Oh-Be-Joyful is a great name for the Crested Butte area and this beautiful place. Many families come for the camping and the river that runs through the campground at the trailhead. The trail is also popular because of its wildf lowers and waterfalls.The trailhead has bathrooms and signs. One sign even explains, in depth, why there are cows in the area. When youre ready to hike, look for a sign that says "bridge and trail." As you walk through part of the campground expect to see people sitting next to the creek having their morning coffee. On the other side of the bridge, youll walk along the creek then turn uphill. This hike gets steep at times and it starts here.At about a half mile from the parking lot, youll get your first view of the Oh-Be-Joyful valley and see your first waterfall. You might call this more of a waterslide. There are several cascades making up this scenic waterfall. Families can turn around here, but its worth it to keep going. Its another half mile or so to a sign board with wilderness regulations, like keeping your dog on leash. Keep walking. A short distance away youll hear the next waterfall before you see it. Walk over to the edge of the trail for a view through the trees. There are a couple of steps down to get a better view. A short distance past the waterfall, youll come out of the trees into a meadow with incredible views. Look up not just at the peaks around you, but at the waterfalls cascading down the hillsides in front of you and on the side of you.Its about two miles from the trailhead that the trail changes from an old road to a trail. This is also the area where you will see a wilderness sign, then the Raggeds Wilderness sign. At this point, youll have gained about 550 feet in elevation.A tenth of a mile, or so, from here, youll come to yet another pretty waterside-type waterfall. Turning around here will give you a hike of about 4.5 miles. However, if youre ready for more, continue on, enjoying the wide variety of wildflowers along the trail. Around 2.9 miles, watch the creek on your left. You may spot a beaver dam and a beaver house. After that, theres a series of beaver dams in the creek. At 3.4 miles, you may spot a waterfall in the distance. Take a picture when you see it, because as you get closer, the waterfall disappears into a ravine and cant be seen from the trail. Around the four-mile mark, we got a good laugh when we spotted a green gate, with no fence. Just a gate, with a chain to keep it closed. But no fence. So you just walk around it.At 4.75 miles, you may notice a nice campsite in the trees. It's worth it to walk over to the edge for yet another waterfall.For a while now, you've been following a somewhat flat trail, but that's going to change. At 5.25 miles, the trail starts going uphill again. It flattens out slightly before the Daisy Pass trail split, but that's just to make you feel like you can actually do this.Just after the split, you will climb 40 feet in elevation to the upper basin. At this point, you may be wondering, "Where is the lake?" It turns out, you're going to walk across that upper basin, then climb up the side of the basin to the lake on the far right side.Its just on the top of that ridge" that is what hikers going downhill said. They made it sound like no big deal, but there's a steep hill coming with another 300 feet of gain to get to the lake. Stop when you need to catch your breath and look at the waterfalls coming from the lake. They are beautiful cascades.At the top, pick your lunch spot. Will you sit near the middle of the lake or one of the ends? The view of the lake and surrounding cirque are great, no matter where you sit. The funny thing though: Blue Lake is actually quite green and clear.After a good break, return the way you came, unless you decide to tackle Daisy Pass, or another trail in the area. Details: the hike to Blue Lake and back is about 14 miles with 2,100 feet of elevation gain.If you have any questions, or hike suggestions, email me at [email protected] and find more great hikes by following me on Facebook at Facebook.com/DenverHikingExaminer. ...read more read less