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Bear Valley Creek joins Marsh Creek to form the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and is therefore important habitat and a salmon spawning area. The map shown here describes a canoe float from Poker Meadows to the Fir Creek Pack Bridge, and a short hike from the Fir Creek Pack bridge to Blue Bunch Mountain which gives a great view of Bruce Meadows and Poker Meadows. The map also shows a waypoint at Bear Valley Hot Springs along the Middle Fork Salmon river trail.
Stanley Lake, with its beautiful views of McGowan Peak, is one of the most beautiful places in the Sawtooth Mountains accessible by automobile. The trailhead parking lot at the inlet is your starting point for two trails shown here -- the Elk Mountain mountain bike loop, and the Stanley Lake Creek trail. The first mile of the Stanley Lake Creek trail has been made wheelchair-accessible with wide compacted gravel. The Stanley Lake Creek trail is just out of the wilderness and is one of very few high mountain trails open to mountain bikes.
The Fisher Creek to Williams Creek mountain bike loop gradually ascends Fisher Creek, through aspen forest and meadows and beaver bonds. The climb steepens as the primitive doubletrack heads up towards the Aztek mine. As you descend on a new primo singletrack trail to Pigtail Creek, you'll catch a glimpse of Watson Peak in the White Clouds. A short 600 foot climb up Pigtail Creek to a saddle brings you to the Williams Creek drainage, where you'll descend 1200 feet to Williams Creek Meadows. A third climb of 200 feet brings another couple miles of gentle singletrack descent, and back to the Williams Creek Trailhead.
The lower part of the Williams Creek Trail to Williams Creek meadows is a good family hike, but watch out for those mountain bikes -- they're pretty tired by now if they are flatlanders who forgot to acclimate before their ride.
Redfish lake is a beautiful mountain lake just south of Stanley, Idaho and is the centerpiece of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. You won't find solitude here -- instead you'll find crowded campsites and motorboats and people having fun in the freezing cold water at the gravel beaches. Redfish lake has two trailheads which access the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, one accesible by boat at the Southwest inlet of the lake, and the main trailhead near the outlet of the lake.
Redfish Lake has a visitor's center staffed with friendly rangers and volunteers, where you can purchase trail passes. (The money from the trail passes goes exclusively towards trail construction and maintenance, so don't complain too loudly). You'll also find an amphitheater behind the visitor's center with evening campfire nature programs, and a short nature trail.
The Fishhook Creek trail leads to Fishhook Creek Meadows and is the easiest trail in the Sawtooths, suitable for young children. (The trail shown on the RedfishLake map stops where my daughter ran out of steam.)