The mosquitos at Waldo Lake are finally gone! Now the shore is aflutter with thousands of orange-and-black tortoiseshell butterflies. And ripe huckleberries are everywhere.

Most trailheads at Waldo Lake are still closed, following a forest fire that burned the west and north shores of the mile-high lake in 2022. But that blaze spared the southern shore at Shadow Bay. Park here for an easy 1.7-mile hike along the lakeshore amid butterflies, berries and unburnt trees. The trail leads to a sandy swimming beach and a meadow with a rustic shelter. Mountain bikes, horses and dogs are allowed.

Waldo is one of the few places in the nearby Cascades where you can backpack on the spur of the moment. For overnight stays anywhere in the Three Sisters, Mount Washington and Mount Jefferson Wilderness A

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