Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Washington / Eastern Cascades

Horseshoe Basin (Pasayten)

Pasayten Wilderness, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (Iron Gate trailhead, west of Loomis)

Horseshoe Basin is a high, open basin of meadows and peaks in the eastern Pasayten Wilderness. The Boundary Trail (#533) reaches it from the Iron Gate trailhead, which The Outbound puts at about 6,150 feet.

WTA lists the hike to the basin at 12 miles round trip with 1,550 feet of gain and a high point of 7,200 feet. Read the notice above first: the trailhead was closed by fire in fall 2026.

The hike

From Loomis, WTA’s directions follow Forest Road 39 (Toats Coulee Road at first) for about 14 miles to the Irongate spur, then nearly 6 more miles on a road rough enough that WTA says “high clearance vehicles are necessary.”

The trail starts on an old mining road and drops into forest burned in the 2006 Tripod Fire, according to The Outbound. At 0.7 mile, you continue straight for Horseshoe Basin. At 1.5 miles, the trail crosses a tributary of Clutch Creek, which WTA calls the last consistent water before the basin. WTA says the trail leaves the burned area at about 3 miles, and The Outbound describes a large meadow at about 3.5 miles known for lupine and paintbrush in season.

Sunny Pass comes at about 4.8 miles (WTA), at roughly 7,200 feet (The Outbound). WTA calls it a good picnic spot and your first view of the basin. The Windy Peak trail and the Albert Camp Trail branch off nearby. About 1.3 miles past the pass, side trails lead to Smith Lake and to the Long Draw Trail toward Arnold and Goodenough peaks, and Loudon Lake comes at 7.1 miles, The Outbound says. Past Loudon the trail heads back into forest toward Haig Mountain, where The Outbound warns of swampy ground and ferocious bugs.

WTA calls the stretch before the basin a possible “scorcher” in summer because there’s little tree cover. The Outbound adds that burned forest offers little shade and that windfall makes it a bad place to be in high winds, and it warns that conditions near the ends of the season can change without notice.

A 2020 WTA trip report describes reaching Horseshoe Basin the long way, on a five-day loop from the Chewuch River over Cathedral Pass, and exiting at Iron Gate. For that approach, see the Cathedral Pass Loop.

Tips

Camping

The Forest Service says free, self-issued wilderness permits are required in the Pasayten and are available at the trailhead; some trailheads also need a recreation pass. WTA notes primitive camping at the trailhead, with no water. In the basin, The Outbound names Loudon Lake as a first-night camp or base camp, calls Smith Lake a nice campsite about a mile off the trail, and says several campsites are near the Long Draw junction.

Inside Intel: A 2020 WTA trip report described camping “on a rise just west of the trail” near Sunny Pass, which “gave us an excellent overview of the Horseshoe Basin area.” The Outbound calls Loudon Lake “a perfect campsite for your first night.”

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Open basin, 7,000 feet, no shelter:

Horseshoe Basin's camps sit around 7,000 feet in open country with little tree cover. See the sleeping bags testers rate for warmth.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.