Finding Redfish Lake





Jac Roberson

 
© Copyright 2025 by Jac Roberson


 Photo of Redfish Lake Lodge courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo of Redfish Lake Lodge courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Traveling the vast western states has always been desirable and enjoyable for my family. Just driving from one beautiful location to another makes any trip worthwhile. We were always on the lookout for the next trip’s destination. Our family first visited Redfish Lake several years ago with our children while taking an extensive vacation from Austin, Texas. We always took summer trips to the mountains and the West to escape the heat and humidity. The trip included Great Basin National Park, Nevada; Humboldt Redwood State Park, California; Crater Lake National Park, Oregon; and Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. These are all premier vacation spots but between the crowds and the traffic, they are not always pleasant experiences. Even with all this well-known competition, Redfish Lake was by far our favorite spot. Since that time, we have revisited it many times with each visit being more rewarding than the last, in that we enjoy seeing earlier familiar areas and discovering new sites and views.

In the heart of Idaho is Redfish Lake, located within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA), approximately 120 miles northeast of Boise, Idaho along State Highway 21. At Stanley, Idaho, you travel southeast on State Highway 75 (Sawtooth Scenic Byway) for five miles to Redfish Lake. The Idaho State Centennial Trail is located just northeast of Redfish Lake. This 995.6-mile trail stretches from the Nevada border to the British Columbia border.

About 756,000 acres of the SNRA are designated lands from the Challis, Sawtooth, and Boise National Forests. The SNRA is home to nearly 1,000 miles of rivers and streams, over 1,100 lakes, and has forty peaks over 10,000 feet in elevation within its boundaries. Just west, adjacent to the SNRA, is the 217,088-acre Sawtooth Wilderness.

Redfish Lake is approximately 1,500 acres with a surface elevation of 6,547 feet. The water is crystal clear and usually very cold. Even on hot summer days, the water may only reach close to seventy degrees, and only the young and sturdy swim in these waters.

Redfish Lake was formed around 10,000 years ago through glacial movement creating a drainage basin associated with the Big Wood River. Like most glacial lakes the moraine was built up along the sides of the new lake and resulted in a dam at the far end. The lake reaches its deepest of around 400 feet at the end where the glacial movement began and shallower at the end where the glacier ran its course.

The lake was named for the numerous spawning Sockeye salmon there in earlier years. Salmon were so abundant that they created a red tint to the waters. The salmon made the nine-hundred-mile trip from the Pacific Ocean to the lake to spawn and then their smolts returned to the ocean along the same route. In 2020 there were less than twenty salmon that made it to Redfish Lake. It is a terrible shame that today only a few salmon can travel to the lake due to the numerous obstacles along the rivers between Redfish Lake and the Pacific Ocean. Many people are striving to restore this once-powerful natural phenomenon to Redfish Lake.

Redfish Lake drains via the Redfish Lake Creek, at its northeastern end, into the Little Redfish Lake and then to the Salmon River nearby. The Salmon River flows into the Snake River at the border of Idaho and Oregon, in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. The Snake River progresses westward and then flows into the Columbia River near the Tri-Cities area of Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco, Washington. The Columbia River flows into the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Oregon.

The surrounding eastern and southeastern landscape, creating most of the breathtaking views from Redfish Lake, are primarily of the Sawtooth Mountain Range located in the adjacent Sawtooth Wilderness Area. To the north is the Salmon-Challis National Forest and to the south is the Sawtooth National Forest. Also, not too far to the north is the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, the largest wilderness area in the lower 48 states, consisting of 2,366,757 acres.

It is no wonder that with all this designated public land surrounding Redfish Lake, natural and historic sites are abundant, plentiful recreation opportunities, and more picture-perfect camera shots than you can imagine. Whatever one is looking for in the wilderness it covers them all. Remote. Rugged. Adventure. Solitude. Breathtaking Scenery.

The natural sites within an hour or so of Redfish Lake are numerous. There are many high mountain peaks to view and climb. Castle Peak to the south, Mount Heyburn and Thompson Peak are close by to the west, while Borah Peak, Idaho’s highest mountain, with an elevation of 12,662 feet, is within sixty miles to the east. Numerous pristine mountain lakes are accessible by vehicular access and many more don the surrounding mountains. Several areas along the Salmon River and tributary creeks offer natural hot springs. A popular hangout is Sunbeam Hot Springs just off Highway 75 about 12 miles east of Stanley.

The areas to the north of Redfish Lake have an important Idaho mining history, offering several interpretive sites. The Yankee Fork Mining District is spread out along the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River located about 8 miles north of Sunbeam, Idaho. Here the miners dredged the river bottoms to process the stone to claim gold. Near the towns of Custer and Bonanza is the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge, a 988-ton monster barge that turns up the gravel to search for gold. The barge was an extensive operation which ran from 1899 to 1932, and the operation went bankrupt in 1934. The barge mined over 6,330,000 cubic yards of stream bed material and mined an estimated $1,037,000 in gold and silver during its operational years. During these boom mining days, several small towns emerged to house and provide life’s necessities to the miners and their families. Bonanza and Custer City were sister cities about three miles apart. Custer was founded in 1879 and reached its largest population of 600 in 1896. Custer was located a half mile from the General Custer Mine. Custer became a ghost town after the mine closed in 1911. Bonanza had a similar history, being settled in 1877. The State of Idaho has restored Custer as an interpretive area but Bonanza remains deserted. Bonanza is on private land.

There is a small rock formation in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area that housed Indians dating to about 10,000 years ago. There are many pictographs in the area. The primary Indian people inhabiting the local area were the Shoshone and Bannock tribes.

There is a total of about 133 campsites at over 34 campgrounds at or fairly close to Redfish Lake, most of them are National Forest Service units. Many are located on other nearby lakes such as Little Redfish Lake, Stanley Lake, Altrus Lake, and Pettit Lake. Most have facilities. There are several campsites along State Highway 75 and State Highway 21, as well as on Forest Road 913 north of Sunbeam, Idaho, which has a population of about 40. There is a National Forest Service Visitor Center, nature interpretive areas, and boat ramps near the lake.

The Redfish Lake Lodge is a unique attraction in the area. Built in 1929 by Robert Limbert on 16 acres of U.S. Forest Service land with a special permit. Robert Limbert was a famous mountain climber and Idaho explorer. He helped in establishing the Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. At the site originally, were canvas tent cabins, a dining room, a kitchen, three small cabins, and a boat dock. Although most of the rustic cabins were built in the 1930s, they were updated in 2006. The lodge has eight rooms, a lobby with the front desk, Limbert’s restaurant, and a rustic lounge. There are twenty-one historic and modern cabins and eleven motel-style units. The lodge is located approximately 100 feet from the edge of the lake. Next to the lodge is the General Store and the Redfish Lake Marina offering a pleasant boat guided tour and rentals. There is a large dock with a gas pump and boat birthing. The lodge owners even provide a hiking shuttle service. Limbert’s restaurant offers fine dining in a rustic setting. They serve a delicious full hearty breakfast menu and offer a chef-driven dinner menu with a fine wine list to boot.

Stanley, Idaho, with a population of 122, offers several lodging options and some good eating places. Stanley has opportunities to take scenic helicopter flights, a museum, rafting outfitters, and other recreational activities.
An abundance of recreational activities for all seasons is available in the area, including hiking, mountain climbing, lake and stream fishing, swimming, tour boat, rafting, picnicking, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, sail boating, boating, mountain biking, horseback riding, and wildlife photography.


Retired professional civil engineer who worked for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the National Park Service. I enjoy writing both fiction and nonfiction. One article published by the Living Blues Magazine concerning the Austin, Texas blues scene and scores of opinion letters to newspapers and magazines. Presently I have an article accepted to be published in two parts, September and October of 2025, with Star Publications. 



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