Sheep Creek Peak

Overview

Sheep Creek Peak is a lightly traveled yet very rewarding summit to climb. It offers gret views of the Irwin, Swan Valley, and Palisade Resvoir area to its west. To the North, East, and South are filled with views of the surrounding ranges. The rest of the Snake River Range, Big Hole Range, and the Teton Range in the distance. This peak is often overlooked due to its neighbor Mount Baird. Mount Baird is the tallest in the range and is an easier summit to obtain. Many people love to climb that summit. Sheep Creek Peak offers a great hike filled with route finding, open meadows, and long ridge climbs. Overall, it is in my opinion the best and most fun summit so far that I have completed in the Snake River Range.

Getting There

The approach that we took is the same way you can approach Mount Baird. I copied the "getting there" from the Mount Baird page. 

The easiest way to get to this area is from Idaho Falls. From I-15 in Idaho Falls get on US 26 East and follow until you reach the Palisades Reservoir Dam. An Idaho road map will give mileage and a feel for the area. After reaching the Palisade Dam, continue 2.5 miles east on 26 to a left turn on a gravel road signed for Little Elk Creek. Keep a sharp eye open for the turn off as you can easily drive past it. A helpful hint is that this turnoff is between milepost markers 390 and 391. Turn north on the signed Little Elk Creek road and follow this road (suitable for passenger sedans) to its end (~1.5 miles), where a sign indicates the Sheep Creek ATV trail to the left, and the Little Elk Creek trail to the right. A small camping area is found at the trailhead but no facilities are present. Watch out for cattle on the drive in.

Route

Follow the trail "Little Elk Creek" for about 4 miles into a small basin area. Once you have reach the top of the ridge, a trail will break away from Mount Baird heading North (putting your back towards Mount Baird). Follow this trail until it starts to leave the ridge and decend to another valley. From here you are off trail. You will need to make your way across a few open meadows and climb over a couple of drainages. We did this route in September so we did not deal with any snow or water. Early season hikes you most likely will encounter this. Head your way towards the south ridge. It is the ridge on the left as you are looking at the summit. Their will be a clear point of travel for you to navigate towards this summit ridge. Simply follow it to the summit.

Our trip clocked in at 10 miles. We cut our original trail out a bit by coming back down a drainage. Not highly recommended as a return. Would be best to just go back the way you came. We got hit by a storm and were trying to get out as soon as possible.

Round trip: 10-11 Miles

Red Tape

No red tape in this range

When to Climb

Best time to climb would be mid to late summer or early fall. You would probably have to deal with snow and water during early summer and I would not recommend winter due to a possible high chance of avalanche danger.

Camping

Plenty of camping in the area. At the trail head, people often camp in this area to go boating on the resevoir. It can be very busy with campers. Backpacking options are available once you reach the upper part of the trail when it opens up.

External Links