Buckhorn Lake backpack (Tubal Cain Trail)

Buckhorn Lake is a short distance off the Tubal Cain trail near the headwaters of Copper Creek. There are a couple of notable features near this trail; the old Tubal Cain Mine and the crash site of a WWII B-17 bomber which crashed during a blizzard in January, 1952. The old mine can be accessed via a 0.1 mile side trail and a climb of about 200 feet and the airplane wreck via a 0.6 mile side trail and a climb of about 450 feet for those interested. Beyond the turnoff for the lake the trail continues southwesterly towards Buckhorn Pass which is reached after hiking 1.5 miles and up about 700 feet. One idea is to slack pack the 3 mile round trip to Buckhorn Pass Thursday morning before we finish packing up to leave, the view from the pass looks like it’s really nice. Trip reports from 2025 don’t mention the condition of the access road but a 2024 report indicated the road to the trailhead was not a problem.

-Distance: 12.0 miles (round trip) not counting any side trips.
-Elevation Gain: 2000 feet.
-Pass required: None required.
-WTA link: https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/tubal-cain-mine-and-buckhorn-lake
-Trailhead privy: Nope. Closest privy along the way is at the Upper Dungeness Trailhead (aka the Dungeness River Trailhead) which you pass 3.6 miles before our trailhead.

Bear canisters: Although officially bear canisters are not required in this area, not being inside the national park boundary, I want to strongly encourage everyone to bring one on this trip. We’re only about 2.5 miles from the park boundary on this hike and bears do not recognize the lines we humans draw on maps. If you wish to join this hike and do not have an approved canister or access to one you can borrow please contact me so that we can discuss.

Note: If the weather report doesn’t look good as we get close to the date of this hike I might consider bumping it back a week to something like September 16/17 or 17/18. Hopefully this won’t be necessary but it is an option.

Meet at the Tubal Cain trailhead at 10:00 AM, ready to hike shortly thereafter.