Spada Lake

Mark D Bender

200

Seasonal Closure

Rated 4/5

Visited: 01/21/2023

Road closed off at last turn off to lake.

Mark D Bender

200

Temporary Closure

Rated 3/5

Visited: 01/21/2023

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Very easy trail and currently closed at last turn off to lake

Dean

400

Open

Visited: 09/07/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Very easy "trail", the forrest road is well kept up.

Haotian Wu

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/01/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Easy peasy. Well maintained forest road.

B

200

Partially Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 02/03/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Headed down this trail last weekend just to get out with the wife and pups. Pleasant drive from WP1 to WP7 (Olney Pass) where we found the route east closed due to snow with no evidence of plowing. I assume this is a typical seasonal closure for this area. Turned left and parked down at Culmback dam, walked around, and enjoyed small a picnic. A bit bummed to not make it further down the route but was a pleasant trip none the less with nice views and low traffic. Nice place to take a walk or explore a bit with kids. The dam has some cool features to check out. Roads were wet with minimal snow down lower building to a couple feet on the sides up at the Olney Pass pull out. Easy driving as the road is well maintained enabling a couple of civics and a Porsche to make it to the dam while we were there.

George Koval

100

Open

Visited: 01/19/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Super easy road, little packed snow this time of year, but saw 2 wheel drive cars making it. Road was closed by fence near the lake/damn. No roads open past the lake. Was a let down. about two feet of packed snow still on sides of road, but road clear.

Kentifer Reid

300

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 11/27/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Easy cruising trail... in PNW clouds and rains. No snow (yet). Great way to spend the morning. The trail is well maintained and most any vehicle could travel it without much concern.

Sherelle

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 02/04/2021

Gorgeous all around. Mostly gravel and dirt. Quite a bit of snow when we made our way. Gate to decend fully to the lake was closed but we could see it. Very pretty and great first 4x4 trail.

Aaron Schulz

600

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 01/31/2021

First time reviewing a trail! I drive a 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan with a 3" lift and the Wilkpeaks bring it 4" over stock, so the clearance is awesome - but it's still a FWD Minivan, so I will be taking advantage of the "easy" trails. Grey & rainy day, but it was a beautiful drive. There was a fairly decent area of snow-covered road, but no issues at all. Like others have said - there was a Honda Civic at the lake. Tons of creeks, waterfalls, and the lake is stunning. Backdrop of the snowy mountains, fog kept rolling through the roads and lake. Awesome day.

Paul

100

Seasonal Closure

Rated 3/5

Visited: 11/27/2020

Overall the drive is a nice one and the road pretty well maintained. Unfortunately at the Olney Pass (Step #7) the trail is closed for the season. You can take the road to the left that leads down to the Jackson Culmback Dam. You can get around and even walk out on to the dam if you are looking to stretch your legs after the drive. There was a little bit of snow here and there but nothing that could be considered accumulation. As others have said, these roads can (and are) taken by small vehicles. Overall a pretty easy trail to take for any newbie.

D. W. SMITH

300

Open

Rated 3/5

Visited: 09/12/2020

A very easy road to explore. As others have said, most any car can take this road. In fact we saw things like a Honda Civic out here. Not the most scenic trip. Unsure about the fishing in the lake, as we didn't try. The lake was very cloudy, which was interesting. At one point there is a picnic area with a boat launch. My picture is at the boat launch. All told we had a good day exploring this backroad!

StuckPx

500

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/13/2020

Easy to find, easy to drive. Good for newbies - an easy drive over unpaved, dirt/gravel road. A rewarding view at the end of the trail. Beautiful lake. The trail is fully open, there is no need to register (at waypoint #7) anymore, probably due to COVID.

Shad Morris

200

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/14/2020

Was a fun drive with the family to go hike on the Grieder Falls Trail. The drive up was easy and muddy. Good for any vehicle really. Great to get out and enjoy some fresh air with the family.

Anthony M

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/30/2020

This is definitely a trail that can be enjoyed in pretty much any vehicle with decent tires as there is more than enough room to navigate around the potholes . We went out in our Grand Cherokee and had no issues anywhere. We saw a few sedans and hatchbacks up there. The water was very high so you aren't able to enjoy the rocky lake shore area currently. Weather was super rainy so we probably only saw 5-6 cars which made it even better. There were a number of waterfalls and the stream/river was raging and beautiful. It's definitely a great trail for anyone from the city to get out and enjoy a little nature without needing to worry about having a built trail rig. There were a number of off shoots that were gated up on the way in. Plenty of spots to picnic as seen in the original author's video. There is one tiny pull out before the registration board that has a little hill you can "climb" in your stock 4x4. It's really nothing crazy but enjoyable for someone who is just catching the trail riding bug and is out for the first time. At the time, there wasn't any registration needed, in fact, the registration box was all duct tape shut. I would suggest having a pen handy though, if that was to ever change. There was also a port-o-potty at end of the trail, next to the locked up bathrooms.

Kyle Reed

200

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/24/2020

Nice day and the south shore road just opened up on Friday 5/22. We got to the end of the trail around noon and it wasn’t too busy. Great to get outside.

Andrew Kang

300

Temporary Closure

Visited: 05/19/2020

Trail is open until you hit Olney Pass and the gate is closed due to covid

KZJ78

100

Partially Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 03/15/2020

Open to Olney Pass and sign in station. From there you can go west to Culmbach Dam...highly recommend. South Shore Road (NF-6120) still closed due to snow.

Tim Lucas

100

Temporary Closure

Visited: 01/01/2020

Note that the road down to Spada Lake is closed until at least 1/15/20 due to construction. Found out the hard way!

Austin Furnas

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 11/14/2019

Managed to make it one the only sunny day this week. There was a mild amount of road work but it was out of the way. Beautiful drive and plenty of places to pull off and walk around. The trail was slightly wet but not bad. Make sure to fill out the required form a couple miles in, they were out driving around looking for people who didn't.

Dan Reebs

100

Open

Visited: 10/02/2019

I drove to Spada lake on ( Oct/2/2019) . It was a very rainy day on my drive up to Spada Lake the lake was slow and the drive was not particularly challenging. It would be a fun place to drive your family out and have lunch or bring your boat .

Olivia S.

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/14/2019

Lots to see & do, not too rough on a newbie, bonus that there is plenty of road space for letting people pass / pull over. A must visit site!

Diana Romero

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/14/2019

Nice easy drive, beautiful peaceful area. Loved it so much I'm going back tomorrow to do some more exploring. Oh and the fur kid had a great time too.

Trent Thompson

1350

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/19/2019

Nice easy trail ride. Just getting into Off-roading and absolutely loved this to 'get my feet wet'. Two options at the fork in the road that I took both, down to the Dam where you can walk across and check out some great pictures of the lake. Further down the other fork you find the hiking trail and boat launch. Both offer great scenery and photo ops.

Gaige Pierce-Raison

100

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 03/30/2019

Very pleasant drive to the dam with some awesome mountain views once across the dam itself. This trail is smooth and easy with just a few pot holes and tight turns along the way. All the offshoots and service roads are still closed but you can drive to the dam and then walk around or have a picnic. Can't wait to go back when the service roads are open!

James Skiles

100

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 11/18/2018

Very beautiful scenery and drive. Also very fun. Good places to stop for activities. Took my dog and had a blast. Will be back for sure.

Jasmine & Jon Hughes

Official Crew

16050

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 11/17/2018

Just took a quick run up to go bow shooting before nightfall.

Jasmine & Jon Hughes

Official Crew

16050

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/16/2018

Went for a nice drive up to Spada Lake Saturday night for dinner and a short weekend getaway. The water level was really high, so no exploring the stumps this time. The boat launch at Waypoint 13 was open so we backed up near the water's edge for our tailgate camp dinner as shown in the photo. There were a lot of hikers parked up at the lot for Greider Lake, but they were on the hiking trail so we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. Hill #1 at Waypoint 5 has been blocked off, but this has no effect on the route. On our way to leave, a Dept. of Natural Resources Ranger stopped and asked us if we were fishing or boating. We hadn't so we were good to leave. It's important to follow all of the rules for this trail as this is a reservoir providing water to the neighboring cities. We left the trail and camped in the State Land just off the road with our State Parks pass.

Quinne

100

Open

Visited: 12/09/2017

This was a beautiful, easy drive, and good for a casual/solo outing. Perfect weather, cold and sunny. Even so, parts were icy. There were patches of ice beginning around Hill# 1. Quite a bit of packed snow and ice from Hill# 2 to Olney Pass. Majority of the snow was leading up to Bridge# 3 (which made for some good pics). NF-6129 is decently maintained and is passable for most 2WD. With the current winter conditions, it was definitely nice to have a 4x4, though most vehicles with decent tires and patience would be okay. Got a late start on the day, so I didn't head over until early afternoon. Despite the clear weather, there wasn't much activity. A couple of vehicles parked here and there, some shooters, a few bikes, and a picnic. Overall a very nice outing for early winter!

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Trail Navigation

1. Trailhead (0 mi)

2. Pullout #1 (0.3 mi)

3. Bridge #1 (0.7 mi)

4. Bridge #2 (1.3 mi)

5. Hill #1 (2 mi)

6. Hill #2 (2.5 mi)

7. Olney Pass (2.9 mi)

8. Boulder Pullout #1 (4.4 mi)

9. Bridge #3 (4.8 mi)

10. Boulder Pullout #2 (5.1 mi)

11. Recreational Site and Boat Ramp (6.2 mi)

12. Gate to Hiking Trailheads (7.8 mi)

13. Parking Lot (7.8 mi)

Trail Reviews

From the Community

Jasmine & Jon Hughes

Spada Lake

Trail Information

Highlights

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Recommended Vehicle:

Concerns:

Summary:

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4 votes

2 votes

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Trail Navigation

1. Trailhead (0 mi)

2. Pullout #1 (0.3 mi)

3. Bridge #1 (0.7 mi)

4. Bridge #2 (1.3 mi)

5. Hill #1 (2 mi)

6. Hill #2 (2.5 mi)

7. Olney Pass (2.9 mi)

8. Boulder Pullout #1 (4.4 mi)

9. Bridge #3 (4.8 mi)

10. Boulder Pullout #2 (5.1 mi)

11. Recreational Site and Boat Ramp (6.2 mi)

12. Gate to Hiking Trailheads (7.8 mi)

13. Parking Lot (7.8 mi)

Trail Reviews

From the Community

Jasmine & Jon Hughes

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