Route 1 – Nobody Goes Here
A good route for exercise. On snowshoes, it can only be done with the deepest of snowpacks. But when the sagebrush is covered, it is a nice heart-pumping climb with some beautiful views. Watch it when there is fresh powder. The sagebrush gets covered in snow but is not well compacted, making it easy to sink below your waist!
Drive to the Powerhouse picnic area on the right hand side of the road. Park your car in any open spot on the Lamoille canyon road. Walk in past the second cattle guard. Then head up the ridge on your right. As long as you stay to the left of the fence line you are on public land. Make your way up the steep hill and then follow the ridgeline as high as you want to go.
Route 2 – Talbot Canyon Trail
This is a new trail. Park in the pull out off the Lamoille canyon road just above the Powerhouse picnic area. This trail was designed for hikers, equestrians, and even mountain bikes. That means the trail is pretty wide and it’s got a lot of switchbacks. Perfect for snowshoeing. It’s 11 miles one-way over to Talbot Canyon. So hike in as far as you want and then turn around. Great views of the Spring Creek Valley and Elko peak area. You’ll want to go right after a snowstorm or during the snow season as this trail becomes a hiking trail as the snow line rises up the mountainside.
Route 3 – Lyon’s Camp
I usually park out on the Lamoille Canyon road and then tramp down the dirt road to the campground. This private campground, operated by the Lyon’s Club, is closed from Oct thru May. But it’s perfectly legal to walk on the road and on the trail through the camp. I usually stay to the right of the stream. After awhile, you’ll go through a marsh/meadow area (no issue if there is snow) and soon after that it get’s steep and hard to navigate through the brush – which is where I turn around. I’m told you can go up even higher but I don’t know the exact route. Certainly avalanches are a concern under some conditions if you go up much above the marsh.
Route 4 – Thomas Canyon
I love this route. Potentially, you can park on the Lamoille Canyon road above Lyons Camp where all the snowmobilers park. But you have to deal with snowmobilers for about 1.5 miles before you can leave the road and head up the canyon.
So really this is more of a later-season route once the road is clear to higher elevations. During these times, park by the Thomas Canyon campground. Tramp through the campground and locate the trail heading up the canyon. Convenient bridges take you across the raging river. Then just head up. Pick the most open route you can, avoiding the cliffs by the stream. The initial half-mile is the steepest, and it is pretty steep. Then the canyon levels out for a bit and then gets steeper as you approach the basin in front of Mt. Fitzgerald. Go up as high as you want, heading towards Mt. Fitzgerald and keeping to the left of the stream. Snowmobilers are not allowed in this canyon. So you’ll see coyote’s and maybe even beavers in their wooden lodges.
Some day, I am going to investigate crossing what looks like a pass in the mountains and head down to Island Lake. But this is a ski mountaineering route, not a snowshoe route. And there could be some danger – so if you try this, be prepared.
Route 5 – Lamoille Lake
Again, this is best as a late season trip when you can make the drive all the way to the turnaround. You will have to deal with snowmobilers so stay away from open areas on hills where you might not be visible to a snowmobiler traveling quickly or coming around a blind corner.
The route pretty much follows the horse trail up to the lake.
