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Idaho trails · South Fork Payette River

South Fork Payette River

A 19.5-mile out-and-back in Idaho, with 4,089 ft of climbing. Reaches Taylor Spring and other lake/spring/waterfall destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Length
19.5 mi
Elevation gain
4,089 ft
Difficulty
Expert
Max grade
32%
Steepest mile
+503 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
3.2 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Managed by
U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

5,187 – 9,275 ft135791113151719

The climbing leans toward the final third: 54% of the ascent falls between mile 13.0 and mile 19.5. It climbs almost continuously, with little descent to recover on.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of South Fork Payette River

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.
Terrain graded T2 (SAC scale).

Getting there

Grandjean Hiker — parking nearby. About 3 h 00 min drive (118 mi, 7 of them unpaved) from Hailey. 44.14938, -115.15109 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:24 a.m., the sun rises at 7:53 a.m. and sets at 6:58 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:27 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 05 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 39.1-mile round trip works out to roughly 18 h 34 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.

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