Hellroaring Creek Trail to Hell Roaring Lake

3rd trail I have ever hiked and it was perfect for a beginner. Last weekend in October and the weather was great. Recommend going with others. There were Wolf tracks near the lake and on the trail near the lake. Didn't see any, but just be careful. The lake was so beautiful and peaceful. I would highly do this hike again.

My daughter and I hiked this trail this weekend starting from the lower trailhead - we hiked out and back in one day 10 miles round trip. It took us just under 7hrs - we are newbies and way out of shape! This trail is easy as far as terrain and elevation gain. The view along the creek is serene and encouraging. We did not see any wildlife, but we did see lots of skat and horse poop. I would definitely do this trip again, maybe with a overnight camp at the lake next time. We were so tired by the time we reached the lake we didn't have any energy to walk around the lake. Also, there was a lot of smoke from the fires in the area. Easy hike - just really long.

We started out at the upper trail head. From the lower TH drive one mile to the split and go right. You will drive another 2.4 miles to the parking area. Need a high clearance vehicle and only one section was rutted out. Very easy hike to a beautiful lake. It's a 6 mile round trip.

We started the hike from the Upper Hellroaring trailhead. As a heads up, get there early for parking and make sure you have a vehicle with good clearance, the road gets quite rough and ideally best for suvs and trucks/jeeps. You can park below and start from the Lower Hellroaring trailhead. No restrooms are available so keep that in mind if your looking for convenience lol. From the trailhead, you go from casual walk/hike with a couple tree trunk bridges to cross over, and progress to a moderate hike. The path is a bit hum drum until your about a mile in with some beautiful creeks flowing through and crystal clear water. Hellroaring Lake itself is very beautiful and worth the hike. I would recommend heading from Hellroaring Lake onto Lake Imogene. A fellow hiker we conversed with had said it is similar to Lake Hellroaring but a bit more challenging on the hike itself (moderate rated) with some beautiful water falls along the way. Hope this review helps!

Beautiful trail that gives you a great sense of what the Sawtooths are all about. I'm an experienced hiker but this was my husband's first alpine lake hike. We both thought it was a moderate workout, but very easy and enjoyable. The elevation gain is at the very beginning of the trail and then again once you get near the lake. The middle of the trail levels out, where you will find lush scenes of Hell Roaring Creek and lots of tall trees for shade along the way.

Pros: exquisite scenery the whole way, easily accessible trailhead, great hike for beginners, iconic Sawtooth imagery.

Cons: limited trailhead parking, very dusty trail, lots of horse poop on the trail (we didn't mind, easy to step over. We dubbed them "trail brownies" and "Sawtooth Surprises".

Went last weekend. Served its purpose. My 13yo sons first loaded overnight trip. Lots of rocks, horse poop and dust. Trail is well marked and easy to follow. There is a lot of traffic. Get there early and get a spot. Fishing is way better on the back side of the lake. We had no bug problems as the wind was blowing. If not take 100% deet. Good experience

The first mile in by the side of the creek was very pretty. Not as many wildflowers as we had seen elsewhere. The next 3 miles to the Wilderness registration is fairly flat hiking through trees with mountain glimpses but not big views. After the registration site it is just short of 2 miles to the lake and after hiking through trees for 2 hours the whole view opens out. Spent an hour at the lake taking photos and a picnic. This was a Saturday so quite busy...many backpackers coming out having hiked up to Imogene Lake. Overall a really nice day hike.

This trail was so beautiful. Once the path opened up to show the beautiful lake with the Sawtooth mountains behind, I was breathless.
It was an easy hike and definitely worth the view. I will do it again.

Completed first weekend in May. First mile was a great hike by hell roaring creek. Soon after we began hitting spotty snow piles which eventually turned into snow. Hip high snow through parts. It took our group 5 hours of hiking to get to the lake. The amount of melt that occured in one day was amazing, but our route back the next day was still going through scattered piles of snow or puddles/marshes of melt. I would hike this again, but if I did, I wouldn't go until mid-May (or June if heavy snowfall that winter) and I would wear gaiters and waterproof boots. The lake was beautiful, the finger of fate was a nice back drop, our campsite was super secluded, and we saw a mountain lion on the way out.

Beautiful, easy hike. Lots of people and lots of mosquitos. The views are worth it though!