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Upper Palisades Lake |
Palisades Creek Trail is located about
50 miles southeast of Idaho Falls and about 60 miles west
of Jackson Hole WY in Swan Valley Idaho, The four mile hike
up to lower Palisades Lake or the 6.2 mile hike to Upper
Palisades Lake (elevation 6800 feet) provide some of the
best mountain views in the Swan Valley region. Palisades
Creek
Trail is
well
maintained
and can be used only by hikers, backpackers or horses as
it is in the Palisades wilderness study area. If you choose
to hike up to Upper Palisades Lake, 2 miles above
Lower Palisades Lake you have to leave Palisades Creek trail
and turn up Waterfall Canyon and it is just a short distance
up Waterfall Canyon.
Both lakes were formed when giant landslides came down the canyon and dammed
the creek. Palisades Canyon is thickly forested with fir, aspen and willow.
It is a canon of steep magnificent cliffs. The Lower Palisades Lake is much
smaller than the Upper Palisades Lake and because of its proximity receives
most of the traffic. Upper Palisades Lake is in a beautiful valley surrounded
by forest and is a great place for camping. As one of the main spawning tributaries
for the South Fork of the Snake River. Palisades Creek is teaming with native
cutthroat trout even long after the spawn is over. Both lakes provide good
fishing also. Moose frequent the area as well as elk, deer and mountain goats,
there are plenty of bear and mountain lions but it is rare to see them. If
you scan the mountain walls you may see mountain goats if you get lucky. I've
gotten lucky four times.
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Both lakes and the creek provide good fishing opportunities |
The Trail doesn't end at Upper Palisades Lake; from upper Palisades
Lake you can continues up Waterfall Canyon and connects with Little Elk Creek
Trail. You can also continue up Palisades Creek past the turnoff for Upper
Palisades Lake. This part of the trail there doesn't provide any bridges so
there several crossings of Palisades Creek that make this part of the trail
a bit more trying. It's best to travel this section of trail later in the year
when the water is lower. Not many people continue beyond the lakes, so it is
a great way to lose the crowds. By continuing up Palisades Creek you will reach
Mosquito Creek trail, which leads into Jackson Hole, or you can also drop into
Mail Cabin Creek from the divide and come out at the bottom of Teton Pass.
The trail up to the Palisades Lakes is one of the most popular trails in eastern Idaho because the lakes offer excellent fishing, gorgeous mountain scenery, good wildlife viewing possibilities, easy hiking and a Forest Service campground at the entrance of the canyon. Many bridges cross the creek and make the route easier for hikers and horseback riders to traverse the canyon. If you wish to avoid the crowds try to go during the week or in spring or fall, it is much more quiet then. It is also a great place for a cross-country ski in the winter but wait until there is good snow coverage as there are many sharp rocks in the trail to cover.
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Backpackers love this access into the Palisades Wilderness Study Area. |
Getting there
From Idaho Falls drive southeast from Swan Valley on U.S. Highway 26 to Irwin.
Turn left on the Palisades Creek Road at the sign for Palisades Creek Campground.
Follow this road for 1.5 miles. Just before the campground and the bridge that
crosses the creek is a parking area. On the other side of the creek to the
right is a horse staging area. The new trailhead is at the horse staging area.
If you are coming from the Wyoming side, Palisades Creek Road is about 2 miles
north of Palisades reservoir dam on the right.
A few stories from others
Chicken Springs Canyon and the Upper Palisades Lake Overlook
by Jim Steele
“I went hiking and things didn’t go according to plan” is sometimes a euphemism for “I went hiking and something really bad happened.” My plan Saturday was to hike up to the Upper Palisades Lake in Idaho. When I was stopped by a bridge that was out, I went exploring - and instead discovered the Upper Palisades Lake Overlook.--------------------> more |
