This trail is in the Boise National Forest, two hours north of Boise, Idaho. Sagehen Dam and Reservoir is just 1.3 miles to the east. The reservoir has four improved campgrounds, some are first come first served, others require a reservation. The lake is well known for its rainbow trout, so bring a fishing pole. The trail and entire area are in Idaho's hunting unit 32A where you will be sharing your space with deer, elk, black bear, mountain lions, and wolves, to name a few. This trail is one of many spurs along the main Sagehen Road and is best described as a dispersed camping paradise nestled among the pines, fir, and spruce. Shrubs and grasses dotted with wildflowers fill in the non-forested areas.
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Go west on Highway 52, 9 miles to Sweet Ola Highway, and turn right/north. Continue north 17.2 miles through the town of Ola where the Highway becomes NF-618 and continue north 10.1 miles to the junction of Forest Road 626 on your right. Turn right and travel 5.8 miles to Spur 626U on your left.
Due to wood cutting projects, there are road closures on FS626 east of Sagehen Reservoir and around the entire reservoir which will delay the opening of the four improved campgrounds around the lake until June 30th. These closures do not affect the ability to get to this trail when coming in from the west.
My wife Patricia and our two fur babies wanted to explore the Sagehen area today. We tried to come a few months back but we were stopped by snow. That might account for the improved campgrounds not opening until June. The 27-mile drive from Highway 52 to the Sagehen Road trailhead is beautiful in itself, driving through the towns of Sweet and Ola and the fantastic farming countryside. Sagehen Spur 626U is the third spur you will encounter when you drive the main road from the west. I think of this trail as a parent because there is another spur from this one. It's kinda cool because you not only have the dispersed site at the end, plus the dispersed site at the end of the second trail, in addition to the camping area at their junction!
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Dennis Clark was born in Los Angeles in 1942 and after 76 years of living in So Cal he moved to Emmett, Idaho with his wife Patricia, has four adult children with many grand and great grandchildren. He has loved the outdoors since his Cub Scout and Boy Scout days while camping with the family. He's an archer, hunter and fisherman but no longer wishes to harm animals. He has been involved with photography since the 1960's. He became more of a serious hiker in 2010 when he started Geocaching and has hiked the three tallest peaks in So Cal, Mt San Jacinto, Mt San Gorgonio and Mt Baldy, along with most of the lesser peaks in search of caches. Geocaching started his love for the USFS Trail system as he used the trails frequently to get to certain trailheads. He had a 2002 Ford Ranger 2wd and its amazing where that little pickup took him. In 5 years of weekly geocaching he was only stuck once in some Palm Springs sand. His 2016 Wrangler Sport Unlimited was purchased in 2015. He has become quite lazy in the hiking department as he can now drive to most locations. He's looking forward to posting some trails and don't hesitate to ask him for any help you might need.
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