STANDALONE TRAIL MAP
TRAIL INFORMATION
Fisher Canyon Trail #314
// track pieces: 579, // elevation pieces: 579
Details
| Status: | Closed |
| Difficulty: | Expert |
| Uses: | Mt Biking & Hiking & Equestrian & Motorcycle & eBikes |
| Length: | 6 miles |
| Start: | 5,865' |
| End: | 8,621' |
| Min: | 5,865' |
| Max: | 8,701' |
| Gain: | 2,900' |
| Loss: | -2,900' |
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Trailhead Forecast
Snowfall
New Snow last 12 hours: 0.34". New Snow last 24 hours: 0.8".Description / Access Information
Fisher Canyon Trail:This is a demanding trail with about 3000 feet of elevation gain in 6 miles. You are far from any services.
Fisher Canyon Trail:
This is a demanding six-mile trail that is far from any services. It gains about 3000 feet of elevation at an overall grade of around 10%. It starts out well below 10%, down low, then it kicks up like a mule toward the top.
This route, down on its low end, starts out as a two-track road. This is Fisher Canyon Road/FS 131. After about 2.5 miles the route becomes much more singletrack-like and its designation changes to a trail that is open to motorized use by motorcyclists and eMTBers. As it climbs it becomes more demanding, and nearing the top the grade of the route is around 25%. Extremely steep and expert in regards to its technical difficulty.
The top of the trail meets the Porcupine Creek Trail. Porcupine is also open to motorcycles and electric bicycles. Porcupine follows a paralleling canyon to the east, and you can take it down, or climb on it, to make a loop with Fisher. You can also take Porcupine up to its intersection with the Timber Draw Trail. From there, non-motorized trail users, those on foot, horseback, or on a non-electric bicycle, can drop down into Federal Gulch to Federal Gulch Campground and East Fork Road. Timber and Federal are designated as non-motorized trails by the forest service.
Getting to the trail (no easy feat):
Getting to the trail in a motor vehicle is a bumpy and rocking affair, and you will want to be using a four-wheel-drive, high clearance vehicle. Take Quigley Canyon Road, heading east of Hailey for about 12.5 miles. The road is very rough and narrow with restricted lines of sight. In some places it is very steep and narrow without many places to facilitate a passing, should you meet a driver coming the other way. When wet, icy, or snowy, the road can be very slick in some places.
Leaving the pavement, you will travel 12.4 miles to arrive at unsigned Baugh Creek. There are two wooden posted on the northeast side of the creek, where a sign used to mark this as Baugh Creek. There is room to park a few vehicles near Quigley Canyon Road and Baugh Creek. Further to the east along Quigley Canyon Road beaver activity has blocked the road to use for those in cars or trucks. As mentioned above, the way in is rough, and some people will be not want to drive all the way in to Baugh, choosing instead to park further away, and to extend the length of their outing.
Once to Baugh Creek and Quigley Canyon Road you are close to the low ends of both Fisher Canyon and Porcupine Creek trails. Cross the creek and continue southeast on the two-track road. Soon, take a detour trail around on the north side of beaver activity that has water on the roadway. Stay on the main road and at the next creek crossing, don't cross the creek. Instead, turn left and up the faint entrance to the low end of Fisher Canyon Trail. If you want to go up Porcupine instead, cross Fisher Canyon Creek where it crosses the main road and you will soon come to the low end of Porcupine and the end of Quigley Canyon Road at a gate/private property. Creek and bypassing the faint access into the low start of the Fisher Canyon Trail.
Another approach to the low end of Fisher Canyon or Porcupine is to drive out East Fork Road to Cove Creek. Then taking Cove Creek Road over to its intersection with Quigley Canyon Road. Cove Creek Road is also a native-surface route, and narrow, and rocky. But the road through Cove Creek is perhaps a little less worn, and at times, it's sight-lines, of traffic ahead, is perhaps a little less constricted, than those found along Quigley Canyon Road.
An approach along Cove Creek Road also includes a lot of steep ups and downs, and it is definitely a four-wheel-drive, high-clearance road. Yet, it is in better condition than Quigley Canyon Road. A person aiming to access the low ends of Fisher Canyon or Porcupine Creek could park near the intersection of Quigley Canyon Road and Cove Creek Road, and start their trip in to the low end's of the trails from there. This will add significant distance to an outing, on a rough and steep road, but at least you won't have to drive on the constricted Quigley Canyon Road.
Non-motorized trail users can approach Fisher Canyon and Porcupine Creek trails from their high end, out of Federal Gulch. The Federal Gulch and Timber Draw trails are accessed out of the Ketchum Ranger District's Federal Gulch Campground, which is out East Fork Road, a couple miles past Triumph. Those on foot, bicycle or horseback can ride up Federal to Timber, then take Timber to its high intersection with Porcupine. From there it is not far to the high intersection of Porcupine and Fisher Canyon trails.
When heading out to these trails, please travel safely. Be mindful of the many people who use Quigley Canyon Road for walks, runs, or bike rides, and if motoring out, please drive slowly and safely through Hailey, Triumph, or other neighborhoods you may be passing through. Watch for others who may be out of sight over the next hill or bend in the road.
