diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/lens/page.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/lens/page.test.tsx
index 148a916c867..5a6fd9cc68f 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/lens/page.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/lens/page.test.tsx
@@ -18,12 +18,11 @@ vi.mock("./_components/LensView", () => ({
 describe("Lens navigation", () => {
   beforeEach(() => auth.mockReturnValue({ accessToken: "test-token", userRole: "Admin", isViewOnly: false }));
 
-  it("opens investigations and pauses trace polling when returning from traces", async () => {
+  it("opens traces by default and pauses polling while viewing investigations", async () => {
     const user = userEvent.setup();
     const onUrlUpdate = vi.fn();
     renderWithProviders(<LensPage />, { onUrlUpdate });
-    expect(screen.getByRole("tab", { name: "Investigations" })).toHaveAttribute("aria-selected", "true");
-    await user.click(screen.getByRole("tab", { name: "Traces" }));
+    expect(screen.getByRole("tab", { name: "Traces" })).toHaveAttribute("aria-selected", "true");
     expect(screen.getByText("Trace polling active")).toBeVisible();
     await user.click(screen.getByRole("tab", { name: "Investigations" }));
     expect(screen.getByText("Manage investigations")).toBeVisible();
@@ -39,6 +38,12 @@ describe("Lens navigation", () => {
     expect(screen.getByText("Manage investigations")).toBeVisible();
   });
 
+  it("honors an explicit traces tab even when a saved investigation is in the URL", () => {
+    renderWithProviders(<LensPage />, { searchParams: "?tab=traces&lens=saved-lens" });
+    expect(screen.getByRole("tab", { name: "Traces" })).toHaveAttribute("aria-selected", "true");
+    expect(screen.getByText("Trace polling active")).toBeVisible();
+  });
+
   it.each(["Internal User", "Internal Viewer", "Org Admin"])(
     "preserves trace access without granting investigations to %s",
     async (userRole) => {
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/lens/page.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/lens/page.tsx
index 01f5126e3ae..b29e498600f 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/lens/page.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/lens/page.tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ export default function LensPage() {
     parseAsStringLiteral(["traces", "investigations"]).withOptions({ history: "push" }),
   );
   const [lensId] = useQueryState("lens", parseAsString);
-  const defaultTab = isProxyAdminTierRole(userRole ?? "") || lensId ? "investigations" : "traces";
+  const defaultTab = lensId ? "investigations" : "traces";
   const activeTab = tab ?? defaultTab;
   if (!accessToken) return null;
   return (
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/SpanTree.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/SpanTree.tsx
index 27a3d7fbfe0..3f7c798a0a0 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/SpanTree.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/SpanTree.tsx
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 "use client";
 
-import { BarChart3, Clock, Coins, ListTree, MoreHorizontal, Timer } from "lucide-react";
+import { BarChart3, Clock, Coins, ListTree, MoreHorizontal, PanelRightOpen, Timer } from "lucide-react";
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useRef } from "react";
 
+import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import { Switch } from "@/components/ui/switch";
 import { cn } from "@/lib/cva.config";
 
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ interface SpanTreeProps {
   onToggleSpan: (id: string) => void;
   onToggleGroup: (id: string) => void;
   onLoadMore: (groupId: string) => void;
+  onOpenDetails?: () => void;
   /** Inside the side drawer J/K switch runs, so spans move with the arrow keys. */
   embedded?: boolean;
 }
@@ -308,6 +310,7 @@ export function SpanTree({
   onToggleSpan,
   onToggleGroup,
   onLoadMore,
+  onOpenDetails,
   embedded = false,
 }: SpanTreeProps) {
   const scrollRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
@@ -333,6 +336,12 @@ export function SpanTree({
             aria-label="Hide framework spans"
           />
         </label>
+        {onOpenDetails && (
+          <Button variant="ghost" size="sm" onClick={onOpenDetails} className="ml-3 shrink-0 text-xs text-trace-text-2">
+            <PanelRightOpen className="size-4" />
+            Show details
+          </Button>
+        )}
       </div>
       <div ref={scrollRef} className="min-h-0 flex-1 overflow-auto pb-4">
         <Summary summary={summary} />
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/TraceDrawer.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/TraceDrawer.test.tsx
index da3fce0d14b..50de602fa31 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/TraceDrawer.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/TraceDrawer.test.tsx
@@ -135,6 +135,21 @@ describe("RunView", () => {
     expect(screen.queryByTestId("detail-pane")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
+  it.each(["button", "Escape"])("reopens the selected step after closing details with %s", async (method) => {
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    renderRun(research);
+    await screen.findByTestId("detail-pane");
+    await user.keyboard("j");
+    const selectedId = screen.getByTestId("detail-pane").getAttribute("data-row-id");
+    expect(selectedId).not.toBe(rootSpanId(research));
+    if (method === "button") await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "close detail" }));
+    else await user.keyboard("{Escape}");
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("detail-pane")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Show details" }));
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("detail-pane")).toHaveAttribute("data-row-id", selectedId);
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("button", { name: "Show details" })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
   it("keeps a way back to the runs table when a run fails to load", async () => {
     const user = userEvent.setup();
     const onBack = vi.fn();
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/TraceDrawer.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/TraceDrawer.tsx
index 0aeea4e4cc7..a991c771a56 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/TraceDrawer.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/view_logs/TraceView/TraceDrawer.tsx
@@ -253,6 +253,7 @@ function RunBody({ trace, accessToken, initialSpanId, embedded }: RunBodyProps)
         onToggleSpan={toggleSpan}
         onToggleGroup={toggleGroup}
         onLoadMore={loadMore}
+        onOpenDetails={detailOpen ? undefined : () => setDetailOpen(true)}
         embedded={embedded}
       />
       {detailOpen && (