I always skipped the side trail to Blue Lake in the Sierras thinking it was too short to be worth it.

Tried it last August and the wildflowers were insane, way better than the main route. Anyone know other short detours with big payoffs?

3 comments

3 Comments

skylershah1mo ago

Blue Lake's the classic "skip it, regret it" trail.

the_viola1mo ago

I did Blue Lake last summer and honestly it was just okay. The view at the top is nice but I mean, it's a pretty basic alpine lake. I don't get the huge regret thing, there are a dozen trails just like it. Maybe it's just me but calling it a must-do feels like a stretch.

adamcoleman3d ago

Wait, are we hiking the same Blue Lake or did I end up on a different planet for mine? The one I did was just a glorified puddle with a chipmunk that tried to steal my granola bar. I'm with you though, it's like the hiking equivalent of that one meme that gets reposted way too much. And hey @skylershah, I guess I'm the weirdo who'd rather skip it and not regret a thing, but my knees are already screaming about it.