Paradise Creek - FS 7070

Paradise Creek (7070) is a demanding 13-mile trail in the Sawtooth National Forest, about an hour north of Ketchum, Idaho. It branches off West Fork Big Smoky Creek and runs southeast to FS 70087. The route climbs about 1,500 feet in its first third before dropping 3,300 feet to the road. Surface conditions are mostly packed dirt mixed with gravel and baseball-sized rocks, with one major downhill rock garden. The trail begins in a wooded valley along a creek, then climbs steeply out of the basin on a narrow sidehill with exposure. Higher elevations open into sparse forest before dropping back into dense trees on the lower slopes. Obstacles include several tight switchbacks, shoulder-deep eroded trenches, and embedded rock and root sections near the highest elevations.