stanley lake

This is a nice little spot that is exactly 8 miles north west from Stanley, so you are not going out of your way to find it. There are two campsites along the lake that are treed and provide decent privacy. To camp will run you $15 a night which is a good price for what the area provides. Wheelchair accessible. overall it is a good spot to grab a bite and take some great photos before you head back on to the highway.

Stanley Lake is in such a beautiful area of Idaho. The area has three scenic drives that intersect in the town of Stanley so no matter which way you arrive you have beautiful views of mountains. The lake is pretty and the whole area laid back and relaxing. Idaho is not called the Gem State without good reason.I visited Stanley & Stanley Lake longer ago than shown below. This process refuses to allow me to post without the blank filled in. I just have such pleasant memories every time I think of Stanley and the surrounding forests and mountains.

We camped at Stanley Lake Inlet Campground right on the beach of the lake. Beautiful views and very peaceful. A great spot!

You can't go wrong in this area. The lake is just a few miles off the main highway. THere is an overlook at the lake, it makes you feel like you can just reach out and grab the mountains. So peaceful and majestic.

The majestic beauty of the Sawtooth Wilderness is nowhere more evident than at Stanley Lake. This little gem is well known to locals, but not as crowded and busy as Redfish Lake to the south. There are two campgrounds, one accepting reservations and one not. Best time to come is summer, as it is closed during most of the winter months for obvious reasons, being at 6500 ft elevation. The town of Stanley itself has only about 65 full time residents, and is centered around the tourist trade. But the lake, with a background of McGongal Peak, is peaceful and beautiful. Come at mid-week, if you can, when the weekenders have cleared out. Go out on the lake in early morning with the loons and ospreys. Fishing is great, mostly lake trout, especially at the inlet. There are trails right at the campground for hiking, biking, running. The campgrounds are on the primitive side, and if they are full, camping spills over into even more primitive areas. No electricity, water from a central pump at the campground, ODTs. Camp fires allowed only within the campgrounds in designated fire rings. Little cell signal. If you want to just get off the grid for a few days and unwind, there's no better place. Bring bug repellant, as the mosquitos can get intense in the evening hours. And be prepared for a wide range of temperatures - during our visit, 40s at night, 80s and 90s in the daytme (July). If you don't mind roughing it a bit, and love mountain scenery and the out of doors, this is the place. There are unadvertised hot springs nearby that the locals know about - built in natural hot tub.