Logo

Home

Horse Lake, 21 September, 2025

Twelve hikers met at the usual rendezvous of Smith’s Marketplace at 8am on Sunday. Another hiker drove over from Bear Lake to meet us at the Sink Hollow parking lot. We followed the rough dirt road just beyond the parking lot to get about 0.5 mile further into the lightly wooded area than we are able to in the winter, and parked in a small open area on the left. One hiker left the group to do Stump Hollow trail maintenance.

The Sink Hollow trail starts in mixed meadow and young trees that were logged a few years ago. The trail enters denser forest and narrows down considerably, with an apt warning sign that vehicles must be less than 50 inches wide to get through the trees. The winding narrow trail gradually ascends past a large sinkhole to the Utah-Idaho border. Unfortunately, the photo opportunity sign marking the border has been removed, leaving only a bare post. One of our hikers used her trusty felt marker to show the boundary. This is the usual end point for our winter trips, but we continued on toward Horse Lake.

The trail crosses a still-flowing small creek and then ascends more steeply for a ways. The footing on the uphill section was good and the total elevation gain was a very reasonable 1100 feet. There still was evidence of the 2016 fire, but lots of new growth, too. Four young dirt bikers passed us heading up the trail then passed us on the downward trek. For the final mile, the trail leveled out and the forest opened a bit. We got to the south end of Gibson Basin and Horse Lake about 11:30am. A couple of ATVs had bowhunters scouting the area. There was some water in Horse Lake, which was surprising given our dry summer. The cool breeze encouraged us to retreat to the edge of the forest for lunch.

The forecast had predicted some rain for the afternoon, but we had mostly blue skies with pleasant fall day temperatures. We got back to the vehicles by 2 pm. Returning to Logan was slowed by the single lane construction sections, but we were all back to town about 3pm. A lovely fall hike in the woods.

Trip Summary:
  • Thirteen participants: Dave W.,  Dave P., Jane, Susan, Brent J., Kamren, Laurel, Dan, Linda, Jim, Nancy, Deb, and Teresa (leader)
  • Drove 30 miles up Logan Canyon to the Sink Hollow road
  • Started hiking from the forest road parking area about 9:30am, lunch break at Horse Lake, back to the vehicles by 2:00pm and Logan by 3:00pm.
  • Temperatures in the high 60s and low 70s with mainly blue skies and some cool breezes at the Horse Lake meadow
  • Hiked about 7.5 miles with 1100 feet of gain 

Thanks to Teresa for the narrative, photos, and GPS data, and Jane and Dave P for photos. 



Starting out on the Sink Hollow road
In August 2025, a UTV rider apparently did not heed the warning signs at each end of the trail (above left and right), resulting in an unfortunate situation (below). 

The large sink hole that gives "Sink Hollow" its name

Getting a closer look at the cave entrance in the bottom of the sink

The sign marking the Utah/Idaho border is missing


Crossing the creek
 Evidence of the 2016 fire

Horse Lake in Gibson Basin


Looking for salamanders
 Dogwood leaves have turned a purple color

Aspen leaves were turning into gold (above and below)


Good advice for trail users

Our GPS track shows about 7.5 miles and 1100 feet of ascent.
You can look at our route using Google Earth or download our GPS file.