The Best Hikes for Kids Who Hate to Hike
Photo:
Relaxing at Pyramid Lake. Credit: Jennifer Johnson
4. Pyramid Lake
The prize: Carnivorous plants!
The hike: Venture up a steep, rugged trail with few views to access Pyramid Lake, a small pond surrounded by rocky cliffs. This hike is not for small children, but hardy hikers will enjoy the huckleberries, giant cedars, forest flowers and streams. The trail climbs straight up from Highway 20, through lodgepole pine forest, past a mossy stream and up into a lake basin with a rare population of carnivorous sundew plants. The plants live on logs out in the water. My kids were also enchanted by newts in the lake, and by dragonflies metamorphosing from nymph to adult.
Details: 4.6 miles round trip, 1,500 feet elevation gain; no parking pass required
Next up: Summer snowball fight
