Born Lakes are located in Sun Valley’s White Cloud Wilderness, accessible via the Fourth of July Lake Trailhead. From Ketchum, drive north on Highway 75 for 47.5 miles to Fourth of July Creek Road. Turn right and continue approximately 9.5 miles to the trailhead. The road accommodates passenger vehicles and horse trailers.
The lakes lie within a stunning cirque basin, framed by some of the highest summits in the White Clouds. Idaho Fish and Game first stocked the lakes in the late 1960s and early 1970s with rainbow and cutthroat trout. Lakes 1, 2, and 3 benefit from healthy tributary inflows, allowing limited natural spawning—a rare feature among alpine lakes. Lake 4 has fewer fish with minimal reproduction, while the uppermost lake is fishless.
I visited the basin in 1980, 1996, 2000, and 2011 and have only caught cutthroat trout—never rainbows. Lake 2, though small, holds a lively population and offers good fishing in its connecting tributary.
🎣 Fishing Ethics & Gear Due to limited reproduction and no recent Idaho Fish and Game stocking, all fish should be released. Use barbless hooks and try small black or green midge patterns in sizes 18–20.
🥾 Trail Notes The hike is strenuous, with notable elevation gains and losses along a well-marked trail. Snow often lingers into mid-July on the north-facing sections.
🚵 Mountain Bike Access Bikes are permitted as far as Fourth of July Lake, though steep terrain makes for a challenging ride. While I observed mountain bikers at the first Born Lake in 2011, they had carried their bikes most of the way from Fourth of July Lake. Legality of biking deeper into the basin remains questionable.
🧗♂️ Alpine Climbs The basin provides access to Patterson, Lonesome, and Do Lee Peaks—all prominent features of the White Clouds and attainable for determined climbers.
DO Lee White Cloud Peaks
Born Lake / Lonesome Peak
Ants Basin