Exploring around Stanley, Idaho

Known as either the gateway to the Sawtooth Wilderness or the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, this area offers history, geology, nature, and a wide variety of recreational opportunities. And getting there is done via incredible scenic byways.

Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway

On our way to Stanley, we first travel the 33 mile Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway, which follows the canyon formed by the South Fork Payette River. There are many designated areas to pull off the road to take a look around, have a picnic, fish, play in the water, or even go for hike. We stop at several of these along the road.

Stop 1

This random pullout highlights the incredible cascades to be found in the South Fork Payette River directly across from wooded hillsides.

Stop 2

Looking east toward the Sawtooth Wilderness.

Stop 3 – Little Falls

Little Falls waterfall can be found just west of Little Falls Creek.

Stop 4

Random pullout between Little Falls and Birch Flat.

Stop 5

Approaching Big Falls.

Stop 6 – Big Falls

Our next stop is to see “Big Falls”.

Stop 7

This stop just east of Big Falls occurs at a dramatic bend in road and overlooks an area recovering from the 2016 Pioneer Fire.

Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway

At the town of Lowman the Wildlife Scenic Byway transitions into the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway. Running from Boise to Stanley the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway follows the Upper South Fork Payette River and is known for it’s stunning landscapes through the historic gold-mining country.

Kirkham Hot Springs

Our first stop along this byway is the Kirkham Hot Springs, which requires us to cross the North Payette River.

After heading west and reaching the short trail at the end of the parking lot, we find the hot springs along the edge of the river.

Heading back to the truck we walk along the south side of the parking lot to find additional springs lining the hillside.

This natural hot spring features rustic concrete pools with varying temperatures, surrounding by beautiful mountains. We find several visitors enjoying these pools, and they do look very inviting; but we unfortunately don’t have time to try them ourselves.

Sawtooth Range Scenic Overlook

At this stop we see the dramatic Sawtooth Mountains in the background with evidence of the Wapiti fire that swept through area in 2024. This view provides a stark reminder of the destructive power of fire as well as natures resilience.

Valley Creek

Located just west of Stanley, Idaho this Salmon River tributary stretches ~28 miles in length and is known for it’s scenic views and year-round fly fishing opportunities.

Salmon River Scenic Byway

This 163 mile route follows the Salmon River from Stanley all the way to the Montana border. We followed this byway earlier this summer from Challis, ID to the Montana border and now we get to do the Stanley to Challis portion.

Lower Stanley

Our journey begins in Lower Stanley, just NE of Stanley proper.

Cove Creek Hot Springs

Our next stop is the at the Cove creek Hot Springs; which remain a mystery to us as other than a sign post next to the road, we didn’t actually find them. Just a few people fishing.

Blind Creek

Our stop at Blind Creek provides an excellent view of some cascades along the Salmon River as well as beautiful forest views just beginning to show some fall color changes.

Sunbeam Hot Springs

Unlike earlier, it’s hard to miss the Sunbeam Hot Springs as the steam can easily be seen from the road. The spring begins on the north side of the road and flows under it through the pipe seen in the upper right of the picture below. The temperature of the water coming out of this pipe is extremely hot, almost to the point of scalding. The water then flows down the hillside into the river creating steam pockets as it goes.

Stovepipe Springs

Another view of the Salmon River, this time at sunset.

Muley Creek

Standing on the bridge across the Salmon River just west of where Muley Creek flows into it.

Indian Riffles

Looking at the water, it’s not hard to see why this porting of the river has been designated as Indian Riffles. This area is recognized as a historic Chinook salmon spawning ground, with the salmon migration covering nearly 1,000 miles from source to sea.

Badger Creek

Located just East of Badger Creek is a wide pullout where fly fisherman can park and try their luck where the river does a U-turn. For us, it provides a great place to showcase the different views that can be seen along this road depending on the direction you’re looking.

Custer Motorway Adventure Road

This road is a driving tour of the Historic Yankee Fork Mining District. It starts at Challis and ends at the Sunbeam Dam located on the Salmon River.

We approach this historic motorway backwards as our campground is between the last two points on the tour.

Sunbeam Dam

Built in 1910, this concrete arch dam was constructed where the Yankee Fork meets the main river to provide hydroelectric power for the Sunbeam mining operation. It was 95 feet wide, 35 feet high and required 300 tons of concrete. The power plant only operated for 1 year; but had a dramatic impact on the salmon population for ~2 decades until the Idaho Fish and Game Department used dynamite to breach the dam in 1934.

Flat Rock Campground

This small campground (only 6 sites) is nestled long Forest Road 13 directly across from the Yankee Fork River. Despite being along a road, this campground is surprisingly quiet (at least in the fall) and is completely surrounded by nature. It’s also first come, first served and very reasonably priced at $10/night.

Road north from Campground

Heading north from the campground the road landscape begins to change.

Shortly before we reach Bonanza City we cross a bridge over the North Fork Yankee River that provides a beautiful view of the landscape.

Bonanza City

A little further up the road we spot the Guard Station and get out to take in the scenery.

The new Guard Station and Cemetery are only 0.5 miles up the road, so we leave the truck and head up on foot.

The cemetery is interesting as it has headstones from the 1800 all way to the 1960’s. There are also many wooden markers with “Unknown” on them. But, although they didn’t seem to know who was where, there was a list of everyone buried here and the country they were from.

Yankee Fork Gold Dredge

This well-preserved piece of machinery has been turned into a museum offering tours during the summer. But even if you don’t go during the tour dates, there are information boards along the path surrounding the dredge explaining the history of the dredge and the gold mining history of the area dating back to 1939.

Retaining it’s title of the largest self-powered dredge to ever operate in Idaho, this 112 foot long, 54 foot wide, 64 foot high dredge weighs 988 tons. From 1940 to 1952 it dug out rock then washed and separated the rock, dirt, and gold. It was donated to the US Forest Service in 1979. Shortly thereafter, some former employees and their families created a volunteer organization to restore it as well as provide guided tours.

Custer City

One of the most popular and well preserved ghost towns in Idaho, Custer City was established in 1879 as a mining town. It experienced a boom in the early 1880’s following the discovery of gold and silver in the area and reached a population of nearly 1,000.

From Memorial Day through Labor Day, there are volunteers in period costumes roaming the town to answer any questions visitors may have. It must be quite the experience.

But, we arrive just as park employees (Federal & State) are boarding it up for the winter. We walked the entire town as they were doing this, so some of buildings are boarded up and some aren’t. Luckily we picked up a “Walking Guide” of the town when we visited Challis, Idaho earlier this summer as almost all of the plaques have already been removed.

Our intention is to turn around here; but it’s such a beautiful day we’ve decide to complete the road.

General Custer Mill Site

Located just east of Custer City, this mill was constructed in 1880 to process gold ore from the General Custer Mine and was later used by the Lucky Boy Mine on Custer Mountain. It was a large, steam-powered, 30-stamp mill with a capacity to process 900 tons of ore each month. It operated through the 1890’s and was demolished in the 1930’s only leaving remnants behind.

Custer Cemetery

When the road to Bonanza, Idaho was closed by deep snow, burials were made here. There are only 7 known graves and one of them is for a 7 month old baby.

The story posted here is that the child often struggled to breathe and the steam from hot water aided this ailment. So, the mother always kept water on the stove in case it was needed. Unfortunately, one day when the child really needed it’s treatment… a visiting neighbor, thinking they were doing the mother a favor, had used the water to wash dishes and didn’t replace it. By the time the mother was able to get some water boiling, the child had suffocated.

Eleven Mile Barn

According to the Custer Motorway Adventure Road brochure… “Stagecoach drivers changed horses while passengers refreshed themselves for the next run.”

Homestead Station

One of several stagecoach stops along this road, it was operated by James Dwyer, who advertised that visitors could expect “a square meal” in a “neat and clean environment.”

Tollgate Station

Erected in 1879 by Toponce & Company, the station was operated by Charles & Harriet Keene from 1880-1889. There are only ruins remaining here.

Greenwood Station

Fannie Clarke operated two stagecoach stations along this road offering “comfortable accommodations and a choice menu.” Ironically they were known at “Fannie’s Lower Hole” and “Fannie’s Upper Hole.” Oh, how the nuance of language changes over time.

Corkscrew Grade & Slab Barn

The Corkscrew Grade is visible in the picture below on the hill at the back of the small ranch. Extra teams were needed for the steep, hard pull and the driver had to change horses at Slab Barn near a small natural lake.

The road down to Cartwright Gulch

The view down this hill provides dramatic landscapes of the surrounding area.

Cartwright Gulch

It’s here where the toll road began. It followed the gulch north, then turned west toward Mill Creek, went up to Pine Summit and on to Greenwood Station. This is the only deviation of the Custer Motorway from the original toll road.

Bayhorse Ghost Town

After stopping for an early dinner in Challis on the way back to camp, we decide to visit Bayhorse Ghost Town nestled in the canyon where Beardsley Creek merges with Bayhorse Creek.

This area is said to have been founded in 1864 after prospectors met a man with two bay horse who told of a rich mining ground. After investigation, the area was indeed rich in copper and silver and drew hundreds of people hoping to strike it rich. In honor of the initial interaction that lead to this find, the creek, town, and mining district were named Bayhorse.

This incredibly well preserved town is part of the Land of the Yankee Fork State Park.

Sawtooth Scenic Byway

Running between Shoshone, Idaho and Stanley, Idaho this byway passes rugged mountain peaks as it carves its way through the Boulder Mountains to the base of the Sawtooth Mountain Range. We begin the byway at Stanley traveling south and along the way we find lakes, stunning overlooks, bike paths, and more.

Stanley, Idaho

Just east of Stanley along the Salmon River is the Sawtooth Scenic Byway information kiosk, as well as a stunning view of the river and a boat launch.

Redfish Lake Creek

Our next stop is to get a view of Redfish Lake Creek from a bridge on the Scenic Byway.

Entrance to Redfish Lake Recreation Area

We then turn left into the Redfish Lake Recreation Area where we find the Redfish Lake Trailhead. This is the beginning of the Redfish to Stanley multiuse trail running along the scenic byway. We also find a wooden bridge spanning the creek and marshlands full of wildlife.

Little Redfish Lake

The next stop is Little Redfish Lake where we access the shoreline from the Mountain View Campground.

This campground is incredible. It’s small, with many sites right on the shoreline of the lake providing incredible views of the Sawtooth Mountains.

Fishhook Trail

Next, we head to Redfish Trailhead to hike 4.5 miles (out & back) along the Fishhook Creek Trail. After parking we initially head down the Bear Trap Trail; which leads us through the dense woods, along the creek before joining the Fishhook Trail.

From the parking lot, this is the alternate route for accessing the Fishhook Trail and in our opinion, it should not be missed.

Once we join the Fishhook Trail we head straight to the Fishhook Creek marshlands with an incredible backdrop of the Sawtooth Wilderness.

On the way back, we stop to capture the varied landscape we pass along trail.

Redfish Lake

After a quick snack following our hike, we head down to get a view of Redfish Lake. This alpine lake is the largest lake withing the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. We find a few visitors here enjoying the water; but we have it mostly to ourselves.

On the way back to the parking lot, we get an incredible view of the Sawtooth Mountains from North shore.

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time exploring this area; but each day is getting colder. Which means, it’s time to head further south.

Bethine & Frank Church Overlook

On the way through the Boulder Mountains we stop at the Bethine & Frank Church Overlook near the Galena Summit. This spot at ~8500 feet provides spectacular views.

Hulen Meadows Trailhead – Wood River Trail

Next, we stop for lunch at the top of the Wood River Trail. This multiuse path runs ~20 miles south roughly following the Big Wood River through the towns of Ketchum, Hailey, and Bellevue.

We were hoping to go for a ride; but we arrive much later than planned and need to get to our next stop. The campground is first come-first serve, requiring an early arrival to secure a site.

Next stop… Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve