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Jennie Lake Trail

Boise County, Idaho

4.0/5
based on 9 reviews

Details

Distance

8.38 miles

Elevation Gain

1998 ft

Route Type

Out-and-Back

Description

Added by Garren Moore

Well behaved dogs can be off leash. There are existing fire pits at the lake (please use). Often, other backpackers will be around - beneficial if you're not ready to enter Idaho's expansive wilderness with just your own group/family. 9 miles roundtrip. Elevation Gain: 1950 feet.

Perhaps one of the best beginner-esque lake hikes closest to Boise, making your way to Jennie Lake can either be packed-in overnight or and out-and-back day hike. You'll be delighted by the secluded ambiance of the lake and the cool mountain breeze rushing through the pines.

Getting There:
Make your way to the Jennie Lake trailhead by heading north on Hwy 21 (from Boise) past Idaho City but before Lowman. About 10 to 15 miles after Idaho City you'll see signs for Whoop-Um-Up recreation area, which directly after you'll turn right onto 384 and then eventually take the fork left to 348. This road seems to be maintained and suitable for most sedans (...maybe not a Prius). After 7 miles after the fork, look for a sign that says "Jennie Lake trail". Searching Google Maps "Jennie Lake Trailhead" will navigate you via exact directions to the trailhead, which is a quaint 5-6 car gravel parking.

From there, the trail is quite obvious, starting at ~5,900 ft and ascending essentially the entire way to the lake. Plan 3 to 4 hours for the ascent along a well marked, dirt and gravel trail (about 4 1/2 miles). You'll see wildflowers, pine, deer, a mint field, and a small river.

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Features

Camping
Fishing
Photography
Backpacking
Hiking
Dog Friendly
Easy Parking
Family Friendly
Forest
Lake
River
Scenic
Wildflowers
Wildlife

Jennie Lake Trail Reviews

So we decided to hike up to Jennie Lake end of October! The hike is def for beginners, not rough at all just a bit long (but I think it seemed that way cause we had such heavy packs). We made it in 3 hours up (with 2 breaks) and 1.5 hours back down. Going up is pretty gradual although most your steeper little hills are at the beginning of the trail. Flattens out the rest of the way till the last bit up to the lake, which again still wasn’t very steep. The last 30 minutes had 6 inches of snow, trail was still easy to route. And the lake had decent snow around it. The hardest part was it was freezing at night (we camped out) and all the wood was very wet which made the fire super hard to keep going, but we managed! Road up was well maintained and could def be done in a sedan! Parking lot was small but worked! We were the only ones there. Lake is smaller than I expected, but def saw TONS of fish jumping, for all you fishermen! Would def go again in the summer! Bonus: saw a super cute black bear cub on our way down. Obviously didn’t stop to take pics cause didn’t know where mama was, but was still a super cute surprise!

It was so peaceful out here. I took my 2 dogs and they loved it. The view was beautiful especially with this time of year and the leaves being all sorts of colors. We went 2 hours before that sun set and still got a pretty good hike. Although the way back is pretty much all up hill so prepare to get tired.

Went on an overnight backpacking trip in early June- was a little too early. There was still several feet of snow at the lake. Beautiful hike though!

Leave No Trace

Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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