North Fork Lake is a stunning alpine lake located in central Idaho’s Boulder Mountains. It sits at the headwaters of the North Fork Big Lost River, and is accessed by circling around to the north side of the range. The lake can be reached as a day hike or as a short backpacking trip. The trail is a bit hard to follow in places, so you should have good map reading and navigation skills if you plan to visit North Fork Lake.

North Fork Lake had been high on my list of family backpacking destinations for a while now. My wife in kids had never been to the Boulders before, so they were excited to see some new terrain, even though the drive from Boise to the trailhead, via Ketchum and Trail Creek Road, takes nearly 4 hours.

It was about 2pm by the time we reached the trailhead. The trail goes downhill briefly, and then crosses the “river”. Early on, the trail follows an old jeep road that gradually fades into a single track that meanders through the forest. There were lots of wildflowers and a few fun little stream crossings. It can was somewhat hard to stay on the intermittent trail in places, so we kept our eyes open for blazes and cairns.

After the first mile and a half or so, the grade got steeper and we began to climb up out of the valley and up toward the lake. The views also started opening up about this same time, revealing some of the rugged surrounding peaks. It took us about two and a half hours to reach the lake, covering just over three miles and 1300’ of elevation gain.

Once at the lake, we were in awe of our surroundings. This lake is a real Idaho hidden gem, and is one of the more scenic places I’ve been. The lake is good sized, with a massive cirque surrounding it. Ryan Peak, tallest mountain in the Boulders, provides some massive two-thousand foot tall cliffs that form an amazing backdrop for the lake.

The boys had fun skipping rocks, while I set up camp and made dinner. After we ate, it was time for the obligatory hike around the lake. We stopped to play on a snowfield, took a bunch of photos of the abundant wildflowers, and then made our way up the inlet stream to check out small waterfall. It was about this time that we heard some big thunderclaps, and the rain began pouring down on us shortly after that.

We tried to take shelter under some trees. But it became apparent that the rain wasn’t going to let up anytime soon, so we high-tailed it back to camp and jumped into the tent. It was too early to fall asleep, so we laid there listening to the rain for a while. After the rain stopped, we snuck out of the tent to take some photos of the lake as the sun was setting.

The next morning was bright and sunny. The boys went back to skipping rocks while I made breakfast. My wife tried to get in a few more winks of sleep before the warm sun drove her out of the tent. After breakfast, we broke camp and spent some more time soaking in the views of the lake. My oldest son pointed out that all the different colors of rock on the mountains behind the lake reminded him of a painter’s pallet. The boys agreed that it was the prettiest lake they had camped at so far, and were very excited that their mom was along with us to “set the record”.

The hike out was uneventful, and we all enjoyed being headed downhill. The boys took turns leading the way, and it was a good adventure for them to navigate through sections where the trail was sparse. We made it back to the trailhead without incident. But it was a warm day, and everyone was looking forward to an ice cream cone once we got back to town.

Map of the route, just under 7 miles round trip, 1300' gain.	On the trail during the hike in.	We made it!	Lots of wildflowers.	Playing on a snowfield.
Me and my better half.	Family portrait.	Skipping rocks.	Exploring around the inlet.	Racing back to camp during the storm.
After the storm.	Panoramic view of North Fork Lake.	Check out that reflection!	During the hike back down.	Back at the trailhead.