Lake Serene is located in the Payette National Forest, within an area called the Grassy Mountains. The trailhead is located about 25 miles from McCall, near the Hard Creek Guard Station. This is the same trailhead used to access to more well-known Grassy Twin Lakes. Lake Serene is a good day hike destination, covering about five miles round trip through wildflower covered hillsides and meadows. It is also a nice short overnight backpacking destination. Wear lots of sunscreen though, since most of this area has been burned during wildfires over the years.

My sons and I made the 3+ hour drive from Boise, and arrived at the trailhead at just after 2pm. The parking lot was totally packed with cars. But we only saw two other parties during our hike, so all the crowds were probably at Grassy Twin Lakes.

The Lake Serene trail is well maintained and pretty gradual for the first half mile or so. There are several pretty meadows, a couple small stream crossing to hop across, and tons of wildflowers. Then there’s another half mile of uphill before trail starts a more level traverse along the hillside, aiming toward a saddle on the ridge northeast of the lake. We had some great views during the traverse section, and stopped a couple times to soak them in. We stopped for some bird watching too, where we got to see several blue birds, woodpeckers, chickadees, and the like.

Total elevation gain from the trailhead to the saddle was just under 800 feet, so not too bad. After reaching the saddle, we then made a steep descent of about 400 feet, followed by a final 100 foot climb back up to the lake, which is tucked in a small cirque, making for a great backdrop to the lake.

The lake is very nice, and doesn’t appear to see a whole lot of traffic. The boys cooled off in the lake while I put up the tent at an existing campsite on the north side of the lake. By this time we were ready for some dinner, so I made our usual backpacking meal of quesadillas. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite get our fill since an opportunistic squirrel grabbed one and drug it away when we weren’t looking. The boys got a big kick out of that.

After dinner, we had a fun time hiking around the lake. It was kind of brushy, so we used fallen logs as paths to help us get around. I at a bunch of huckleberries along the way, but the boys weren’t as interested in those. But they were pretty intrigued by the wild mint growing in bunches near the northeast corner of the lake. By the time we got back to camp, it was time to crawl into the tent to get some sleep.

During the night, we got woken up the sounds of thunder claps and bright lightning. The boys drifted back to sleep while counting the seconds between each lightning flash and succeeding thunder. At one point I stuck my head of the tent and could actually see a small fire that had started high up on a distant ridge to the north.

The next morning the rain was still sprinkling, so I made oatmeal in the vestibule and we all stayed in the tent for breakfast. But the sun came out soon enough, and it was time to break camp and hit the trail for home. After the initial steep climb back up to the saddle, it was smooth sailing back to the car. It was a beautiful morning, and the wildflowers continued to impress. But the most entertaining thing was watching two fire helicopters circling back and forth while doing water drops on a couple small fires in the distance that had been started by lightning during the night.

It had been a fun trip with my sons. I love being out in nature with them. And they love that we got to stop for ice cream on the way home!

Map of the route, 5 miles and 1400' elevation gain, round trip.	During the hike in.	Stream crossing.	Wildflowers galore.
Bluebird.	Descending briefly before climbing back up to the lake.	Boulder hopping near Lake Serene.	Cooling off after the hike in.
Panoramic view of Lake Serene.	A creative path for our hike around the lake.	Fun times at Lake Serene.	Another panoramic view of the lake in the morning.
During the hike out.	Did I mention the wildflowers?	Helicopters fighting a small wildfire.	Back at the trailhead.