Island Park RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERYONE

AAt the northern most area of eastern Idaho, Island Park represents the recreational hub of the Targhee National Forest. Long known for the outstanding winter recreation opportunities and snowmobile trails, Island Park is trying to expand its summer tourism by improving an already popular ATV/ORV trail system. The area has hundreds of miles of Forest Service access roads that allow all-wheeled traffic. Many of the trails are interconnected, allowing for plenty of riding opportunities and route loops.

Due to the amount of trails in the Targhee National Forest, you need to be aware of trail restrictions and seasonal access.

Highlights

Henry’s Fork of the Snake River dissects the Island Park area and serves as the main attraction for both summer and winter visitors. Coming out of the earth at Big Springs, about 120 million gallons of water bubbles out of the mountain and serves as the primary source for the Henry’s Fork. Although the snow stacks deep from November through May, the summer season offers some fantastic ORV opportunities. The area is also a gateway community for Yellowstone National Park.

Trail Tip

With elevations starting at 6,000 feet and climbing, this country is packed with snow during the winter. So it does take some time for the trails to open for wheeled travel. The best time to visit is from June through October. Weather changes quickly, pack your rain gear.

More To Know

The Henry’s Fork of the Snake River features some of the West’s best fly fishing. There are also great fishing opportunities in Henry’s Lake and Island Park Reservoir. But if you’re not in to fishing, the ORV trails will allow you to check out the scenic beauty unique to Island Park.

Red Rock Road

GREAT PHOTO OPS AND FISHING. EASY RIDE.

North of Island Park Village, just before you reach Henry’s Lake Outlet, the Red Rock Road stems off Highway 20 and heads 12 miles to the Montana state line at Red Rock Pass. This road is open to all vehicles.

Once you get at Red Rock Pass there are forest service roads that will allow you access to a lot of area, and can even take you as far as the Montana towns of Lima, Dillon and Jefferson City. You can also reach the 200acre Elk Lake — one of our favorite high country waters. It’s full of trout, grayling and mountain whitefish.

Big Springs Loop

SHORT AND SCENIC. EASY TO INTERMEDIATE.

Coming out of Island Park Village, the Big Springs Loop is a popular attraction for tourists and features a 10-mile loop that goes from Macks Inn to Big Springs and back to Island Park Village (about a mile north of Macks Inn on Highway 20).

Although this loop is popular to automobiles, there are a bunch of connecting trails, including the Railroad Right-of-way Trail, that allows you to move off the main road at various locations.

It also connects to the Meadow Creek Trail that loops around the western base of Two Top Mountain. You can also connect to the Black Canyon Trail that will take you into Montana and connect with the West Yellowstone trail system.

Bpa Access Trail

YELLOWSTONE COUNTRY. EASY ACCESS.

As you enter Island Park, you will pass a variety of access roads on both sides of Highway 20. The roads on the east side of Highway 20 tend to work their way east and connect to the BPA Access Trail coming out of Last Chance.

The BPA Access trail basically parallels Highway 20 and works its way south as it connects to various trails and forest service roads. The first along the way is the Old Chick Creek Trail (FS 117). This trail takes you to the Railroad Right-of-way trail, the Chick Creek Road (FS 291) and all the way over to the Fish Creek Road (FS 082) that parallels the Yellowstone National Park boundary to the Black Canyon Trail.

The BPA Access Trail dumps into the REA Powerline Trail (FS 590) that continues south and connects to the Wood Road 14 Trail, Wood Road 12 Trail and Powerline Spur 1 Trail before ending at the East Hatchery Ford Road (FS 351).

The BPA Access Trail also heads north from Last Chance, paralleling Highway 20 and connecting to the Railroad Right-of-way trail and over to Big Springs.

Sawtell Peak Road

SCENIC OVERLOOKS. EASY RIDE.

Ready for a winding tour to the top of the forest? Head west from Island Park Village onto Sawtell Peak Road. This is a popular route for the ORV crowd since it climbs its way to the top of Sawtell Peak, elevation 9,900 feet. From the top of Sawtell you can look in all directions with spectacular vistas, and also get a closeup view of the FAA long-range radar installation. Don’t forget your coat!

The 10-mile road is only accessible to the public when the snow melts enough to make the road safe and passable. The East Sawtell Trail (FS 455) gives you limited access to the base of the mountain. Or you can go south on the Stamp Meadows Road (FS 052) which will work its way over to the Yale Creek Road where you can access the Island Park Reservoir system or continue traveling west to Kilgore and the Dubois trail system.

SOUTH ANTELOPE/NORTH ANTELOPE TRAILS

REMOTE RIDES. INTERMEDIATE TO CHALLENGING.

On the west side of Highway 20 on the southern part of Island Park there are multiple roads heading west that interconnect. Within this complex of all-vehicle routes you will find several 50-inch trails to allow for a better access to more remote areas in the region.

The South Antelope Flat Trail (FS 553), which connects to the Big Bend Ridge Trail in the Ashton trail system, travels 13 miles before connecting back to the North Antelope Trail (FS 168). These two trails loop around the Parallel Trail (FS 556), Stock Trail (FS 555), High Point Trail (FS 319) and the Little Butte Trail (FS 317). The Antelope Cutoff (FS 771) also connects the two Antelope trails.

At the west end of the South Antelope Trail is the Fir Trail (FS 557) which connects the Cinder Butte Trail (FS 621) to the Bishop Mountain Trail (FS 120), which comes off the North Antelope Trail.

Also connected to the Fir Trail is the Fog Butte Trail which ties in the Fremont County trails and BLM routes. If you continue west on the Fir Trail you connect to the Bishop Burn Trail (FS 552) which either takes you north to the Island Park Reservoir area or farther west Bishop Well or Davis Lake trails, which both tie back to Island Park Reservoir.