Trout Lake is a tiny agricultural settlement with dairy and horse farms (along with a llama ranch), found approximately 30 miles north of White Salmon. Mt. Adams Orchards, the world’s largest D’Anjou pear orchard, is just a few miles south of here on the way to White Salmon.

Trout Lake is the main access point for the Mt. Adams area but has minimal services—a pair of restaurants, a grocery store, and a gas station. For more dining variety and other services, head south to the Columbia River or east to Goldendale.

The town does have the Forest Service’s Mt. Adams Ranger Station (509/395-3400, year-round Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.), where you can get maps, camping information, and current trail conditions. Mountain climbers must register here to climb Mt. Adams (June 1–Sept. 30, Mon.–Thurs. $10, Fri.–Sun. $15). Just east of Trout Lake is a magnificent view of Mt. Adams, with a foreground of ripening huckleberry bushes in late August.

The equally small town of Glenwood is approximately 10 miles east of Trout Lake and six miles north of Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge (509/364-3489; www.fws.gov/conboylake). This 5,800-acre refuge provides a feeding and resting area for thousands of geese, ducks, and swans during their spring and fall migrations. It’s the only place in Washington where sandhill cranes nest. A two-mile loop makes for a nice shoreline and forest hike, with the chance to view the waterfowl.

Approaching Trout Lake from the south on Highway 141, the Indian Sacred Viewpoint provides a spectacular view of Mt. Adams. For a closer look, take Forest Service Road 23—the main Mt. Adams access road—about eight miles north from Trout Lake. Just before the pavement gives way to gravel, you’ll have a fine view of the mountain to the east.

The main local events are Glenwood’s Ketchum Kalf Rodeo on the third weekend of July, and the Trout Lake Fair and Dairy Show on the first weekend of August.

In mid-July, the Trout Lake Festival of the Arts (www.troutlake.org/arts) attracts local artisans of all types.