Thousand Springs Trail and Castle Lake is a 9.6 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Rexburg, Idaho that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking and is best used from July until August. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
hiking
forest
lake
river
wild flowers
wildlife
Drive from Idaho Falls on US26, at about 14 miles turn north following signs to Kelly Canyon Ski Area, Pass the ski resort and continue on the dirt road. When you get to the parking lot (there is a map of the area - go look at it), follow the forrest road 218 (going up). Stay on this road for about 12 miles, then turn right on an unmarked road that will take you to the trailhead.
The views on this trail were sick once you got to and past the summit! I had a dope long run here. The ATVs made alot of dust which was annoying, but that didn't take away from the trail in and of itself. My only criticism is that the roads to get there are unpaved for over 12 miles, so not great on the car. Also if you go up and down the summit I'd say this trail is hard.
Kind of interested to know where the name Thousand Springs comes from. Didn't see a single one. Although there are probably some when the snow is melting. Also, the castle lake, the supposed climax of the hike, was a small beaver pond, most of it crowded with grass. On the bright side, we did see a beaver. I believe that the trail shouldn't be labels for hiking. It is a four wheeler trail. The hike though, despite some of its disappointments, was nice, especially the second half. The wildflowers were also very pretty. I wouldn't recommend it for hiking, but I think it would be an enjoyable motorized vehicle trip.
Charly M.
This is a nice trail but it is an ATV trail so keep that in mind as it is mostly used by atv's. I prefer to hike trails that atv's cant go on and do this one on an atv instead. Also keep in mind that castle "lake" is a small marshy pond so don't expect anything huge. Nice scenery along the trail however and there is a bathroom at the trailhead if needed.
This is an ok hike and a good hike for those in the Rexburg area. The hike is fully in trees and is a multi-use trail. I was the only hiker but ran into a couple of motor bikes and a couple of four wheelers. Only wildlife I saw were cows and there were some flies but they didn't mess with me. Castle Lake is a bit of a disappointment as it is more of a small pond with a lot of grass in it. Overall, hike was easy only climbing just over 1,000 feet. You have to travel a ways on dirt forest service roads to get to the trail head. The 10 mile hike out and around Castle Lake was just ok but worth a few hours on a Saturday morning to get out in nature if you don't want to go a long way from home.
awesome!
Wouldn't recommend this trail. The scenery is just average and the reward isn't great enough for the amount of work it takes. It's not a hard hike but it's certainly not easy. It just didn't seem worth it to me not to mention we were being bitten by horse flies the entire way there and back. There's prettier hikes to do than this one.
Good hike! Well marked trail! Definitely not a easy hike. I would say more moderate. Watch for ATVs on the trail!
First part of the trail is actually an ATV trail, but after 2 miles it turns right and gets a lot better with pretty views. Early June and there was quite a bit of snow.