The beautiful Ptarmigan Lake Trail winds several miles along Ptarmigan Creek from the Ptarmigan Creek Recreation Area campground to Ptarmigan Creek. Most of the trail is very easy for even the most inexperienced hikers, although portions of the trail do climb a few hundred feet in elevation in several steep sections. Ptarmigan Creek is very beautiful, and even if you do not complete the full trail a walk along the forested first mile that parallels the creek is well worth it. During the late summer salmon run up this creek and you may see some if you visit at the right time. Due to time constraints, I did not make it the full distance to the lake (I turned back about 3/4-1 mile short of the lake), but I greatly enjoyed my two-hour hike through the mountain forest. In addition to Ptarmigan Creek, the higher sections of the trail give hikers several great views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. Be sure to watch out for wildlife, especially in the area where the trail climbs into a brushy hillside with a great overlook of the valley below. In this section several sharp turns in the trail give you limited visibility of the trail ahead. Wild berries grow on these hillsides and if there are not many people around, bears, moose, and other animals may be on or near the trail. I suggest talking if you have someone with you, or if you are by yourself, as I was, sing or talk to yourself to help alert any wildlife that may be present that you are there. The one thing you do not want to do is surprise a wild animal on the trail that is eating and may have offspring nearby.