Box Canyon
The Return of a Lost Trail
During the 1930’s, young men in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) hewed a trail along the south shore of Lake Chelan. But access to the trail was lost over time. Now, a collaboration between the US Forest Service, the Lake Chelan Trails Alliance, the Washington Trails Association, and the Lake Chelan Rotary Club has brought a lost trail back to life.
View of Lake Chelan from the Box Canyon trail overlook
History
In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration created the Civilian Conservation Corps designed to help the United States recover from the Great Depression. Unmarried men, ages 18 to 25, with families who received federal relief were eligible to serve in the Corps.
Almost overnight, thousands of camps across the United States sprang up in rural areas. Their mandate: to conserve natural resources and increase public access to public lands. A CCC camp was formed on the south shore of Lake Chelan at 25-mile creek (Camp #F-77).
CCC Camp #F-77 at 25 Mile Creek - Circa 1937
One of the projects #F-77 tackled was the construction of a trail heading up Lake Chelan from the end of the road to Box Canyon. The trail picked its way through steep terrain until arriving at the entrance of a canyon where the hillsides became outright cliffs.
In 1942, with the United States entering World War II, the Civilian Conservation Corps was disbanded. #F-77 at 25-mile creek would later become 25-Mile Fire Camp still used by the Forest Service today.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s, as prosperity continued to increase in the northwest, interest and investment in the Chelan valley as a vacation destination increased. And, as properties were purchased, subdivided, and sold, the public lost access to the Box Canyon trail.
Most likely, a formal easement was never secured for the trail at the time of construction. It may have been that informal permission for public access to the trail across private land was lost as properties were purchased and sold.
Whatever the story, by the 1970’s, the trail remained only as an intermittent line stretching across the steep south shore landscape. Local boaters traveling to Stehekin would tell stories of the CCC and the trail it built that once extended to Box Canyon.
Vision
Because of Eastern Washington’s low precipitation, evidence of the Box Canyon trail remained visible to boaters decade after decade. Such unused trails in wetter climates would quickly be overtaken by the forest. But Box Canyon would not be forgotten.
As an example of local curiosity, my father, after many trips to Stehekin, took my brother and I to the trail one Father’s Day. We quietly passed through private property carrying lopers and saws before arriving at the trail. Our mission? To help reclaim the trail from trees and shrubs that had overtaken its path.
Clearly, our small efforts that day did little to restore the trail’s condition. But in our hearts and those of others, a dream persisted of the trail reopened.
Finally in 2010, the new Recreation Lead for the Chelan Ranger District (USFS), Paul Willard, took an interest in the trail and began to imagine a way to resurrect its use. He built on work done in the early 1990’s by Rick Acosta. Rick had worked without success to secure easements across private properties. Paul recognized the ongoing challenges of this approach and began to imagine an upland trail starting near the site of the original CCC camp.
The trail would rise a moderate 700 vertical feet over a mile and a half (red) to an overlook before dropping 1,100 vertical feet (yellow) down to the original trail. (white)
Sections of the new trail to Box Canyon
After a decade of visioning, planning, and outreach, construction on the trail project launched in 2022. The Lake Chelan Trails Alliance assisted in fundraising efforts to compliment a Forest Service Grant. The Lake Chelan Rotary Club also joined the effort with a $20,000 grant.
Reality
Volunteers from Trans-Cascadia build a section of new trail.
As of the fall of 2024, the first and second sections of the trail are complete. A soft launch of the trail offers early hikers an opportunity to walk to the overlook and continue down to the historic trail.
The final section of trail – restoring two miles of the historical trail – will be completed in 2025.
Some ninety years after its original creation, the trail to Box Canyon will once again be open for public enjoyment.
The terminus of the Box Canyon trail offers a lakeside campsite near this tree.
SOFT LAUNCH - TRAIL DIRECTIONS
If you would like to explore the trail during this soft launch period, please follow these directions:
Drive S. Lakeshore Road to 25 mile creek
Turn left on Shady Pass Road and travel 1.1 miles
Take a sharp right on Breezy Heights road (unmarked) and travel 0.25 miles to the USFS helipad.
Park at the Helipad and walk across Breezy Heights to the trail
NOTE: As of 10/20/24, the trail doesn’t extend to Breezy Heights road. This extension will be created during November 2024. Until then, the trail is very visible from the road and just requires a short cross-country walk to intersect.
