(Keywords: Hiking, Mountain biking - Idaho)
Featuring:
Loon Lake
Payette
National Forest includes some of west-central Idaho's most beautiful and
diverse country. In one day you can go from hot desert grasslands
through cool pine forests to snow-capped peaks.
Download this GPS trail for a challenging mountain bike ride from Burgdorf Junction to Loon Lake.
Start at the Burgdorf Junction located about 25 miles north of McCall, Idaho. Pass through Ruby Meadows. Then follow Willow Basket Creek to Loon Lake.
Photo credit: Dave Wissenbach.
The best camping is at the inlet of Loon Lake. Hike around the lake and check out the wreckage of a WWII bomber which slid across the ice and crashed onto the South Shore. Extend your trip by making a loop through the Chinook Campground and the Secesh river. After the ride, soak you bones in the Burgdorf Hot Springs.
Click on the binoculars to see a demonstration Wissenbach Map3D displaying a topo of Loon Lake. loonlake_map3D.jpg (Approx. 83 KB) opens in a new window.
GPS MAP
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Download the free GPS Map in GPS eXchange (.gpx) file format, which can be read and transferred to your GPS using free software. (The .gpx file will appear in a new window where you can File > Save as... on your computer)
GPS Map File Details
File Name LoonLakeRoutes.gpx
File Size: 154 KB
Revised: 24 July 2003
Datum: WGS84
Class A Data
Waypoints:
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Burgdorf Hot Springs.
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Loon Lake.
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Chinook Campground.
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Burgdorf Junction Trailhead.
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Secesh River Bridge
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Wreckage of World War II Bomber
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Willow Basket Turn Off
Route/Track:
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RUBYLOON: Trail from Warren Wagon Road at Burgdorf Junction through Ruby Meadows to Loon Lake. This trail is open to mountain bikes and motorcycles but would also make an excellent hiking trail. A loop can be made by proceeding from Loon Lake East to the Secesh River footbridge, and then up the Secesh river to the Chinook Campground, which is named for the Salmon which are sometimes seen here! Chinook to Secesh bridge is the easiest way to Loon Lake.
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CHINOOKLOON -Easiest and most direct route from Chinook Campground to Loon Lake since the US Forest Service built a pack bridge over the Secesh river at the Chinook Campground. Open to foot trafic, horses, and motorcycles, but closed to four-wheeled ATVs.
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BRGDRFCHNK -Burgdorf Junction to Chinook Campground through Secesh Meadows on Warren Wagon Road and Forest Road. Secesh Meadows is a cabin area, accessible only by snowmobile in the winter months.
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LOONSECESH -Trail from Loon Lake to Secesh River Bridge, then upstream to Loon Lake. A short section of the trail from Loon Lake to the Secesh River bridge near the bridge is not quite ridable on a Mountain bike, as is a very short section of the Secesh River trail just upstream from the bridge. Watch for Salmon on the Secesh river. On the day I logged the trail, I saw one, and another group of bicyclists spotted 6.
More Info
For more information about the Payette National Forest, check out: http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/payette/main.html
References
Special thanks to the Dave at Wissenbach Map3D for providing this GPS map of Loon Lake. Read more about Wissenbach Map3D software at: http://myweb.cableone.net/cdwissenbach/map.html
