further up the road is the guard station where the volunteer staff gave me a tour of the guard house which is an old school dovetail log cabin. The walls have stories of people who cared for the place and lived there over the years. There is a green chair built by the original residents, and older furnishings giveng the cabin a truly authentic yesteryear experience. A little further out is Hoodoo l

Possibly due to forest fires by this campsite changing biodiversity (no birds, etc) but as soon as I got out of my car in late July I was swarmed by black flies and mosquitos in the early afternoon and they never let up. it was to a degree I hadn’t experienced anywhere else on this trip to Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The 24 mile drive there off the main road is all unpaved. The first 1/2 is slower moving but ok. The 2nd half is rocky with tons of potholes. The 48 mile roundtrip drive took me over 3 hours. The lake is very pretty and it’s remote but even covering myself with tea tree oil didn’t help and I put up and then took down my tent and went to another campsite in the park down by the river not affected by fires and there was no major bug problem there.