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Golden Lake Trail

3489 Green Canyon Rd

Island Park, Idaho 83429

<span class="s1">The hike to Golden Lake in Harriman State Park is a moderatehike that leads you through the wildflower meadows beside crystal ponds, creeks, and lakes that reflect the sky and clouds. It is 4 miles each way. Golden Lake nestles in lodgepole pine-covered hills, marsh grass, and meadows with a view of the blue crags of the Tetons in the distance, like mountains in a dream. It is just a sample of the 21 miles of</span><span class="s2">trails</span><span class="s1">in this state park.</span>

<span class="s1"><b>Features:</b></span>

<ul class="ul1">

<li class="li3"><span class="s1">Semi-wilderness experience</span></li>

<li class="li3"><span class="s1">Look for wildflowers in the large meadows</span></li>

<li class="li3"><span class="s1">Trumpeter Swans and grazing elk may be seen</span></li>

</ul>

<span class="s1"><b>Directions:</b></span>

<ol class="ol1">

<li class="li4"><span class="s1">Take Highway 20 northeast out of Rexburg to Ashton, Idaho.</span></li>

<li class="li4"><span class="s1">Continue on Highway 20 for 19 more miles until to come to the sign indicating Harriman State Park, turn off.</span></li>

<li class="li4"><span class="s1">Follow the signs for another 1.5 miles to the park visitors center.</span></li>

<li class="li4"><span class="s1">You can pay your fees either at the visitors center or the kiosk at the park entrance.</span></li>

<li class="li4"><span class="s1">In the summer you can drive to a parking lot closer to the center of the park. In the winter, you start skiing from the visitors center.</span></li>

<li class="li4"><span class="s1">From the parking lot take the trail along the river towards the group of ranch buildings.</span></li>

<li class="li4"><span class="s1">After passingalongside the buildings you will come to a fork in the trail. You can go either to the left or the right. To the left goes through the trees. The right across the meadow. Follow the signs.</span></li>

<li class="li4"><span class="s1">At the visitors center, you can obtain a pamphlet of the all the</span><span class="s2">trails</span><span class="s1">at Harriman. The</span><span class="s2">trails</span><span class="s1">within the park are well marked at each intersection.</span></li>

</ol>

<span class="s1">History of the Park</span>

<span class="s1">The park was formerly the property of the Railroad Ranch. It was called that because it was started by owners of the Oregon Shortline Railroad. When Union Pacific bought the railroad, the early owners sold the ranch to E. H. Harriman, a major stockholder in Union Pacific. Harriman added to the ranch by buying others around it. At the same time, they used it as a hunting preserve as well as a working cattle ranch. In the Sixties, Harriman donated the ranch to the state of Idaho and the state changed the ranch into a park in the early eighties.</span>