Before I start waxing poetic about these two (beautiful) trails, let me note that Blue Lake is more like 1.8 miles than 1.4 and Dock Butte is closer to 5.3 miles than 3. The plan was to hike an easy 4.5 miles on what was expected to be a scorcher of a day--but by the time I reached the end of the Dock Butte trail the only thing on my mind was "there is NO WAY I've only hiked a measly mile and a half." So on my GPS went for the hike back down the the Blue Lake Junction. I was pleased as punch to find out that by the end of my hike I'd be adding a solid 7 miles to my mileage goal. If you're looking for a super quick hike, you might want to rule this out, but I strongly suggest you don't. The trail to Dock Butte alone is enough to make you want to never leave. Soft yellow sand and glassy sounding rock make up a trail that defines idyllic. If that's not enough for you, though, then you'll be happy to hear that the views leave nothing to be desired. Kulshan towers over you and gives you a true sense of is hugeness. Off to it's left you see the Twin Sisters, dwarfed by their snowy neighbor. To the other side you look out over stacked hills and the beautiful Baker Lake. You're sure to be in absolute awe. Jump over to Blue Lake and you're suddenly confronted with a crystal clear and not-too-cold mountainous lake. Make sure you're not coming here on a time crunch, because you'll have one heck of a time trying to drag yourself away. I spent no less than an hour dipping my feet in the water and taking a (frankly ridiculous) number of photos. I'm not one to rate my hikes, but this one was definitely a 10/10.

It was a beautiful and quiet day on the trail to Dock Butte and Blue Lake. We didn't encounter another person all the way to the top of Dock Butte. It wasn't until we came back to Blue Lake did we see anybody. The trail is in good condition but the bugs at the top of Butte and at Blue Lake(especially flies) were horrible. Bring bug spray! For a more detailed report and photos see here: https://spesvidere.wordpress.com/2015/07/05/dock-butteblue-lake-hike/

Excellent hike! It was a sunny day with few clouds, providing fabulous views of Mt Baker! We hiked with 2 kids up the Dock Butte trail to begin with and able to get very close to the top before we encountered snow fields. The kids played in some of the snow off the trail, but we opted to turn around since the trail was getting too sketchy with kids. The snow is melting fast, fairly slick and slushy and has several small streams under the snow and snow wells. Towards the top of Dock Butte we had fabulous views of Mt Baker! Then we hiked into Blue Lake and enjoyed the view from the east bank of the lake. We did pass 2 couples and then saw a family at the lake. It was about 5 pm when we arrived at the lake and the sun was hitting it just right! There was a lot of brown trout swimming at the surface. The road is rough, but passable. Lots of pot holes in various locations (do watch out for them). The trail was in fairly good condition, but there were a few down trees to cross.

The forest service road has some significant pot-holes in the first three miles or so. They are mostly on the right as you drive up, so embrace your inner European driver. After the pot-holes the the road is in good shape. The trail-head for Dock Butte is inaccessible due to snow, but you can park about 100 yards shy and hike up. There's a great new out-house at the trail head, nicest one I've seen. The trail to Dock Butte is covered with intermittent snow in the first mile, than completely snow covered as you reach the ridge. Good boots a must. There are plenty of bootprints to follow but higher up you will need route finding skills. The snow was deep and post-holing was a problem so we opted to stop at the ridge as the views of Mt Baker were great from there. Poles were helpful but traction not so much as the snow was so soft. On the way back we took the side trail to Blue Lake, it has some snow but is passable. The lake still has ice. Flowers are out where the snow has melted. A fun day but if you are planning on taking the kids for a short, easy hike wait a while!

We decided because it was such a fabulous winter day to try Dock Butte. We set off and were stopped by icy snow on road about a foot deep 2 miles from trailhead about 1:30 pm. We went for it anyway..if you do, be sure to bring poles and sturdy boots! Some areas of the road are clear but the compact snow/ice is not ready for traffic..maybe chains and a large rig could do it… The trail itself is about 75% snow covered but we were able to pick the route out, and OH what views!! we did not choose to do the last 500ft push to the very top as that looked iffy, but the snow being VERY compact made for easy, albiet careful going..and the bare spots helped with route finding. 3 hours , 6.6 miles and 1300 el gain, a respectable hike for February!!