We were bummed to be leaving Sun Valley after 7 days, but it was time to move on. We made the one hour or so drive north to Stanley, Idaho. With lots of first come, first serve campgrounds and dispersed camping in the area, we chose to not make any reservations for our stay in Stanley (a rarity for us!). We found a great site at the Sunny Gulch Campground. Getting to the campground on a Monday in the late morning definitely helped us get a good site. The views from camp of the Sawtooths were stunning to say the least! Plus, it was right on the Salmon River. We even had some cell service, which wasn’t possible at the majority of the campgrounds in the area.
The first day in Stanley consisted of me working at the library, and Kyle and Mozzie doing some stream exploration. Summer is my busy time at work (yay money, boo stress), so I had a ton of work going on while we were in Idaho. Between Kyle, the wifi/cell service wizard, and the Stanley library, I didn’t miss any of my deadlines (yay). The Stanley library was actually quite fun to work at; it reminded me of my college days.
With another full work day needed for me, I wanted to sneak in a walk to Red Fish Lake in the morning of our second day. We heard that there was a dog beach there from our camp host, so we had to check it out. Seeing the lake in the morning before all the boats started up and the crowds descended was a smart decision. The lake was so quiet. Walking around the area, we could not believe how blue and pristine the water was. It’s amazing that this area isn’t a National Park.
After two long work days, I needed a break. We decided to do Goat Lake sans Mozzie as she was recovering from a paw injury. The trail was a dream for the first three miles – smooth, gradual, well marked, great views (minus the mosquitos). As soon as we started up the Goat Trail, we learned that it was aptly named. The last mile to the lake was incredibly steep and loose. It was worth it – just look at these views!
There is a ton of hiking around Stanley, but not that much in terms of biking. However, there was one trail near Stanley Lake that had really good reviews called the Elk Mountain Loop. We can confirm that this is an awesome trail! The bulk of the climbing was on a gentle, smooth dirt road and the downhill was rowdy enough for both me and Kyle. Then the views on the backside of the loop were unbelievable – wildflowers galore and the most serene alpine lake! If only we’d brought swimsuits and inflatable rafts…
We try to avoid doing things on weekends, but we only have so much time in an area. On Saturday, we did a little easy hike along Fishhook Creek with Mozzie. Thank goodness we remembered the bug spray on this one. The views at the end of the hike opened up to a beautiful valley. We took Mozzie to the dog beach afterward to try to get her to go in the water, but she wouldn’t go for it – not even for a stick!
Since Moz did so well on Saturday, we thought we would do a bigger hike on Sunday up to Sawtooth Lake. This is the most popular lake hike in the area. Mozzie got to meet lots of people, dogs, and even GOATS. This was a first for us and Mozzie; she was very interested and puzzled by the non-dog animals on the trail (ha). Sawtooth Lake was beautiful, but we still think that Goat Lake was more scenic (and way less people is always a plus).
We took it easy our last couple of days in Stanley. We enjoyed our daily evening walks down to the river. It was so nice to sit on a log, talk, and just listen to the sounds of the river. We were really starting to look forward to some cooler weather. It was in the 80s most days during our time in Stanley, but we managed to cope with the generator/batteries able to run to AC for the hottest part of the day. Excited to escape the heat (or so we hoped), we left Stanley and headed north/east toward the border of Montana/Idaho – stay tuned for that one!
– Andrea