The Open Door

The Shoal Falls trail begins in the scenic alpine wonderland of Granite Creek a good home base to explore this amazing area. From the Swift Creek/Shoal Falls trailhead hike or ride up the sagebrush and wildflower meadow until the trail splits, look for a wooden sign that says "Shoal Falls". Follow an old twoÂtrack road for the first 1…2 mile. The trail then turns to the south and angles up a forested hillside and you climb a series of switchbacks that periodically reveal views of Granite Creek Valley below and the grandeur of Open Door Mountain. Approaching the top of the ridge provides views of the Wyoming Range to the southwest. Soon you reach a ridge that breaks out the forest to reveal magnificent views a series of meadows interspersed with groves of aspen and conifer underneath the Gros Ventre Peaks. You then drop off this ridge into west Shoal Creek, The trail continues to Deer Ridge. Deer Ridge offers an overlook for Shoal Falls 5 miles from the trailhead but to get there you have to drop into Shoal Creek and hike an additional 1.5 miles. Shoal Falls is at 8,200-foot elevation so a full round trip will be 13 miles.

Horseback Rider

From Shoal Falls you can continue on about 2.5 miles to Shoal Lake elevation 9800 feet. From Shoal Lake you can hook into trails that go to the Crystal Creek Drainage or to the Gros Ventre Drainage. You can also hike down Shoal Creek Trail to that trailhead on the Hoback River. This trail system is also accessible from Dell Creek out of Bondurant.

Young buck mule deer

The Gros Ventre Mountains are home to elk, moose, deer, bighorn sheep, black and grizzly bear, wolves, mountain lion and many other species. Deer, moose and elk are spotted regularly the rest are more allusive.

Shoal Creek is a spawning area for the cutthroat trout of the Snake and Hoback Rivers; a native population stays in the creek throughout the season and provides some fun fly-fishing.

The high alpine meadows have prolific wild flower displays in the summer months starting with the balsamroot in early June. As the season progresses fireweed, Indian paintbrush, and lupine proliferate.

Granite Hot Springs a pool built by the WPA in the 1930ˇs below the towering peaks of Granite Canyon at the end of Granite Creek Road makes pleasant conclusion to any hike in the region and is only about a mile drive from the trailhead.

Expect summer time temperatures to range from highs in the 70s-80s during the day to lows of around 30 at night. Afternoon thunderstorms with lightning and rain showers are common in the summer. It can snow any day of the year and has, so visitors should come prepared for a wide variety of weather and temperature conditions. Remember Murphyˇs Law and pack accordingly.

To get to the trailhead from Jackson follow Hwy. 89 South to Hoback Junction. Go east on Hwy. 191 approx. 11 miles to Granite Creek Road and turn left. Follow this road to a parking area on the right at the junction of Swift Creek and Granite Creek. You can also access Shoal Falls from Shoal Creek Trail from US Hwy. 191-189 in Hoback Canyon, The trailhead is about 1/2 mile west of Kozy Campground on the north side of the road and has a large parking area; this route is 16.8 miles to Shoal Lake. If my mission was to fish this is the route I would take. The trail can also be accessed from Riling Draw up Dell Creek out of Bondurant.