Redfish Lake, Idaho, United States
Redfish Lake is the biggest in the Sawtooths, but situated
at the base of the mountains is really more a valley lake than a mountain lake. And it’s a real resort fringed by campground,
marinas, and other visitor facilities.
The sandy shores that create a turquoise-colored fringe to its otherwise
deep blue water, the clear skies, and the surrounded pine forest covered
mountains remind me somewhat of Lake Tahoe and other lakes in the Sierra
Nevada. That’s probably true of the Sawtooths and Central Idaho in general;
with a winter wet season and summer dry season west of the Continental Divide,
the scenery and vegetation are notably different because of the climate than in
the mountains along the main spine of the Rockies in Montana, Wyoming, and
Colorado where there’s usually more summer precipitation. None of the daily afternoon
summer thunderstorms typical of Colorado here in central Idaho.
I looked into the possibility of climbing Thompson Peak,
highest in the Sawtooths at 10,751 feet, a challenging hike in good conditions
with an over 4,000-foot elevation gain and significant scrambling.
I got warned
against it by a ranger, though. In
mid-July there is still too much snow on the route to do it without ice axe,
crampons, and other mountaineering gear.
So I settled something a bit less adventurous from my hiking
guide book for my day hike. The round-trip hike to Bench Lakes from Redfish
Lake is less than nine miles with only about an 1,100-foot elevation gain from
Redfish at 6,600. The route mostly
ascends a ridge along the north side of Redfish with many great views over the lake
that seem higher than the 900-foot max.
There are supposedly five Bench Lakes with beautiful views of the
surrounding peaks, but I only got to the first two accessed by a good
trail. Bench Lake number three
supposedly involves some bushwhacking, but the multiple routes I tried from the
second lake were unclear and all seemed to dead end, so I decided that was a
good spot to have my lunch before turning back.
Maybe the highlight of my day was getting back to the lodge
and marina at Redfish Lake where there was a band playing (crappy music in my
opinion) but a beautiful setting on a warm sunny afternoon. I treated myself to
a very satisfying margarita slushy.
2025-05-22