UNION — The trek to Tombstone Lake is arduous enough that after arriving at its shores, your eyes will want to soak up every second of its beauty — but your hamstrings may be begging for a nap.

Give in to the nap. You deserve it. And afterward, you’ll wake up in some of the most spectacular scenery in Eastern Oregon.

Tombstone is a stunning lake — really a series of them — tucked back in a rarely visited section of the Eagle Cap Wilderness at 7,421 feet of elevation. It has everything you’d want from a backcountry destination: stellar campsites, stunning views, good trout fishing, excellent swimming and stargazing, and solitude by the score.

That’s partly due to the difficulty of the trek, though it is certainly manageable for those in moderate shape. It’s only 8.7 miles from trailhead to the lake, though it includes almost 3,000 feet in elevation change spread over a steady stream of almost 50 steep switchbacks without the benefit of shade or water.

One way to reach the lake begins at beautiful West Eagle Meadows Campground on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, where there are 10 camper-ready sites and seven walk-in campsites along the creek. A Northwest Forest Pass is required to park here, which costs $5 per day if not purchased in advance. Camping at the meadows and leaving at first light (or waiting until mid-afternoon) will allow you to avoid hiking the most exhausting portion of the trail in the energy-sucking midday heat.

The trail to Tombstone begins by following West Fork Eagle Creek upstream, and hikers must make a few crossings over rocks or downed logs, or just wade right on through if your footwear permits it. A beautiful waterfall cascading onto the Eagle Caps’ iconic granite slabs, just a mile or so from the trailhead, is worth the whole hike itself.

At three miles in, the trail really begins to climb at a fork that diverts those traveling to Echo Lake (5.4 miles) and Traverse Lake (6.4 miles) from those going to Tombstone and Diamond lakes. The fork is well-signed, and Tombstone hikers should jump off Trail 1934 onto Trail 1943 to Diamond Lake.

Soon after taking the fork, hikers will notice a chute of crystal-clear, ice cold snowmelt flowing over granite and resembling a water slide. (Give it a million years, and the rock will be smoothed enough to make it one of the most epic slides on the planet. But for now, go at your tailbone’s expense.) It’s an important place to filter and fill your water, as from here on out the trail begins to climb and water becomes unreliable.

Those series of switchbacks break out of treeline and into a burned zone. The scenery throughout is stunning — when you climb high enough you can look east to Echo Lake (at 7,200 feet elevation) across the valley. You also notice numerous snowmelt waterfalls crashing down the mountains. Keep climbing and you’ll eventually reach a high, grassy meadow that is home to a seasonal creek and bog, lots of high-altitude wildflowers and lots of elk tracks.

And then you’ve got another set of switchbacks — the steepest yet — to climb to an unnamed 8,210-foot pass. Once you arrive at the pass, you’ll be both breathless from the climb and the view. Below your toes is Tombstone Lake, as well as a constantly changing group of roughly four other bodies of water that collect snowmelt, rise from underground springs and send water slowly downstream.

Still, you’ll have to get down there. And after the long climb, the mile or so on the steep downhill switchbacks that lead to the lake can be the most brutal of the trip. Be careful with your footing.

But soon enough you arrive lakeside to lay down your pack and take that nap. After rising, break out that fishing rod and stake out a campsite. There are plenty of great ones, but in the likelihood that you are there by yourself, I recommend walking to the north end of the lake, hopping a small creek and finding a clear spot on an island covered by gorgeous white and rose-colored granite slabs.

The consensus we heard from travelers is that the camping is better at Tombstone Lake, but the fishing is better at Diamond Lake, located just a quarter mile to the north where brook trout up to 13 inches were caught with consistency.

Because of the long journey in, I’d suggest staying at least two nights. It’s easy to imagine not wanting to return, not only because you’ve got to climb your way back out from the lake, but because for a few months Tombstone is among the most spectacular places in Eastern Oregon.

From Interstate 84 east, take the Medical Springs Highway (Highway 203), drive through Union to Eagle Creek Road (Forest Road 77) and follow that graded gravel road for 15 miles to the West Eagle Trailhead.