Norton Lakes is a 4.6 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Ketchum, Idaho that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from June until September. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
October 28, 2020
October 26, 2020frozen! not a sole out there very peaceful!
October 15, 2020Very steep to start so pace yourself. But the destination was worth it. Loved it.
October 9, 2020This trail is rated as mediocre.. LOL I’d rate this as difficult. It says 4.6 miles for the loop. We ended up hiking 11.5 miles around the loop back to the car. Holy crap... It sure was indescribable!! Absolutely breathtaking! Not for the faint of heart!
September 26, 2020Fun!
September 16, 2020We did a loop. Took the right hand trail up to Norton lakes. Visited the upper lake then went back to the lower lake. Climbed the scree field at the upper end of the lake, over the saddle to Big Lost lake. Continued down the trail to Smoky Lake. Followed the trail down and eventually reconnected with the original trail we began on. A nice loop. Pretty demanding because it's mostly either steep up or steep down. But four lakes in 6 miles is pretty sweet.
September 12, 2020September 10, 2020So much climbing, but the lakes were beautiful!
September 10, 2020Warning - easy to take the wrong trail! There are two trailheads at the parking lot and we didn't see any signs so we took the one on the left over the bridge. Norton is the one that veers to the right. Nice hike anyway but much further to any lakes
September 6, 2020Exceeded all our expectations! And we are from Alaska!
September 6, 2020September 2, 2020Great trail easy to moderate difficulty will be back
August 31, 2020Late afternoon hike and we weren’t sure how far the upper lake was from Lower Norton, so we didn’t continue. In hindsight it’s only ten minutes more uphill to Upper Norton. Next time we’ll continue. The upside of starting at 4PM was that there was lots of parking and we only saw 4 other people.
August 28, 2020Fun hike
August 28, 2020Wow. Both upper and lower Norton lakes were beautiful. Kept going to the top of the ridge with a great view of Miner lake. Intense jog down to the TH
August 17, 2020August 16, 2020August 15, 2020August 15, 2020The trail starts uphill from the start to about 9200 ft. Elevation at the lake. Plenty of shade and awesome trail. The lake is gorgeous; you can swim or even fish and or camp overnight. We also followed the trail around the lake to Big Lost Lake and then to Smoky Lake. About 8 miles loop. Awesome hike. Enjoy.
August 15, 2020Great trail some shade and the lake at the end is a wonderful reward. We had lunch and jumped in. Also went over next hill to the other norton lake(upper).
August 15, 2020August 12, 2020August 9, 2020Great hike. We kept to the right after passing the second Norton Lake and ended up hiking up Norton's Peak. Great views from the top. I was surprised at how gravely this trail was. Makes for a potentially interesting downhill. Beautiful wildflowers and views along the way. My dog was tired after this! (finally)
August 8, 2020One of the best lake hikes near Ketchum. Can get crowded though.
August 6, 2020We really enjoyed the trails, just get there early to park and avoid crowds. The entire way there is uphill, which makes a nice walk back down when you are finished. There is lots of shade, which makes it cooler. This trail reminded us of the Grand Tetons with the mountain views and calm lakes. Keep an eye out for pikas and other little critters.
July 30, 2020Beautiful hike. Going uphill was challenging, especially for my kids (8 and 12) since we were adjusting to elevation. The lake made it worthwhile. We swam even though it was cooooollllld.
July 25, 2020Fun trail to beautiful lakes. Pretty crowded on a Saturday. Lots of exploring around the lakes and peaks. There’s a third lake up and over the saddle to the west of lower lake.
July 22, 2020Beautiful hike! I went late in the day so I passed a lot of people on the trail but then was the only person at the lake when I got there.
July 5, 2020Great trail. Very easy to follow. This is a beautiful easy hike.
July 5, 2020Great hike! Definitely moderate trail as it's fairly steep in several sections. Very worth it though. Beautiful all the way up and the lake is gorgeous and peaceful.
