Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Idaho / White Cloud Mountains

Big Boulder Lakes via Walker Lake

Cecil D. Andrus–White Cloud Wilderness, Sawtooth National Recreation Area (Livingston Mill, south of Clayton)

The Big Boulder Lakes fill a high basin in the White Cloud Mountains, which one backpacker calls the neighbor range to the Sawtooths. A well-built trail climbs about seven miles to Walker Lake, and past that the maintained trail ends. From there, backpackers follow cairns and use trails up to a cluster of lakes below the peaks.

It’s a big day in and harder going above that. Photographer Alan Majchrowicz says the basin sees fewer visitors than the Boulder Chain Lakes to the south, partly because of the long drive to the trailhead.

The hike

The trip starts at the Big Boulder Creek Trailhead near Livingston Mill. One photographer puts the large parking area at about 7,200 feet and says the last mile or two of road is narrow with a steep drop-off. The trail winds through sagebrush at first and parallels the old mill complex for about half a mile, according to one trip report. Another calls the abandoned Livingston Mine a cool, if eerie, look at Idaho’s mining history.

The first two miles are multi-use trail. The Mountaineers say the Livingston Mill/Castle Divide Trail is open to motorcycles, and the Big Boulder Trail you turn onto is not. At about 2.5 miles, one report says, a junction sends the left fork up to the Boulder Chain Lakes. The route to Walker and Island Lakes goes straight across a log footbridge.

Around four miles in, one trip report describes a rest stop at Quicksand Meadows, a quiet, wildflower-filled meadow. Farther on, a signed split points to Walker Lake a mile to the right and Island Lake a mile to the left. One hiker put Island Lake at 9,306 feet, reached by just under a mile of steep climbing. Visit Idaho’s writer says the trail passes a cascading waterfall around the five-mile mark and that every creek crossing on the way to Walker has a bridge or log pile.

Walker Lake comes at about seven miles, with roughly 2,200 to 2,300 feet of gain, depending on who measured it. One writer notes that some maps label it “Walter Lake.” The Big Outside says the trail ends at the far end of Walker Lake. Beyond it, a use trail continues around the north side and climbs switchbacks up an open mountainside to a pass above Hook Lake, a small fishhook-shaped tarn. From the pass, you can see several of the Big Boulder Lakes, including Cove Lake a quarter mile south.

The upper basin holds a string of lakes: Hook, Cove, Sapphire, Cirque, Sheep, and others. One writer says the upper lakes, just over a mile from Walker, are visited often enough that a network of cairns and paths has formed. Another describes the route above Walker as faint, crossing swamps and boulders. One guide recommends following Bighorn Creek, the outlet of Sheep Lake, as the least confusing way around the basin. One backpacker wrote that Sapphire might be the most beautiful lake in Idaho they had seen.

Visit Idaho’s writer describes her 21-mile trip as including some off-trail travel on stable ground with minimal exposure. She also says she wouldn’t have attempted it as a first or even fifth backpacking trip. Photographer Alan Majchrowicz notes that loops linking these lakes with the Boulder Chain Lakes to the south involve difficult cross-country sections with steep climbs, exposure, and route finding.

The White Cloud Wilderness, now named for Cecil D. Andrus, was created in August 2015.

Tips

Camping

Camping is dispersed. Discover Sawtooth says to camp at least 100 feet from water and trails, use existing impacted sites, and stay out of meadows. Forest Service order 0414-04-160 limits groups to 12 people. Horses and other equine stock are prohibited in the Big Boulder Lakes, except at Walker and Island Lakes. Pack goats are limited to three per person and nine per group and must be tethered near people at night, to protect bighorn sheep from disease. The Forest Service’s food storage order for the Sawtooth National Recreation Area does not apply inside the wilderness. Discover Sawtooth still strongly recommends a bear hang, bear canister, or bear-proof bag for food, trash, and toiletries.

Inside Intel: Walker Lake is the usual first-night camp, since it’s the first lake and the end of the maintained trail. The Big Outside says there are plenty of nice campsites there. One trip report picked an excellent spot just south of the outlet stream. Visit Idaho’s writer reached the east side and kept going three-quarters of a mile to a campsite on the northwest corner. If you move higher, the same writer found an amazing campsite at Sheep Lake. Keep in mind that campfires aren’t allowed up there.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Cooking above the fire line:

Campfires aren't allowed in most of the upper basin, so your stove does all the work. See which stoves testers trust.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.