These trails were a first for our little tribe of four plus dog. The road was potty in spots, but not too awful. We started at 110pm and went right to Dock Butte for late lunch. A very pretty trail with mushrooms galore, and although the berries are almost done, there were still many delicious munch-worthy blueberries, huckleberries and even a few coveted thimbleberries!

We had the top of the Butte to ourselves with just two folks popping by for a short visit.  We had views of Lake Shannon, Baker Lake and Baker Dam, and peekaboo mountain views all around, but Baker just teased us with sucker-hole promises.

After lunch, we backtracked to pretty Blue Lake, passing just one person who was on a berry-picking mission.  We chatted for a few minutes, and I am grateful that he sounded the alarm when I left my poles behind.  Thank you!

There were several people in spots all around Blue Lake, and most appeared to be fishing.  We didn’t linger long. The lake was a lovely spot, but the Butte was my favorite part of the day.

Minutes  after driving away from the trailhead, we suddenly noticed the top half of Baker peeking out and it was stunning!

This was a great little trail, and consensus was that we will do this one again someday when we have a better chance of the big views.

***Note that there is a lot of scattered broken glass near the top of the Butte, so be mindful of doggie paws. 

This trail hikes a bit harder than its short mileage - in a good way. Great views even on a cloudy day. Tons and tons of blueberries - we left a few for others.

This was a great little hike. The berries were the largest we've seen so far and they were delicious! There is no sign at the fork for Blue Lake, so be sure to read up on the trail description or have a map. Several other forks for social trails to overlooks and such, but the main trail is pretty obvious. There were some slick muddy areas but overall it was not difficult. The short bit of scramble to the top was a little challenging with a dog, but we managed. Willow had a blast until we got to the top and started hearing gunshots from hunters. Poor girl thought they were after her, so she hunkered down next to a rock until we left. 

Enjoyed a beautiful afternoon hike up to Dock Butte with my wife, 11 yr old son, 6 yr. old daughter, and our 2.5 yr old son on my back. The forest road in was in suitable condition. And the trail was in good condition as well. A trail work crew has definitely been on the trail recently. The trail is no longer overgrown. Note the Dock Butte trail sign has been missing for at least a couple years. We came across a couple lost hiking groups, trying to find Blue lake. Having a map or app (like the free version of Gaia GPS) is very helpful. I was grateful for my trekking poles for the steepness of the trail just below the butte summit. The wild blueberries as well as blue huckleberries are ready and made for a fun and tasty snack almost the entire hike. 

Note: this hike requires a northwest forest pass but we didn’t see a pay station before starting on the road or in the parking area

The road conditions were a little rough leading up to the trailhead, in my 2wd sedan we didn’t have a problem but it did take over half an hour to get through the forest roads each way.

We did this hike not anticipating how much the views would be shrouded in cloud cover. It was still a good hike and we got intermittent “peak-a-boos” of Mount Baker. The trail is in good condition although there is quite a bit of foliage encroaching on the trail, would definitely recommend wearing long pants on this hike. We encountered only two other pairs of people the entire time, most likely people had seen the forecast and not bothered (it’s also a Thursday so perhaps less trafficked on weekdays). Trekking poles def were a plus for the steep parts of the hike.

Would love to try this hike again sometime on a clear day!