Hike Haystack Mountain and Snow Peak via Big Canyon Trail Caribou-Targhee National Forest, ID

Aug 27, 2022 — On the summit of Bonneville Peak earlier in the day via a sort of boring route, I noticed Snow Peak and Haystack Mountain to the south and couldn't help myself. I wanted to get these, too. Although neither are really notable summits from a peakbagging stats perspective, they're not frequently visited and the sweeping views are memorable. You might want to consider hiking to Bonneville Peak via this route, extending the hike north from Snow Peak to reach that taller summit rather than using Bonneville's more standard route from the west.

To reach the trailhead, I highly recommend not letting Google take you from the north. That direction takes a mess of bad (or straight-up ATV) roads to reach the Big Spring Campground and forced me to lose a couple of hours, ultimately resulting in me giving up and backtracking. Instead, navigate from the south via Lava Hot Springs, ID and just before reaching the campground, turn right here (42.76650, -112.09295). This last mile to the trailhead is passable by crossover vehicles, but if you've got a less capable car, expect to add 2 miles and about 200 vertical gain to my hike stats.

I'm not sure if the trail I took is called the Big Spring Trail (due to its proximity to the campground) or the Big Canyon Trail (the actual name of the canyon it ascends), but it's in excellent shape. It seems like the trail is often maintained and any deadfall has been either cut or short detours have been fully established to avoid the obstacles. Initially, it follows a babbling watercourse and I was enjoying myself, really happy to be on a real trail after doing a couple of mostly dirt road hikes. The trail ascended away from the lusher canyon vegetation using a minor spur ridge, now much more steep. I started to get views back down the canyon and up toward the ridgeline above when portions of the forest faded away to expose pretty meadows.

After about 2000 feet of vertical gain, I was on the ridgeline. Fortunately, the trail persisted and it looked like I'd be able to get both peaks without much off-trail at all. It's amazing to me how many trails aren't documented, but lead to wonderful places. I decided to first head south to Haystack Mountain, which required dropping a few hundred feet to a saddle before continuing along the ridgeline. Seeing it from this angle was stunning, the west face a cliff of cool rocks, totally unexpected compared to the oher lumpy peaks in the area.

I reached the saddle where another trail came in from the east. I wonder where this one came from? Maybe with more research you can turn this hike into a partial loop? I continued along the ridgeline, where there were a couple of undulations, but soon I found myself at the base of Haystack Mountain. Here, the trail curved away and only a faint social trail continued the way I wanted to go, south along the crest. The ascent to Haystack Mountain's false summit became quite steep, and a short spurt of Class 2 toward the top got me to a viewpoint of the true summit, which was separated by a limestone ridgeline. Keeping along the crest results in some Class 2/2+, while staying left is Class 2 side-hilling. The summit views were really great.

I backtracked, regaining the 400-ish vertical feet to reach the junction with Snow Peak. A trail continued north along the ridge for a time, fading away on a wide hump that I'd have to reascend on my way back. I continued north through gorgeous, open tundra. It was windy, but this only added to the aesthetic. The trail materialized again as it led me up the somewhat steep south ridge of Snow Peak, where I lingered for a while to enjoy the afternoon light.