Bridalveil Falls and Lady Face Falls in the Sawtooth Mountains

A divided waterfall in a narrow canyon — One of the waterfalls below Lady Face Falls

When I visited the Sawtooth Mountains, I asked Google for all the blog posts about the “best” hikes in the region. Several suggested Bridalveil Falls as one of the top-tier hikes in the area. Having hiked it, I’m really not sure why it’s considered “best.” Maybe I just visited in the fall, when the falls wasn’t roaring, but even spring wouldn’t fix the crazily steep social trail required to see the falls. The good views are also over very early in the hike. The best part of the hike (to us) was visiting Lady Face Falls – which you can hear but you can’t see. (We scrambled around and at least saw waterfalls below Lady Face Falls, which were very pretty.) Anyway, I’m not selling this hike very well, but feel free to read on if you need an early-season hike without a ton of elevation gain, since it thaws out earlier than many of the higher-elevation hikes. (And if you want to know what I’d consider the best hikes in the Sawtooths, I made my own post here!)

Quick Stats

Round Trip Length: 9.3 miles Trail Type: Out & back Elevation Gain: 1,772ft. Pets: Leashed Fees: None

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A dirt road with two hikers on it bordered by yellow grass and trees — Walking up the road to the trailhead

0.0 Parking area for Bridal Veil Falls (6,559ft.). Continue to walk up the road for about 500ft to where the path takes off on the left. (44.2475540°, -115.0663100°)

A trail divides from a road beside a sign in a forest with views to mountains — The turnoff for the trail to Lady Face Falls and Bridalveil Falls

500ft. Elk Mountain Loop turns left (6,584ft.). Turn left here off of the road and onto a very visible (if not very wide) trail. The path after this passes through light forests and meadows with a few reasonable views that would be lovely with snow still clinging to the peaks. (44.2481130°, -115.0679810°)

Mountains tower over a band of trees and a dry meadow with a trail running through it — Early views

0.7 Trail Register (6,543ft.). Continue right with the Stanley Lake Trail No. 640 after signing in. Enjoy the views in this meadow – they’re the best you get on the hike. (44.2429920°, -115.0757990°)

Mountains tower over trees and a yellow meadow below cloudy skies — Moody meadow views in the afternoon

1.3 Alpine Way Junction on left (6,560ft.). The Alpine Way (Trail No. 528) turns left here on a very unassuming trail. Continue right (straight) on the Stanley Lake Trail No. 640 as it wanders through the woods. (44.2379340°, -115.0855120°)

A hiker on a well-worn trail in a yellow meadow bordered by trees and with distant green and gray mountains — Hiking through the meadow toward the mountains

2.0 Lady Face Falls Junction on left (6,780ft.). A well-worn path turns left here beside a sign for Lady Face Falls. (Enjoy this sign. It’s the last you’ll see for a long time.) Turn left. The path narrows significantly as it wanders through the fir trees, but it eventually takes you to the rim of a gorge (or close to the rim of a gorge). (44.2309490°, -115.0987620°)

A waterfall tumbles between rocks into a green pool — Lady Face Falls, photo courtesy of my one group member who actually saw the waterfall

2.6 Lady Face Falls (6,713ft.). You can hear the falls from here, but the view is entirely of trees and rocks. One of my group members wiggled and scrambled his way down to see Lady Face Falls, but his report was that the effort was well more than what it’s worth to see the falls. I walked left and followed social trails (and scrambled a bit) to get down to the creek below Lady Face Falls – while I didn’t see the named falls, there are quite a few other small waterfalls in the gorge. Some of them were pretty. Return to the main trail (but only after you’re done exploring). (44.2308680°, -115.0967330°)

Mountains tower above a forest and a small, gravely stream — Views while crossing the creek (which was fairly low in September)

3.1 Return to the main trail (6,781ft.). Most people turn around here, from what I can tell from the trail register (everyone was going to Lady Face Falls!) However, believing the best about what would come next, we trekked on through the forest and eventually crossed the creek at a ford about mile 3.5 – helpful hikers had put down logs, so it wasn’t a big deal to cross, even though the stream is wide at this point. (44.2309180°, -115.0987400°)

Two paths divide in a forest beside some dead trees on the ground — The side trail that will take you to Bridalveil Falls

4.4 Unmarked side trail on right (7,284ft.). I missed this junction on the first pass – not because I didn’t see it, but because I was expecting a destination as famous as Bridalveil Falls to have a sign! (After all, up until now, the trail had been pretty well-signed). I hiked about a quarter mile in the wrong direction, pulled out my GPS coordinates, and we headed back to pick up the right trail to see the falls. At first, the trail is social in nature but not terrible – getting across the creek was a small challenge, but we kept our feet dry without issue in September. Then the trail began to climb. And the higher it climbed, the more obvious it became that this trail was not official in the least! It’s slippery, steep, rocky, and not one bit fun to ascend (let alone come back down). But we did eventually make it up to a place where we could see Bridalveil Falls! (44.2144940°, -115.1010680°)

A waterfall tumbles between trees and steep hillsides — Bridalveil Falls!

5.0 Bridalveil Falls Viewpoint (7,284ft.). I hesitate to call this a viewpoint; it’s simply a place without too many trees on the hillside where you can see the falls. The path continues, but we decided the view wasn’t going to get much better and we were done with trails so steep we were afraid of sliding back down the mountain instead of hiking! Because it was September, the falls were lacy and veil-like. I hear they roar quite nicely in the spring. We sat down on semi-stable rocks, balanced paper plates, and ate lunch while enjoying the view of the falls before retracing our steps back to the main trail. (44.2120070°, -115.1065110°)

Four hikers on a steep, gravely path between red bushes and fir trees — Descending back down the Bridalveil Falls Trail – you can see how quickly my companions are losing elevation! (And this part of the trail was in better shape than some other parts I could mention!)

5.6 Return to the main trail (6,853ft.). Turn left and retrace your steps (thankfully on a mostly flat trail!) back to the parking area. (44.2145410°, -115.1010620°)

Mountain cliffs partially obscured by a fir tree and a dead tree below cloudy skies with a patch of blue sky — Cliffs not far from Bridalveil Falls

9.3 Bridalveil Falls Trailhead (6,556ft.). (44.2475130°, -115.0663640°)

Mountains below a moody sky and above dark trees and a yellow, grassy meadow — Moody meadows in the afternoon as we hiked back to the trailhead

Round Trip Trail Length: Not including my 0.4 mile extra miles when I missed the turn, I went 9.3 miles.

Elevation Gain: 1,772ft. (6,527ft. to 7,300ft.)

Facilities: Campground close to the trailhead

Fees: None

A narrow stream of water tumbles between rocks — One of the waterfalls below Lady Face Falls

Trail Notes: I’ve probably painted a gloomy picture of this trail in part because I was expecting much better, given everything else on the lists on the internet (which were hard but at least had spectacular views). So if you think you’d enjoy hiking the trail, go for it! In the spring, the mountains will still be streaked with snow, which would improve the views dramatically. Use care with the stream crossings, especially during spring runoff. Hiking poles are very helpful for not sliding too badly on the social trail up to Bridalveil Falls.

A stream tumbles in a waterfall between large rocks — Another waterfall below Lady Face Falls

Trail

Road

Signs

Scenery

Would I go 100 miles out of my way for this?

Overall Rating:

A narrow waterfall tumbles between large rocks bordered by trees and bushes — One last waterfall below Lady Face Falls

GPS Coordinates for Lady’s Face Falls and Bridalveil Falls

TH: 44.2475540°, -115.0663100° (44°14.85324′, -115°03.97860′ / 44°14’51.1944″, -115°03’58.7160″) (6,559ft.) (0.0)

Elk Mountain Loop (Stanley Lake Trail No. 640) Junction: 44.2481130°, -115.0679810° (44°14.88678′, -115°04.07886′ / 44°14’53.2068″, -115°04’04.7316″) (6,584ft.) (482ft.)

Trail Register (junction in the meadow – Stanley Lake Trail No. 640): 44.2429920°, -115.0757990° (44°14.57952′, -115°04.54794′ / 44°14’34.7712″, -115°04’32.8764″) (6,543ft.) (0.68)

Alpine Way Junction (go right (not left) for Bridalveil Falls – stay on Trail No. 640 not 528): 44.2379340°, -115.0855120° (44°14.27604′, -115°05.13072′ / 44°14’16.5624″, -115°05’07.8432″) (6,560ft.) (1.36)

Leave trail for Lady Face Falls: 44.2309490°, -115.0987620° (44°13.85694′, -115°05.92572′ / 44°13’51.4164″, -115°05’55.5432″) (6,780ft.) (2.05)

Cliffs bounded by fir trees below a blue sky with puffy clouds — Cliffs near Bridalveil Falls

Lady Face Falls: 44.2308680°, -115.0967330° (44°13.85208′, -115°05.80398′ / 44°13’51.1248″, -115°05’48.2388″) (6,713ft.) (2.64)

Return to the main trail: 44.2309180°, -115.0987400° (44°13.85508′, -115°05.92440′ / 44°13’51.3048″, -115°05’55.4640″) (6,781ft.) (3.13)

Unmarked junction: 44.2144940°, -115.1010680° (44°12.86964′, -115°06.06408′ / 44°12’52.1784″, -115°06’03.8448″) (6,855ft.) (4.78; was 4.4 when I arrived the first time)

Bridal Veil Falls Viewpoint: 44.2120070°, -115.1065110° (44°12.72042′, -115°06.39066′ / 44°12’43.2252″, -115°06’23.4396″) (7,284ft.) (5.40)

Return to the main trail: 44.2145410°, -115.1010620° (44°12.87246′, -115°06.06372′ / 44°12’52.3476″, -115°06’03.8232″) (6,853ft.) (5.99)

End: 44.2475130°, -115.0663640° (44°14.85078′, -115°03.98184′ / 44°14’51.0468″, -115°03’58.9104″) (6,556ft.) (9.75)

A waterfall cascades between trees and steep hillsides — Bridalveil Falls

The gpx file for Bridalveil Falls can be downloaded – please note that this and the GPS Coordinates are for reference only and should not be used as a sole resource when hiking this trail.

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(Note: I do my best to ensure that all downloads, the webpage, etc. are virus-free and accurate; however, I cannot be held responsible for any damage that might result, including but not limited to loss of data, damages to hardware, harm to users, from use of files, information, etc. from this website. Thanks!)

Visual trail map and elevation profile for the hike to Lady Face Falls and Bridalveil Falls

Getting to the Bridalveil Falls Trailhead

The hike begins from the Stanley Lake Trailhead – there is a paid campground nearby. From the town of Stanley, head west on ID-21 for 5.0 miles. Turn left onto Elk Mountain Road (which may not be marked, but a sign a little way down the road gives the status of Stanley Lake Campground and Lake View Campground). Drive this road for 3.7 miles, then turn left into the Trailhead Parking.

Find Your Perfect Hike in the Sawtooth Mountains

There are dozens of trails in the Sawtooth Mountains, and this book helps you figure out which one(s) are best for you given your length restrictions and location. Buy your copy here.