These are my favorite 2023 hikes that weren’t worthy of an individual blog post.

The Cliffs of Étretat and the Mortain Cascades

The paved path along the Cliffs of Étretat offers stunning views of the namesake limestone bluffs and formations jutting out from the English Channel. Famous impressionist Claude Monet spent time here honing his craft by painting the land and seascapes at different times of the day, highlighting how different shades and angles of sunlight create vastly different results. Further south in the countryside, the small town of Mortain is built in a gorge home to two large waterfalls on the Cance River, one of which is featured in the cover photo above. Both cascades are easily reached from the church in the center of town.

Why it didn’t make the blog: As you may have already guessed, Étretat and Mortain are not located in Idaho. These trails are in the French Province of Normandy, which would really break my rule of “day trips within three hours of Boise.” However, if you’re visiting France and feel the itch to go hiking, they’re great picks!

Upper Leslie Gulch & Timber Gulch

The trail into Upper Leslie Gulch features one of the most interesting freestanding hoodoos in the area. The seemingly top-heavy, leaning column appears as if it could topple over at any moment. Rock climbers will also find the only legal routes among all of this enticing topography. Further down the road, the less-hiked trail into Timber Gulch ascends quickly to a cathedral-like chasm with looming vertical walls and sharp pinnacles.

Why it didn’t make the blog: I’ve already written about Juniper Gulch, the flagship hike in the Leslie Gulch Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Upper Leslie Gulch and Timber Gulch are outstanding in their own right, but I think they’re better explored without me spoiling them. If you need driving directions, check out my post Juniper Gulch to the Yellow Jacket. All four trailheads in the area are within about a mile of each other.

Kepros Mountain

The trail to Kepros Mountain begins with a somewhat grueling ascent to a high ridge where 360° views immediately unfold. The next several miles hug the ridgeline before dropping to a saddle and then surging back up to the Kepros summit. It’s one of the more scenic high points in the Boise Range and won’t punish you like the trails to nearby Cervidae Peak and Mount Heinen.

Why it didn’t make the blog: Kepros Mountain is one of Boise’s Grand Slam Peaks, which have been written about at length online and in guidebooks. I’d still emphatically recommend it, especially in the late spring when arrowleaf balsamroot and lupine are in bloom, and the tall grasses of the Boise Range are still green. A quick Google search will result in a plethora of resources if you want to read more!

Twentymile Lakes

The first two miles of trail along Twentymile Creek amble east with almost no elevation gain before veering steeply up a hillside towards the Twentymile Lake Basin. An excellent backpacking location, this area probably sees very few day hikers due to the distance. When we visited in early June, huge snowfields still clung to the rocky peaks around the lakes, creating dramatic, ephemeral waterfalls as they melted off.

Why it didn’t make the blog: At fourteen miles, this was one of the longest trails we hiked this year, and some sections are severely overgrown. Additionally, once you reach the first lake in the basin, the trail disappears, and it’s arduous cross-country hiking to the other three. I’ll propose this as an Idaho Trails Association project in the off-season when we’re scoping our work for 2024. Until it gets clear cut, I wouldn’t recommend it to casual hikers, despite its low difficulty-to-distance ratio.

Santa Paula Punchbowls

On a hot midsummer day, the first few miles of Last Chance Trail will fool first-time hikers into thinking the entire experience will be dusty, sweltering, and smelly (there’s a lot of algae in Santa Paula Creek and the trail passes around an oil drilling site). Just when all hope seems lost, the trail enters a narrow canyon, crosses a crystal-clear creek, and descends to an unexpected oasis, complete with a striking waterfall. The water is spectacularly cold, a complete 180 from everything up to this point. Intrepid hikers can continue higher to several other waterfalls and pools.

Why it didn’t make the blog: Again, this would be a serious offender of my three-hour driving time limit from Boise, as Santa Paula is a small town northwest of Los Angeles. This trail was also decimated by the historic 2023 flooding in Southern California and is difficult to follow. However, if you’re in the area and looking for amazing scenery and exhilarating swimming holes, Last Chance Trail to the Punchbowls is worth the effort.

Summit and Louie Lakes Loop

The emerald waters of Summit Lake sit in a picturesque bowl in the Salmon River Mountains southeast of McCall. Accessed via the popular Boulder Meadows Trailhead, it’s one of the more remote destinations that can be reached via day hike in the area and also offers great backpacking sites along the shore. On the other hand, Louie Lake is a well-known destination with stellar views of Jughandle Mountain. When combined, you get an epic day hike with several points of interest.

Why it didn’t make the blog: We’d already hiked parts of this trail last year, which I wrote about in my post Boulder Lake, Rapid Lake, and Vic’s Lake. We liked those three lakes better than the combination of Summit and Louie Lakes, which is a longer and more difficult loop with steep ascents and descents. I would, however, recommend hiking to Louie Lake out-and-back from the Boulder Meadows Reservoir trailhead.

Happy Trail y’all! See you in 2024.