From the center of Portland, we took a 2-hour drive to the Mirror Lake trailhead. The trailhead is accessible directly from Highway 26.

My friend has recommended that we park at the side of the highway since everyone else does it. However, when we went, no one was parked there. This may be because it was snowing a lot more and there was a higher possibility of skidding traffic. We saw a few hikers walk out from the Ski Parking Lot a bit less than a mile past the trailhead. It is warned that parkers must have a seasonal adventure parking pass to park there, but we took a gamble anyway. It took us about 30 minutes to hike to the trail, staying on the side of the highway.

From the trailhead, it took about 45 minutes to hike to mirror lake. During the winter time, the scenery is a winter wonderland. The magnificent lake was frozen during our visit. It was quite a view!

How To Get There:

From downtown Portland, take I-84E toward Portland Airport/The Dalles. Take exit 16 for 238th Dr toward Wood Village. Transition onto US-26E for about 37 miles to reach Mirror Lake trailhead.

Address: Mirror Lake, Oregon 97049
Coordinates: 45.3735, -121.6959