This little 4.4 mile out & back hike was our 'Plan B'. Sometimes a back-up plan brings on instant disappointment but not this time! While it wasn't the most exciting beginning, it led us to a breathtaking backdrop ending. The Sawtooth Wilderness was a beautiful surprise that left us wanting more..
Located near Stanley, Idaho, you can find this trailhead by making your way to Redfish Lake Lodge. While we did not stay at the lodge, we would highly recommend you do if ever presented the opportunity! Just by the looks of it, this place would be the perfect spot for a wilderness escape. Go check out their website and see for yourself ----> https://redfishlake.com/
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Fishhook Creek Trail
Redfish Trailhead is where you need to be to begin this adventure and is found just before the resort. There is a large parking lot area that is hard to miss, so park your rig there! I always hate stating a "difficulty level" to our hikes because it really depends on the person. What we might consider a moderate hike, someone else might describe as a near death experience, or on the opposite end, might describe as a walk in the park. But based solely on elevation gain, I'm going to go ahead and say this trek is an easy one with a gain of only 275 feet. You CAN do it!!!
As I stated at the beginning of this post, Fishhook Creek Trail was our 'Plan B'. Our original plan was to hike into Sawtooth Lake, a much more "difficult" hike with plenty of elevation gain for our legs to scream about. While the decision was a hard one to make because we were SO looking forward to the sights found at Sawtooth Lake, we opted to go a different route because our travel day to get to Stanley was a long and stressful one. This ended up being the BEST decision because 1) our toddler was able to hike the entire trail on his own! and 2) the meadow and mountain water creek at the end of our hike was the most refreshing pit stop. As you can see from the pictures above, we were able to take off our sweaty socks & shoes and wade around in the oh so chilly water that upon first contact, felt like a thousand little needles but after a while, felt oh so good!
What to do in Stanley, Idaho?
Other than the obvious (Fishhook Creek Trail), we recommend you stop at Stanley Baking Co. for breakfast or lunch. Everything is homemade and fresh! We really enjoyed the chocolate croissant and berry scone. Yum! My mouth is watering just thinking about them. Being a bit of a health nut, I absolutely loved the Bear Breakfast Bowl and would highly recommend it if you are also somewhat health conscious when on the road & traveling.
There are plenty of other hikes in the area that we did not get to, and we were bummed to drive away knowing we had missed out on SO much! Good thing we can go back, and we certainly will!
If you are planning a trip to the Sawtooth Wilderness area, please feel free to reach out and pick our brains! While we didn't see it all, we did get to dip our toes (literally & figuratively) in the water, enough to know that this place is seriously stunning and worth your time! Email us at thebackpackingblotskes@gmail.com and let's chat.. look forward to hearing from you ;)
Adventure On!!!
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