Tag: wildflowers
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Lone Lake (North Idaho)
Up to this point, I’ve only written about hiking destinations within three hours of Boise (hence the blog name), but last weekend, I found myself in Coeur d’Alene for a wedding and seeking a hike to do the following day. My search parameters were simple: I was looking for something around 7 miles long with…
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Marten & Kelly Lakes
When you think “lakes in the Sawtooths,” your mind probably goes straight to Redfish, Alice, Toxaway, and Imogene – some of the most popular and beautiful hiking locations in the state of Idaho. While I’d highly recommend the latter three to anyone looking for an incredible backpacking loop and Redfish for boating or paddling, I’ve…
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Boulder Lake, Rapid Lake, and Vic’s Lake
It’s been a few months since my last post, and in that time, I’ve officially eclipsed one thousand miles of hiking since the COVID-19 shutdown in early 2020! Throughout the summer, I’ve maintained my goal of 40 miles per month, bringing my 2022 total to 177 miles. Unfortunately, many of those miles have been on…
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Wilson Flat Loop
While most Boiseans are familiar with our local reservoirs, Lucky Peak and Arrowrock, a surprising number haven’t made the trip to nearby Anderson Ranch Reservoir. Only 20 miles northeast of Mountain Home, where the sagebrush hills meet the forested mountains of the Trinity and Boise Ranges, the lake is held back by an earth rockfill…
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Rainbow Basin
The Trinity Peak fire lookout tower watches over some of the most magnificent and expansive terrain in the Boise Mountain Range, including the nine lakes along Rainbow Basin Trail, all of which can be hiked to in one day along this 12.4-mile route. If you’re seeking a trail that is as strikingly beautiful as any…
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My Favorite Hikes in Boise’s Ridge to Rivers Trail System
Boise’s Ridge to Rivers trail system encompasses more than 230 miles of hiking, biking, and horseback riding along over 150 trails, stretching from the highpoint of Boise Ridge at Shafer Butte all the way down to just shy of the Boise River, as the name aptly suggests. In the summer of 2021, I achieved my…
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Sage Creek
My first hike of spring 2022 is in the books! Up to this point, the posts I’ve written were hiked in either 2020 or 2021, making this my first “live” update of the blog. The weather in Boise has been warming up and conditions are perfect in the Owyhees, so my girlfriend and I headed…
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South Fork Boise River Scenic Byway
Most Boiseans probably know Black’s Creek Road as the last interstate exit before entering Boise proper, or the route to historic Bonneville Point, where Captain Benjamin Bonneville and his expedition party first laid eyes on the Treasure Valley and the seam of green running through it, prompting exclamations of “Les Bois! Les Bois!” However, those…
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Granite Peak to Tripod Peak Lookout via West Mountain Trail
There are hundreds of fire lookout towers on the high peaks of Idaho’s forests, many of which are still manned in the summer as the first line of defense against wildfires. One of them sits precariously atop Tripod Peak, which looms over Round Valley, Long Valley, and Cascade Reservoir, with expansive views north to the…
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Owyhee Range High Points
Treasure Valley residents might be surprised to learn that at 8,403 feet, Hayden Peak, the high point of the Owyhee Range, sits almost 900 feet higher than Shafer Butte, the prominent Boise mountain home to Bogus Basin Ski Area. In fact, the four highest points forming the backbone of the Owyhees are all above 8,000…
Exploring Boise's Wilderness 