Redfish Lake
Lake · Stanley, Idaho
Four and a half miles of glacial water at 6,547 feet with Mount Heyburn and the Grand Mogul standing out of the far shore, five miles south of Stanley and the largest lake in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. It is named for the sockeye salmon that once turned it red at spawning - fish that swim about nine hundred miles from the Pacific and climb six and a half thousand feet to reach it, the longest and highest salmon migration on earth. In 1992 a single male came back. He was called Lonesome Larry.
Redfish Lake Road, Stanley, Idaho, 83278, United States
The lake and the shore are open at all times. ⚠ THE SEASON IS THE WHOLE STORY: Redfish Lake Lodge, the marina, the cross-lake ferry, the hire fleet and most campgrounds run roughly late May or June to late September, and CLOSE COMPLETELY for the winter. The lake freezes to thirty inches or more from about December to April. A DAY-USE PARKING FEE IS CHARGED at the developed Redfish sites and a federal interagency pass does not reliably cover a concession lot - bring cash. Campgrounds are reserved on recreation.gov and book months ahead for July and August. Free self-issue wilderness registration for trails into the Sawtooth Wilderness is at the trailheads.