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As we were driving along the gravel road toward the trailhead, my nearly 4-year
old son said cheerily "we're doomed!" Not exactly what I want to hear while
I'm bouncing along a seemingly deserted road. Don't let a 4-year old deter you
from the drive, however; it's pretty easy. On the other hand, I can't really recommend
this hike.
The trailhead parking lot is right next to large Butte Lake, where people staying at
the adjacent Butte Lake campground probably enjoy boating and swimming. We, on the other
hand, headed up the sandy trail toward Bathtub Lakes. The trail begins climbing immediately,
through a sparse forest that shows signs of a relatively recent forest fire. Even without
the fire, it looks like trees may have a hard time growing here because of the sandy nature
of the ground. Perhaps the nearby Fantastic Lava Beds has something to do with it. Nearby
Cinder Cone spewed out the Fantastic Lava Beds hundreds of years ago. The lava beds now
reach the edge of Butte Lake, and it doesn't look like anything grows on them.
Heading up the trail
So uphill we climbed through the sparse forest, to a ridge overlooking the first Bathtub Lake
below. It didn't look like much, so we continued on the trail in hopes of finding a more
inviting second lake. It wasn't to be. We followed the trail as it headed downhill, then
saw the second lake on the left. We made the short walk over, only to find that grasses
surrounded all sides of the lake.
First Bathtub Lake
Second Bathtub Lake
Second Bathtub Lake
We retraced our steps, heading back up the hill and then turning left to head down to the shore
of the first lake. We walked around to the opposite shore to find a partially shaded spot.
We stopped here to rest for quite some time, which explains the duration of this hike. You could
probably do the entire hike in about a half hour, but we stayed at the lake for nearly 2 hours for
some unknown reason. We had lunch, then tried walking into the lake. Unfortunately, the edge
of the lake is very muddy. Even with my Tevas on, my feet sank, wrapping my feet and sandals in
mud. Yuck. I couldn't even find a spot to rinse them off afterwards.
First Bathtub Lake
That's a cabana, not a tent in case you're wondering. Notice the fire-damaged trees.
Strangely, while we were there, we saw a group of 8-10 people walk into the lake on the other side
and actually start swimming. Or some approximation of swimming in the shallow water. I'm not quite
sure why they didn't just swim in Butte Lake instead. I have to say that Bathtub Lakes were two
of the most disappointing alpine lakes I've ever been to. No nice shady areas, no rocky places
to enter the lake, and no views to speak of.
Swimmers in the lake
Eventually, we packed up and headed back to the trail and returned to the parking lot. While I
can't recommend the hike, I do hope to return someday to do the hike to nearby Cinder Cone. I
fully expect to enjoy that hike, in contrast to Bathtub Lakes.
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