Iron Bog Lake

Iron Bog

Well, it's my turn again to write our trip experience. July 17th and 18th we headed over to Antelope Creek, to try hiking into Iron Bog Lake. How to get there: drive to Arco, follow highway 93 North, to Moore, then take a left heading in a southwest direction for several miles, vague I know, forgot to set the odometer 😊.  You'll pass by Iron bog campground right before the road forks. Continue on trail 40220 Left Fork Iron Bog for about 3 miles to the parking lot of the trailhead, I would recommend a high clearance four-wheel drive as the road is rough getting there.

Once at the trailhead there are two options: Trail 4065 or trail 4067. Take trail 4065, as the other takes you over to Hurst Canyon.

 We arrived at about 10:00 am, a little late, but still early to beat the afternoon heat. So we took off up the trail. This trail climbs up fairly quickly,  about 1250 ft elevation to reach Iron Bog Lake. The kids were having a blast, and Lyssa loved the hike- jamming out to her tunes as we walked. Took several breaks along the way to enjoy the scenery.


The trail is about 2 miles to Iron Bog Lake and another mile to Fish Pole Lake. Upon arrival, Iron Bog Lake does not disappoint! The kids couldn't wait to set up a camp and start exploring,  There were several places to set up the tent that already had preexisting fire rings in the area.


We saw a mountain goat, bull elk, and pine grouse. The funny thing about pine grouse, they have a knack of catching you by surprise while hiking and typically scare the crap out of you when they flush, this pine grouse was no different.

 The trip went fairly well, except for the wind storm. We had high wind warnings for that evening, and we decided to ride it out. That was an interesting experience. The wind gust was probably 60 mph or more, you could hear the roar of the wind as it rushed down the mountainside, basically wait and brace for it. Several times throughout the night, I thought the tent was going to go airborne. We survived and the tent mostly did too, except one of the poles has a permanent bend.  

Otherwise trip was a blast, and this lake and hiking trail is definitely worth visiting. Until next time.

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