Getting There: At the top of Thompson Pass, trail #404 takes off just on the Montana side of the pass on the North side of the parking lot. There is an interpretive sign where the trail takes off. The trail starts out very flat as you walk on the remnants of an old road and along the old canal. The canal used to bring water over from Montana to the mining activities on the Idaho side of the crest. It is about a mile of good walking and then you turn up the hill into a series of switchbacks. After a bit the trail lines out at a good grade for about 1.5 miles before you top out and drop downhill for a bit before going uphill again; but not nearly at the same grade.
Except for a rocky outcrop and overlook, the entire trail is under the forest canopy and well shaded. There isn’t any water along the trail until you arrive at the lake, so bring enough water for yourself and your dog. The only other trail on this route is a trail coming from the lower horse trailhead that is only 0.5 down the road the Montana side. Kathy and I saw a couple people head down that trail as they weren’t paying attention and had to come back up.
At the Lake: Kathy, Skye and I first went into these lakes in 2019. It was a pretty nice day and we got up to the trailhead early to avoid the crowds. I fished the lower lake for a bit with lures and caught several nice 10–12-inch trout during that time. 
The lower lake has a nice bench above the lake to the right of the outlet that will accommodate several tents and there are several good sites on the left side of the lake. There is a nice rock outcrop that slopes down to the water that would be good for a nap. On our way out we probably saw around 20 people. The dog was super exhausted as she did quite a bit of swimming and lots of running up and down the trail.
In 2021 (June 6th), my son Colter, Skye and I went back into the lower lake for a day hike and fish. It really wasn’t a very good day, one of the few times I fished with gloves on. There was a group that was already camping at the lake. A lady and 5-6 kids between 9 and 13 years old. I was impressed that she and the kids were there as it hadn’t been good weather for several days and they had been there for 2 nights. It didn’t take me long to catch a couple of fish and the kids were amazed as they had only caught 1 in 3 days. We stayed an hour or so as the wind came up and the temperature was not getting any warmer. Another lake that I really don’t want to go to on the weekends. In 2020, I went over the pass on a Saturday and there were around 20 vehicles parked there.
