Lamoille - Talbot Trail
in the Ruby Mountains

The Lamoille - Talbot trail is part of the proposed Secret - Lamoille Trail. As of the summer of 2014 The Lamoille - Talbot trail is still under construction with 4.1 miles of the trail complete. The approximate length of the completed trail is around 11 miles. This trail is located at the mouth of Lamoille Canyon. The trail head is located across the road from the paved parking above the Powerhouse Picnic Area. This is the newest trail in the Ruby Mountains and can accommodate hikers, mountain bikers and horses. The Lamoille - Talbot trail is a rated as a Class II horse and mountain bike trail. There is also less than .10 miles of the trail on private land.

The trail starts at an elevation of around 6300 feet at the mouth of Lamoille Canyon and climbs through a series of switchbacks to between 7000 - 8000 feet were it starts to level off. The lower elevation of this trail means it is open when most trails are not. Also this is one of the last trails to close. Depending on the year you could hike parts of this trail most of the winter as we did in 2014. Another great aspect of this trail is that a lot of the trail is in the trees. This gives you some shade and some awesome scenery. One of the aspects I like about this trail is that the scenery is just as good at the beginning as it is at the end.

This is an easy trail with a lot of switchbacks that turns the trail into an easy walk (in my opinion). And one of the best reasons to hike this trail is the scenery is awesome. You have views of Lamoille Canyon and the town of Lamoille. You can even see South Fork once you get part way up the trail. Plus there are great views of the trail through the trees. There are a couple of things to keep in mind though. There is now water for the first 4 miles at least and this will be a hot trail to hike in the summer. And as of 2014 this trail is 4 miles one way. A round trip will be 8 miles and that is pretty good hike. Please plan accordingly.

A few tips when hiking this trail.
  • With this trails lower elevation the temperatures can get hot during the summer.
  • Be advised there is no water on this trail. Please be prepared.
  • This trail is for hikers, horses, and mountain bikers. Know your trail Etiquette.
    • Hikers
      • Yield to horses. Stay downhill of the horse.
      • Step to the side of the trail or wave a bike rider by on wider trails.
    • Mountain Bikers
      • Mountain Bikers yield to hikers, Horses and uphill traffic.
    • Equestrians
      • All trail users yield to horses
      • Please don't take inexperienced horses on a busy trail.
  • For the complete story on trial etiquette check out Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance's page on trail etiquette.

.kml File
Here is the .kml that can be opened with Google Earth.
This file has the track log for the finished part of the Lamoille - Talbot Trail as of June 2014.
If the track does not show check the box labeled "Track" in the left pane of Google Earth.

Lamoille-Talbot Trail.kml

To download this file in Google crome just click on it. If you are using IE 9 right click the file and choose "Save target as". Make sure you save the file as a .kml and not a .xml.

National Forest Service Decision Memo