Redfish Lake — Attraction in Clayton

Redfish Lake is a magical lake in the Sawtooth Valley, Stanley Idaho. The lake is nestled at the base of the jagged peaks of the Sawtooth Mountains and was formed by glaciers years ago. It has been a travel destination for years due to the hundreds of mountain lakes, trails, hiking, backpacking, camping, rock climbing, fishing, and spectacular scenery. The lake got its name from the Sockeye Salmon that would come to spawn and were so plentiful that it made the lake look red. The lake is almost 400' deep at its southern end and 5 miles long. It is used by scuba divers for training because of the unique terrain of the shoreline that drops off dramatically. There are two popular areas for scuba diving. One of the areas off the beach is Schoolhouse Rock, a 14' in diameter, 20' tall rock that rises up from the bottom to within 20' of the surface. The other is on the southern end, where trees that were uprooted from a landslide were deposited upside down at a depth of 80'. Since the lake is so clear, you can actually see them from the surface of the water. The water is a cool 64 degrees in the summer, so you can swim on a warm day. The lake has a gravel bottom lending to its clarity. As always, leave it better than you found it...

THE ROAD TO GET HERE IS KNOWN FOR THE HIGHWAY OF NO RETURN ROCK FALLS ON THE EDGE OF A CLIFF POT HOLES AGAINST A RIVER DO NOT COME HERE YOUR GOING UP A MOUNTAIN RANGE THE HIGHWAY IS TAKEN CARE OF BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND NOT MAINTAINED. No cell service all the way up. On star is your only option if you hit a deer. NOT ONLY will you almost die driving but hope you don’t get off the road or hit a deer on the way up! There’s no help for you. Then nowhere to eat once you get up here and no where to stay it’s all booked and busy and gas was...

Scenery is great, review is for the park in general. Trails are pretty good but could use some tree clearing. Some of the signage was pointed wrong/unclear but if you had a map it was fine. The upper lakes were pretty crowded. Hate to see a permit system but with so many new hikers, who don't understand camp etiquette, it actually was cause for us to come out a day early. Lodge and services at the trailhead were good though people in general are messy and the staff couldn't keep up in the restrooms...