Fly Lake

Difficulty: Moderate
Trip Type: Backpacking / Day Hike
Distance: ~3.7 miles from trailhead / 1.6 miles from Anvil Lake
Elevation: 9,794 feet
Coordinates: 45.11996, -109.96935
Time: ~2 hours from Anvil Lake
Access: Unmaintained off-trail navigation. ATV or off-road buggy required to reach the vehicle turnaround.
Bugs: Minimal (little to no bugs)

Getting there

Accessing this area requires navigating the rugged Goose Lake Jeep Trail. You will absolutely need an ATV, an off-road buggy, or a highly capable off-road vehicle. Your driving portion ends when you reach the vehicle turnaround near the Goose Creek waterfall area, which serves as your staging spot to park and shoulder your packs.

Be extremely cautious when parking your vehicle; local pine martens are highly active in this basin and are notorious for chewing on wires and cables underneath parked machines. Just before the trail ends near the falls, look for a hard right turn that points you north to begin the hike.

The hike

If you are traveling straight from the vehicle turnaround, the route to Fly Lake is 3.7 miles and involves 1,065 vertical feet of elevation gain. For hikers linking lakes together from the Anvil Lake basin, this destination sits roughly 1.6 miles past Anvil Lake. If you are tracking sequentially from your last water stop, Fly Lake is located just a short walk past Spider Lake.

The approach requires navigating the initial steep hill climb out of the Anvil basin. Once you clear that initial rigorous slope and pass Lake Aries, Sourdough Lake, and Spider Lake, you will follow the unmaintained drainage bench slightly further to the shores of Fly Lake.

Tips & safety

• Navigation: There are no maintained paths leading through this upper basin section. Continuous cross-country route-finding is required to travel between the lakes on the high bench.

• Weather: High-altitude mountain weather can turn fast here. Come fully prepared for sustained cold rain or sudden storms.

• Fishing: FWP and GNIS data listed for Brook Trout.