Nestled in the northwest corner of the Boise National Forest, just outside of Cascade, Idaho, is this little gem of a mountain lake. It seems to be a well kept secret, or maybe we just timed it right, but we basically had this beauty to ourselves!
Blue Lake Trail
Blue Lake is roughly a 2 mile round-trip hike. Somewhat "backwards" from what we are familiar with, you descend 380 feet to reach your final destination. The climb begins on your way out! While I would rate this hike as "easy" on the difficulty scale, I will warn you that the trek back to your vehicle is steep and will most definitely leave you a bit winded, but it's short and the heavy breathing won't last long ;) This trail is very doable for all levels! Our 3 year old hiked in AND out on his own.. it was one of those "really proud mommy & daddy" moments.
While the lake itself is certainly a sight to behold, the greenery and wildflowers along the way are what captured my attention most! It felt like the perfect setting to have a wicker picnic basket dangling from your arm, frolicking through the tall grass, singing "The Hills are Alive" by Julie Andrews. Cheesy, yes, but I think you'll get it after checking out these photos. Of course, pictures are NEVER as good as being there in person..
Right?! Can you picture the whole picnic scene now? ;)
If you have the Boise National Forest on your radar, we couldn't encourage you enough to make it a point to get there and explore this area for yourself! Shoot us an email if you'd like to get some ideas on where to stay and how to get to this trailhead. WARNING: the road to get to Blue Lake is full-on washboards and it took us over an hour to get there in our motor-home. Not recommended that you take your RV or motor-home, but for us, it was our only option. It's doable, but you have to go extremely slow and it will take you much longer than it would in your SUV.
But back to chatting... email us at thebackpackingblotskes@gmail.com and we would love to help in any way we can! Have a wonderful day and we look forward to hearing from you!