For my birthday hike this year we went to Thomas Lakes as the snow was still at some higher elevation hikes upvalley. The lakes were so full at Thomas Lakes! Beautiful wildflowers. This is a great hike for us as it is only about 20 minutes drive to the trailhead from Basalt. The drive is an easy one compared with many other trailheads and then the hike to the lakes is about a 1.5 to 2 hour hike each way.