Many years ago, we used to hike up above the Lac le Jeune Ski Hill to get the first day of cross country skiing on the Ridge Lakes and Mildred Lake Trail.   We could usually drive up the Ridge Lake Forest Service Road, then hike to the snow.   At the top of the hill above Mildred Lake, the 5000 foot altitude meant early snow before Lac Le Jeune or Stake Lake.   Today, a 4WD can still drive up past Ridge Mountain to the higher areas.   The three lakes are visited by fishermen in the summer and hunters in the fall.

The road is too long and not very interesting to hikers, though bikers may want to go up the road and down the trail.   A good alternative route for hikers is a single track trail from the end of the Lac le Jeune Subdivision.   A trail strikes off from the man-gate at the end of Gowan Drive, goes through an opening, crosses a small creek, the forks to the right skirting two marshes before running south up the hill.   The trail winds among rock bluffs, following a good trail.   Mountain bikers have built some features along the route.

  The single track trail used to run all the way to the ridge, but a fireguard was cut above Lac le Jeune so hikers will emerge onto a rough road which they can follow south before  turning off onto the trail higher up.    At the crest of the ridge, the trail starts to descend down a track towards the eastern Ridge Lake.   At a junction, hikers can go either left or right to go to the lake.

   Between the lakes is a flat backroad.   Hikers can stop for a snack at any of the three lakes before returning by the same route, or can take the old track down by the Lac le Jeune Ski Hill (ending up on private property, but you can skirt this last section).

We go to this trail in late summer or early fall when conditions are dry, bugs are not a problem, and before the hunters arrive.   The trail is fairly straightforward, but a watchful eye for the right route is needed since there are no signs along the way.