Our Trail Spotlight highlights day trips to multi-day hikes across Idaho. Trail conditions can change quickly- swollen rivers can become impassable, windstorms can knock trees down across trails, and snow can come earlier than expected. Please take these recommendations as a jumping off place and do additional research to understand current conditions and keep yourself safe if you choose to hike this trail. Physical guidebooks and maps are always good to have or check out some online resources like Alltrails.com for updated trail reports. If your trip is as awesome as you hope it will be, please share photos and feedback!

Photo by Drew Satterthwaite
Title: Alpine Way
Recommended by: Alex Cravener, ITA Trail Projects Director
Duration: Day Hike, possible backpacking
Area: Sawtooth Wilderness
Difficulty Rating: 2.5/5 1500 feet of elevation gain, over 5 miles. A few steeper sections with most of the trail having a gradual grade.
Road Considerations: Paved all the way to the trailhead
Total hiking miles: 5 miles one way
The Hike: Starting at the popular Redfish Trailhead, take the Fishhook trail for 0.7 miles to the Marshall Lake Cut off, up through an aspen grove. Then follow the Alpine Lake Trail along the ridge which gradually climbs up with great views looking down at Redfish Lake and up at the jagged Sawtooth Peaks. Four miles in there’s a junction you could take to continue to Johnson Peak, or continue the last mile to Switchback down to Marshall Lake. The forested lake sits under a waterfall with a horse camp and several backpacking camps. Short enough to be a day trip with an alpine swim! If you want more, this could also be the start of a longer trip through the Sawtooth Wilderness. Continue to hike along the Alpine Way Trail with views of the Stanley Basin and surrounding mountain ranges poking through the trees. One could stage vehicles at Iron Creek for a one way hike and a short shuttle back to Redfish.
Places to camp along the way: Lots of camping near Stanley, Idaho, and several backcountry camp spots around Marshall Lake.
Things to consider: We encountered lots of mosquitos in the spring at the lake. Alpine Way is clear for the first few miles, barring no big wind storms, and there is still a 2.5 section of down trees with some log scrambling left (maybe a 2026 project!) but after the Goat Falls Trail, it’s more maintained.

Photo by Rebekah Svadlenka

Photo by Sarah Antrobus

Photo by Sarah Antrobus

Photo by Alex Cravener

Photo by Abigail Miller
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