Always a treat to ride Loon Lake, plus 10 more Idaho classics

Brian, Steve and Mark at Loon Lake 

Hi all, 

I was rocking out to a Grateful Dead Tribute band Friday night with a group of friends, and on the spur of the moment, three of us agreed to meet up Saturday morning in McCall to ride the Loon Lake Loop. 

Loon Lake is one of my favorite "Idaho classic" rides. Starting from Chinook Campground, about 45 minutes north of McCall via Warren Wagon Road, the ride covers 10 miles -- all singletrack -- and takes about 2-2.5 hours to complete for experienced strong riders. 1,500 feet of vertical gain. Rated: Advanced. A longer version starts at Ruby Meadows and requires a shuttle back to the trailhead or it's 22 miles if you ride the whole thing. 

Now that we're moving into late August, and September is close at hand, this is a perfect time to plan trips to bag some other "Idaho classic" mountain bike rides in Sun Valley, McCall, Central Idaho and Boise. More details about that below ... 

Trail was quite buffed last week! 

We awoke a perfect post-card day last Saturday to ride Loon Lake. High temperature of 85 forecast for the mountains. We'd had thunderstorms for two days in a row, so it was nice to see the cloudless, cobalt-blue sky on the drive going past Upper Payette Lake toward Chinook Campground. Our group consisted of Mark Anderson, Brian Ellsworth and me. 

I like to ride the Loon Lake loop counter-clockwise, so we rode across the Secesh River on the steel bridge to start the ride on Victor Creek Trail #081. You follow that singletrack trail over three different climbs and descents to a tall-grass meadow just to the south of Loon Lake. Pedal through the meadow, turn left at a junction, and ride to Loon Lake. Take a breather, have lunch, go swimming, take photos! What a spot!    

Return to the meadow, and then turn right on a singletrack that plunges into the Secesh River canyon. There's a cool little beach by the Secesh River there by the trail bridge, and then you pedal 3.5 miles back to Chinook Campground on a rocky, technical singletrack that rises and falls along the river. Watch for any spawning salmon while you're in that area. But keep your eyes on the trail, too, because there are many opportunities to crash along the way! Be careful! 

Huck at Loon Lake 

It took us 45 minutes to reach the lake, and 1.5 hours to return to the trailhead. We stopped in a few places for photo ops. Just a beautiful day! 

Wendy checking out the Secesh River on the steel bridge. 

Now, for other classic rides, I'd refer you to a story I wrote for Visit Idaho about Five Mountain Bike Rides that Shine in the Fall.  This article includes Loon Lake, Around the Mountain at Bogus Basin, Fisher-Williams Loop in the White Clouds, Gold Hill switchback special near Sandpoint, and the Lynx Trail at Farragut State Park in N. Idaho. 

Secesh River 

I wrote about five other mountain bike classics in this 2016 post from Stueby's Outdoor Journal. These rides included traversing Bear Pete Trail, the Hard Guy-Dry Creek Loop, and the Bear Basin - Brundage Lookout - Elk Trail - Growler - 488 Road - Bear Basin Ride. 
- SS