Sun Valley’s Fall Creek Valley is located in the Pioneer Mountains east of town over Trail Creek Summit. To access the trailhead, drive east of Ketchum over Trail Creek Summit past the Kane Creek Road to Copper Basin Road where a right turn is made. Continue straight past where the road veers left to Copper Basin to the bridge crossing Wildhorse Creek. Shortly after crossing the bridge, make a left turn at the sign signifying the access to Moose Lake and Fall Creek Valley. From here it is a short distance to the trailhead. The road is passable to passenger cars. Fall Creek Canyon is one of the most beautiful as well as isolated alpine mountain valleys in Idaho. Consisting of the main glacial valley basin with three tributary siblings; the view of the main canyon’s 11,000-footwall is a site to behold should one make the effort. The access trail is closed to all travel except for foot and horses. No Mountain Bikes. Mountain Bikers and Horses don’t get along here. A short wheelchair-accessible waterfall trail is also available from the trailhead. 10 beautiful mountain lakes situated in several of the hanging valleys augmenting pictorial landscapes seen by few when traveling to the trail-less regions. Good trails to Moose and lower Surprise Valley Lake exist, however after that, you are on the map. A broken trail to the upper Surprise Valley Lake as well as very difficult access to the Betty and Goat Lake Valleys is also possible. Fishing is excellent in Lower and Upper Moose Lakes for Brook Trout while Rainbows and a few California Goldens are numerous in Angle Lake. Fall Creek Lake 1 has only a small number of Goldens. Lower sections of Fall Creek have Cutthrorat and California Golden Rainbows. All trout should be released from Angle and Fall Creek Lake 1 because of the lack of natural reproduction. Streamer, Wooly Bugger and Midge patterns seem to do the best. The upper reaches of Fall Creek are Fishless due to the drainage’s namesake. Climbing opportunities of the valley’s highest reaches, Standhope Peak, and The Angles Perch are also possible from these valleys. I have never skied anything in Fall Creek Valley however a possible first skiing descent of Standhope Peak’s north wall occurred in the early 1950s by Sun Valley’s Alpine Touring Ski School.
