Griffy Lake

I stopped by Griffy Lake for a quick weekend hike and it did not disappoint. The trails are well maintained, the lake is beautiful, and it’s really not far from downtown Bloomington but feels much more remote. This would be a perfect place to pack a picnic when the weather gets warmer, and I’m counting the days until kayaking season returns.
There are a number of trails of varying lengths and difficulty levels, so there is something for everyone. Very dog friendly!

As you can see from the photo, Griffy Lake doesn’t currently have an actual lake. If you’re looking for a lake, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re looking to hike, I think you’ll be quite content.
I’ve been to Griffy Lake a handful of times with various people, and I’ve come to love it for its accessibility. There are a few short paths ranging from 0.3−0.5 miles, and then there is one 1.6 path. I really enjoy taking the longer one and have gone by myself, with friends from out of town, and my mom! I have gone on the shorter ones with friends and a dog because we weren’t sure if the puppy could handle the longer route. Note that the arrows next to the path names on the wooden sign at the entrance are color coded, so you can follow those once one the path to ensure you are on the intended path.
I really enjoy the longer one because if you start at the wooden sign with the path names, the route is pretty steep at the beginning but then gradually slopes down. I know my mom wasn’t super thrilled about the steep walk up, but I kept encouraging her that it would get easier. And then she loved it.
Once I passed a few elderly people with hiking sticks or canes on the path. On that same hike, I passed a small child with his parents. The wide eyed child looked at me and told me «there are coyotes here», and on my drive home I saw a loose dog or maybe a coyote. I’m not sure. It wasn’t on the trail, so you can take this information with a grain of salt. I have seen many squirrels and few frogs on the path!
I’ve read that Griffy Lake used to be a reservoir and water source for the area, but since its creation Monroe Lake has replaced it. This year work to remove silt deposits (I sound like I know what I’m talking about, right?), and I think that after the work is complete, water will be back in the lake and we can rightfully call it Griffy Lake! I think the work is hard though, as on one of my recent visits a large excavator was stuck in the mud/​silt. There was a crowd watching it struggle to freedom. You never know what you’ll see at Griffy Lake.
My only issue with the lake is that it’s not a lake at the moment, and there seem to be many great paths in other parts of the area — you can grab a map near the point that Google maps takes you to — but I don’t know where to find them! Once these things are resolved I’ll likely up this to 5 stars.