Challis Creek Lakes

Trail Overview

Challis Creek Lakes is an advanced 4x4 route through the Challis National Forest that has long sections that are just completely full of hundreds of bowling ball-sized rocks, ruts, and troughs, making it slow and technical to navigate all the rocks. The trail starts from the Mosquito Flat Campground, goes past the Mosquito Flat Reservoir, and climbs 2000 feet up to the Challis Creek Dam. The beginning is much easier. It starts out much smoother, with only small loose rocks and little stream crossings. It's narrow pretty much the whole way though, being one-laned, shelfy, and tight between the trees. This makes it especially more difficult in the rockier sections, as it has troughed S turns that are tight between a wall of trees. Sections are really steep, going straight up on loose marbles for several miles. About 2/3 of the way up, as of July 2024, there was a 2-foot wide log that was partially blocking the trail and would maybe make it impassible for full-width vehicles. The log was almost vertical, which made it hard to cut but created a really narrow pinch point. In the last stretch before the lake, there is a really steep climb for several hundred feet that will require being aggressive through the loose rock. The lake view at the top is really scenic, surrounded by mountains.

Photos of Challis Creek Lakes

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Difficulty

While the beginning is easy, the majority of this trail is covered in big loose rocks, like bowling balls filling in a trough, making it an advanced difficulty for most 4x4 vehicles. This was a good challenge for a stock 1,000 RZR, requiring 4 low for the majority of the climbing, and took about an hour. This trail is probably most suitable for UTVs and dirt bikes as it was really narrow in spots.

Technical Rating