Talapus Lake Trailhead — Attraction in North Bend

Come here! I took a friend of mine who had never been backpacking or camping before. It was the perfect level of difficulty - which is to say that it was very easy and short. We took many breaks where we sat and chatted, we weren’t in a rush - I think it took us about two hours to get to Talapus. We found a beautiful spot to pitch our tents right by the water.

This seems like a popular area, but we arrived on a Wednesday and left on Friday, in late September - we hardly saw other people, it felt very secluded.

Even though it was late September, I swam in the water a lot. It was slightly chilly at first but quickly became like a warm bath, very pleasant and peaceful.

There’s a pit toilet about a 5-10 minute walk from the lake. I would recommend going there while it’s light out, as soon as you arrive, so you don’t get lost trying to find it in the dark.

Talapus has become my new go-to spot for camping with friends, especially when we’re not aiming for anything too strenuous.

Oh - Go very slow on the unpaved road leading to the trailhead! Those potholes are serious, go too fast over them and you’ll damage the underside...

Great family hike! The trailhead parking lot is tiny but you can park alongside the road. (We arrived at about 10:30 on Friday Jul 3rd, parked further done, about 10mins from the trailhead). Lots of holes in the road, had to drive the Mini around them and made it. The hike is fairly easy but was super muddy in many areas. You don’t need hiking boats but don’t bring your white tennis shoes. You walk in the forest for most of the time and don’t get any mountain views. The highlight are of course the two lakes, of which we liked the first one, Talapus lake more. Legendary picture opportunity! If you decide to go all the way to Lake Olallie, go to the very end of the trail, the other end of the lake and you will get maybe the best view across the lake and might get the ‘beach’ for yourself. Check the weather, it might make sense to bring a sweater. The hike was busy but it didn’t feel that way, the trail is fairly wide and easier to distance. About 80% of hikers wore...

I arrived at the trailhead at 7:30pm on a non-holiday Friday. The lot was full, and I was about the 10th car to park on the road. The vault toilet was clean but out of TP and there wasn't a sanitizer dispenser. The road itself is in good shape. The worst pot hole is right at the boundary of the cement/gravel soon after getting off I-5.

I arrived at Talapus lake around 8:15 and three of the six sites were full, and there were few groups who arrived later than me were headed for Ollalie, so it was certainly bustling.

There were some cool birds, bats, and rodents, a few flowers, and a misty chill with an overnight low I'd guess in the high 30s. Thankfully my bear can was untouched overnight.

I woke up around 7 and there were already people coming through the day use area and trail. There were many dogs including a few reactive ones, thankfully most were on leash. When I drove away from the trail head, cars were parked all the way down the road to the first...