Payette National Forest · Idaho

Buckhorn Creek

12 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 096 · trail class 3 · typical grade trail_grade · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, bike, motorcycle, e-bike · motorized use allowed

Trailhead Buckhorn Creek Trailhead Drive there

Buckhorn Creek Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up

Access Buckhorn Creek Trailhead from the South Fork of the Salmon River Road (FS#674), and cross over the bridge. The trailhead is at elevation 3,882 feet. There is adequate parking for vehicles and horse trailers at the trailhead.

Buckhorn Creek/Summit trail #096 can be accessed from this trailhead. From trail #096, you can cross over Buckhorn Summit and descend to Boulder Lake on North Fork Kennelly Creek Trail #102 .

About 3/4 of a mile up trail #096, you can access the West Fork of Buckhorn Creek Trail #094 . If you desire to stay along the South Fork, shortly up trail #094, you can access the Krassel Knob Trail #089 and follow it to the Krassel Knob Trailhead immediately across the walking bridge from the Krassel Work Center.

Approximately 5 miles up trail #096, you can access the Buckhorn Creek Cutoff Trail #095 to reach the West Fork of Buckhorn Creek via trail #094.

Approximately 5 1/2 miles up the trail #096, you can access the South Fork Buckhorn Creek Trail #097 . Trail #097 does loop back around to the Cougar Creek Trail #098 and to Reed Ranch on the South Fork Road. Trail #097 does continue on to just south of South Buckhorn Creek Summit and ties into the North Fork Kennelly Creek Trail #102 on the Paddy Flat-Jughandle Mountain Recreation Area on the McCall Ranger District.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Payette National Forest

Other trails from the Buckhorn Creek Trailhead

All 357 trails in Payette National ForestFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.