8 of the Best Lake Hikes in Idaho
Idaho is home to some of the most pristine forest wilderness left in the Lower 48 — and we’ve got more than 2,000 lakes hiding up here, too. Pick your setting: the backpacker’s paradise of the Sawtooth Mountains, the less-traveled Gospel Hump Wilderness, the remote Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness…the list goes on.
Wherever you venture, turquoise and crystalline mountain lakes, wildflowers, lake trout, and some seriously killer views await on the state’s most-loved treks. Check out these eight hikes to access some of the best lakes (and best-kept secrets) in Idaho.
Iron Creek to Sawtooth Lake (Sawtooth National Forest – Stanley)
Distance: 8.5 miles out and back
Difficulty: Moderate (with a strenuous last push into the peaks)
Talk about views! This
Upper Palisades Lake (Targhee National Forest – Irwin)
Distance: 13.3 miles out and back
Difficulty: Moderate
Above Swan Valley on the
Lower Gospel Lake (Gospel Hump Wilderness – Grangeville)
Distance: 4.4 miles out and back
Difficulty: Strenuous (almost a thousand feet in elevation lost and then gained coming back up)
The surprisingly peak-packed Gospel Hump Wilderness in Idaho’s Wind River Range has remained somewhat off the radar for hikers — even Idaho natives. Get there (4WD recommended) from Grangeville via Forest Road 221 heading south, to the intersection of Forest Road 444. After about six miles on 444, you’ll see the — somewhat obscure —
Roman Nose High Mountain Lakes (Selkirk Mountains – Naples)
Distance: 4.5 miles out and back
Difficulty: Easy to moderate — the higher you go, the harder it gets.
The
Upper and Lower Stevens Lakes (Coeur d’Alene National Forest – Mullan)
Distance: 5 miles out and back
Difficulty: Moderate
Near
Bloomington Lake (Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest – Bloomington)
Distance: 1.4 miles out and back
Difficulty: Easy
Clocking in at less than two miles from the parking area, the
Tin Cup Trailhead to Edith Lake (Sawtooth National Forest – Stanley)
Distance: ~14 miles out and back
Difficulty: Strenuous climb to the top
This route features three lakes, with even more than that if you continue on a longer trek from Edith Lake. Most of the route makes up part of the Toxaway Lake loop (one of the
Crags Campground to Ship Island Lake (Salmon National Forest and Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness – Cobalt)
Distance: 20.4 miles out and back
Difficulty: Strenuous
This is not a casual day hike, but a
