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Lake Marie

Island Park, Idaho

hike Hiking Trail

backpack Backpacking Trail

Flag as NOT Free

9.7 miles N of Island Park, Idaho

Address:	Sawtell Peak Rd, Island Park, ID 83429, USA
GPS:	44°33'14.9"N 111°26'42.6"W Maps \| Directions
State:	Idaho
Trail Length:	9.00 miles
Trail Type:	Out & Back
Hike Difficulty:	Beginner
Trails/Routes:	4.2 mi

Backpack and Hike

Lake Marie sits on the North slope of Mount Jefferson in Fremont County, Idaho. The trail to get there cuts back and forth across the Idaho Montana border 4 times. Much of the trail is fairly flat along the ridge of the Continental Divide with mild ups and downs going each way. When the ridge begins to ascend toward Mount Jefferson, the trail vears North as it works it way across Jefferson. You'll go down some switchbacks through the trees which is about the only real shade on the trail. Then you'll travel West through a meadow full of wildflowers of all colors. After the meadow, you'll follow along the rocky trail across the Northern slope until it does a sharp turn to go back East. From there, there are a couple of options but essentially, you just need to head North until you see Rock Creek and ultimately drop in to Lake Marie.

Once you reach the lake, there is a beautiful meadow. with the trickling rock creek coming into it and another small stream leading out of it. Because Lake Marie is so freshly fed by the snowmelt from Mount Jefferson, the size varies dramatically between spring and fall but one thing will be constant: the water is cold.

Mapped Route/Trail Distances

Lake Marie

4.2 miles

View on Map

30.5K Written by endovereric

More Information

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Be courteous, informed, and prepared. Read trailhead guidelines, stay on the trail, and don't feed the wildlife.

Plan Ahead and Prepare
Travel & camp on durable surfaces
Dispose of waste properly
Leave what you find
Minimize campfire impacts
Respect wildlife
Be considerate of other visitors

Directions

From Island Park, Idaho

Head north on US-20 E toward Forest Rd 139 (7.1 mi)
Turn left onto Sawtelle Peak Rd
Destination will be on the left
(9.7 mi)

endovereric

9/1/17 11:50 am

31 Aug 2017 "ATTENTION... CHARGING GRIZZLY BEAR NEAR ISLAND PARK. A hiker on the Lake Marie Trail south of Sawtell Peak near Island Park Idaho was charged twice by a grizzly bear. The hiker deployed bear spray and was able to safely get away from the bear. Hikers are warned to use caution if you go on this trail or avoid the trail for the next week or so to prevent another encounter with this bear. The bear could be defending cubs, or its food." https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=773079676187527&id=389421041220061

endovereric

6/30/17 11:19 pm 6/27/15

This is a beautiful hike and a great one to run. I came up later than the rest of my group and had to catch up. The ups and downs were great. I'm not a real trail runner but it wasn't too bad to run the downs and walk the ups. It would have been great if I would have realized it was 4.5 miles in rather than the 2-3 that I thought it was. The lake was pretty muddy but still great. Rock Creek was pretty cool as was the outlet. I walked to the other side to look out the North end of the range. The forest North of the lake was actually really refreshing.

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