Galena Lagoons to Micro Wave Road

Trail Overview

This is an easy and scenic route through the Sawtooth National Forest that provides amazing views of the Sawtooth Mountains. The west end starts off of Highway 75 by taking Salmon River Road (70215) south to the intersection with Galena Lagoons (70220). The Salmon River Road is graded and straight, mostly used to access camping, but Galena Lagoons is more of a scenic route that parallels the highway with lots of wide sweeping switchbacks. It gains almost 1,500 feet over the course of about 8 switchbacks. They are wide and smooth and gradual, making them very easy, but there are big humps on the route over culverts that you would need high clearance for. There is a long shelfy section between some of the higher switchbacks that is narrower and one laned. You can cross Highway 75 and continue up Micro Wave Road to the top of the mountain. It's less than a mile to the top of Micro Wave Road, where there are several camp spots with 360-degree views of the mountains. This last segment to get to these campsites is probably the most technical, with several ruts and humps, and is slightly off-camber and narrower. It's no problem for UTVs, ATVs, or dirt bikes, and is probably appropriate for someone car camping or overlanding, but not for trailers or big RVs. For OHVs, this is a fun route to explore if you are camping off of 70197 because it can be accessed completely on dirt roads without having to get on the highway. This road is open 5/1 -11/30.

Photos of Galena Lagoons to Micro Wave Road

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Difficulty

This is an easy full-width trail that has features such as 1-foot tall humps over culverts that require high clearance, ruts, shelfy sections, and slightly off-camber sections. It's overall easy for most high-clearance vehicles.

Technical Rating