Mill Lake is a nice sub-alpine lake located in central Idaho’s Smoky Mountains, just north of Ketchum. It’s a nice destination for a day hike or a family friendly overnight backpacking trip. With my wife out of town for the weekend, it was a good time for my sons and me to get out for a short backpacking trip. I came up with a few choices and let them make the selection. They chose Mill Lake. Partially because it was one of the shorter options, and partially because they like the way it looked in some on-line photos.

After a three hour drive from Boise to the Mill Lake trailhead on Prairie Creek, we were ready to go. The trailhead was marked, but the trail wasn’t obvious. We crossed the creek on some downed logs, then wandered through the woods for a while before finding the trail. (The alternate method is to head downstream a little way, and then wade across the creek to the obvious trail.)

The trail was nice as it made its way up along Mill Creek, with an abundance of wildflowers. As we go higher up, we could see storm clouds coming up behind us. We hustled to get under some trees and put on our sixty-eight cent ponchos while we waited. The rain paused briefly, and we took the opportunity to hustle up the trail to the edge of the lake. The storm wasn’t done by a long shot, so we quickly put up the tent and pilled in.

After an hour or so later, the rain started letting up so we got out and made our traditional hiking dinner of cheese quesadillas. The rain had finally stopped not long after dinner, so we took the opportunity to hike around the lake and skip some rocks. Possibly the highlight of the entire trip was the amazing echo that the lake basin provided. The boys and I had the lake to ourselves, so we made the most of it by yelling and hollering a variety of echo worthy calls and noises. If mom had been with us, she may not have been as impressed, but we found ourselves very entertaining.

The next morning dawned cool, but clear and sunny. I laid the tent out in the sun to dry while we walked down to the lake for breakfast. Soon enough it was time to hike back down the trail to the car. And of course a stop for ice cream on the way home.

Map of our route, just over 2 miles and 1100' elevation gain to Mill Lake. Almost 5 miles round trip including lap around the lake.	Prairie Creek crossing at the trailhead.	Start of the hike.	Hiking next to Mill Creek.	Storm clouds coming.
Setting up the tent during a break in the rain.	Evening view of Mill Lake after the rain.	Champion rock skippers.	View up the valley behind Mill Lake.	Hiking back down the trail.