Best Trails of Idaho

This list represents the most popular trails in Idaho (learn more about Top Trails). Use this list to plan your next Idaho outdoor trip. Select a state and/or activity below to find even more top trails.

Learn more about Top Trails

Activity: State: Reset

#1. Iron Creek to Sawtooth Lake

Entire generations of photographers have packed their 35-mm, 2.25-inch, and bulky view cameras with tripods the 4 miles, and 1,700 feet in elevation, to Sawtooth Lake, the largest alpine lake in the S…

From the guidebook "Hiking Idaho"
Stanley , ID - Hiking - 10 miles

(About Top Trails)

#2. Grand Sawtooths Loop

The Sawtooth Mountains contain some of Idaho's most beautiful scenery. Although the famous views from the road are superb, if you really want to appreciate all that this range has to offer you have to…

From the guidebook "Backpacking Idaho"
Boise , ID - Hiking - 63 miles

(About Top Trails)

#3. Boulder Chain Lakes

This hike will confirm everything you may have heard about the beauty of the White Clouds and Castle Peak. It has just about every lure for the outdoorsperson: deep, cool forests, mountain springs, la…

From the guidebook "Hiking Idaho"
Challis , ID - Hiking - 20 miles

(About Top Trails)

#4. Rainbow Lakes

Beautiful scenery, including nine fishable lakes close together. Rainbow Lakes Trail is open to foot traffic only, meaning no horses or mountain bikes. There is no forage or room at the lakes for hor…

From the guidebook "Hiking Idaho"
Mountain Home , ID - Hiking - 9 miles

(About Top Trails)

#5. Skinnydipper Hot Spring

Hot pools up a steep and hot hillside above the South Fork Payette River, reached by a 0.5-mile path that feels like a mile. Swimwear superfluous. A waterfall cascades over a cliff and pours through a…

From the guidebook "Hiking Hot Springs in the Pacific Northwest"
Crouch , ID - Hot Springs - 0 mile

(About Top Trails)

#6. Stanley Basin Area

Close to the very center of Idaho, the Stanley Basin is renowned as one of the prettiest places in the state. Here is the Salmon River as a high mountain stream, running fast and with great purity; he…

From the guidebook "Camping Idaho"
Stanley , ID - Campgrounds

(About Top Trails)

#7. Kelly Creek Fly-Fishing (Idaho)

Kelly Creek is in the northern part of Idaho’s Clearwater National Forest. Like the St. Joe River just to the north, Kelly is born high in the Bitterroot Mountains on the Montana-Idaho border. Similar…

From the guidebook "Fly-Fishing the Rocky Mountain Backcountry"
Pierce , ID - Fly-Fishing

(About Top Trails)

#8. Bear Valley Hot Springs

A day hike or overnighter to a chain of pearls locked up in the River of No Return Wilderness. Swimwear: it’s a mixed bag. Imagine a string of clear pools drawing you down to the edge of a lively cree…

From the guidebook "Hiking Hot Springs in the Pacific Northwest"
Stanley , ID - Hot Springs - 7 miles

(About Top Trails)

#9. Toxaway - Pettit Loop

This is a classic backpacking trip in the Sawtooth Mountains. The 18-mile loop begins and ends at Pettit Lake, a large moraine lake on the valley floor. The loop encounters all the features that have…

From the guidebook "Hiking Idaho"
Stanley , ID - Hiking - 18 miles

(About Top Trails)

#10. Big Baldy - Indian Creek Loop

This hike is one of the most remote in Idaho. Aside from the stretch along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, encountering another hiker would be a surprise. This is the most spectacular hike in the…

From the guidebook "Hiking Idaho"
Cascade , ID - Hiking - 52 miles

(About Top Trails)

#11. Boulder - Louie Lakes Loop

A very pretty lake loop in scenic granite mountains. This is a popular area with routes to two different lakes that can put you in some very beautiful country quickly. A loop trip is also possible wi…

From the guidebook "Hiking Idaho"
McCall , ID - Hiking - 6 miles

(About Top Trails)

#12. Goldbug (Elk Bend) Hot Springs

A day hike climbing to steamy soaks and hot waterfalls in a desert canyon. It’s a bathing suit/ birthday suit mix. A brisk climb up a craggy desert canyon ends at a green oasis where lush undergrowth…

From the guidebook "Hiking Hot Springs in the Pacific Northwest"
Salmon , ID - Hot Springs - 4 miles

(About Top Trails)

#13. The St. Joe River Fly-Fishing (Idaho)

Wherever excellent river habitat remains intact, catch-and-release regulations can allow trout to quickly rebound in numbers and size, even where populations have been depressed by decades of overharv…

From the guidebook "Fly-Fishing the Rocky Mountain Backcountry"
Saint Maries , ID - Fly-Fishing

(About Top Trails)

#14. Coeur d'Alene Area

Probably only Sun Valley edges out Coeur d’Alene as the best-known Idaho vacation spot. The city is perched on the northern shore of the like-named lake, and both deserve their international renown. T…

From the guidebook "Camping Idaho"
Coeur d'Alene , ID - Campgrounds

(About Top Trails)

#15. Seven Devils Loop

This is an excellent loop hike because each day offers fine views and each night a lake to camp by. The terrain is rugged with a good deal of elevation loss and gain. The Seven Devils create their own…

From the guidebook "Hiking Idaho"
Riggins , ID - Hiking - 29 miles

(About Top Trails)

#16. Liberty Lake Loop

Liberty Lake County Park is a popular picnicking area, with a swimming beach, cooking shelters, playground, campsites, and volleyball nets. But many people don’t realize the park extends far beyond th…

From the guidebook "100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest"
Spokane , WA - Hiking - 7.5 miles

#17. Sun Valley, Ketchum, & Hailey Area

The Sun Valley area is the best-known recreation spot in Idaho, renowned mainly for its ski areas but also for its summer recreation and resort facilities. Its international fame is such that the Sun…

From the guidebook "Camping Idaho"
Ketchum , ID - Campgrounds

(About Top Trails)

#18. Boise Basin Area

There are four “Boises” to know in southwest Idaho. One is the city, the state’s capital city and its largest. The others are off to its northeast, out of the valleyand up in the mountains. Boise Coun…

From the guidebook "Camping Idaho"
Idaho City , ID - Campgrounds

(About Top Trails)

#19. Mount Borah

The hike: Mount Borah is primarily a climber’s mountain, with one route (described here) accessible to the advanced hiker. This means that to get to and from the summit one must scramble (rock climb u…

From the guidebook "Hiking Idaho"
Challis , ID - Hiking - 7 miles

(About Top Trails)

#20. Bighorn Crags

The Bighorn Crags feature the most spectacular peaks and lakes in Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. And spectacular is definitely the right word. The scenery is absolutely delightful, with c…

From the guidebook "Backpacking Idaho"
Cobalt , ID - Hiking - 46 miles

(About Top Trails)