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| Bogus Basin Ski Area |
| Boise Front |
| Boise River Greenbelt |
| Hidden Springs |
| Lucky Peak Reservoir |
| Shaw Mountain |
Bogus Basin is a ski resort 15 miles north of Boise, Idaho. The Bogus Basin map shows cross country ski trails, mountain bike trails, hiking trails, and a few downhill ski runs. Bogus Basin is an excellent place to escape the heat to hike, mountain bike or horseback ride during the months of July, August, and September.
Bogus Basin Ski Resort. This winter map shows the Bogus Basin ski trails and includes GPS waypoints for ski lift loading stations. The views on the preview page were created by screen capturing views using WM3D GPS Mapping Software which allows you to virtually fly over the resort.
Just north of Bogus Basin the More's Mountain Nature Trail starts from the Shafer Butte Picnic Area, ascends More's Mountain and loops around the twin summit, and then descends through old growth trees. (Foot Traffic Only) back to the picnic area.
The Boise Front is a large undeveloped area just north of Boise, Idaho. The area was used for spring sheep grazing by Brad Little until 2001. Some of this land is important winter range for deer and elk, and the region actually includes a few square miles of old-growth forest. This map is a very large network of trails on the Boise Front. My favorite route to the Boise Ridge Road is Hard Guy, starting from Bogus Basin Road on the Corrals Trail.
The Hull's Gulch Nature trail follows a riparian oasis notable for the abundance of birds in a dry desert environment. Six newly placed steel bridges placed at great expense and difficulty make this an easy hike, especially when traveled in the downhill direction. (Foot Traffic Only)
The Corrals loop is a popular mountain bike route of about 14 miles which starts and ends at Camel's back park in the North End of Boise, Idaho. The trail travels up Bogus Basin road, heads to trail 31, the Corrals trail, then drops into Hull's gulch and takes trail 28, the Crestline trail, back to the park.
The Crestline Shanes loop is a strenuous loop, 3000 foot elevation gain and loss, which begins at Fort Boise Park, ascends the Crestline and Sidewinder trails to the Hull's Gulch motorcycle trail up to the slide, and then descends the Freestone Gulch trail to the Troll's locked gate, then over Shane's trail to Rocky Canyon road.
The Hard Guy to Dry Creek mountain bike loop is a difficult but rewarding 22 mile mountain bike trip. Allow plenty of time because the descent down Dry Creek is an unimproved trail with a few short, dangerous sections. You'll pass through old growth forest in the upper section. You'll also see a beaver dam with fish, a rarity in the Boise Foothills. The trail crosses Dry Creek many times on the descent. I've seen wild turkeys along Dry Creek here as far down as the intersection of Shingle Creek and Dry Creek. (If you have good endurance, this loop also makes an excellent spring hike.)
This GPS Trail Map includes Rocky Canyon, Orchard Gulch, the Curlew Connector, Freestone Ridge, and Shanes Trail to make a difficult, challenging mountain bike loop for experts only. I took lots of photographs on the trip, because the foothills are spectacularly and uncharacteristically green after the torrential rain of the Spring of 2005.
The Boise River greenbelt extends from Lucky Peak Dam about 10 miles east of Boise to Garrett in Garden City just northwest of Boise. On the entire route within the city of Boise, you will never cross traffic! The only traffic crossing are east of Boise in the Harris Ranch area. In winter, a short hike starting at Willow Lane athletic park and heading west towards the fairgrounds provides excellent viewing of wintering waterfowl.
The Garden City Foot Path starts just downstream of the Glenwood Bridge at the pond on the north side of the Boise river.
The Eagle City Foot Path starts at the city park east of the Hilton Hotel at Eagle Road and the north branch of the Boise River. In summer, children of all ages will enjoy the interactive water fountain and playground.
The hidden springs hiking trails just West of Boise were developed in conjunction with the Hidden Springs subdivision. The hills collect the early afternoon sunshine and make a very pleasant early winter hike. The trails are also open to, and popular with, mountain bikers.
This map shows several hikes and mountain bike rides in the area of Lucky Peak Reservoir. One hike, Lydle Gulch, starts and Barclay bay at the east end of the dam. A mountain bike ride to Bonneville point starts at the same point. A sagebrush hike along the Diversion Dam pool starts across the river at Foote Park.
Shaw Mountain is the large twin-peaked mountain just to the southeast of Boise, Idaho. The southeastern peak is called Lucky Peak, which confuses us all by also being the name of the nearby reservoir which holds back the spring runoff. This is a large network of trails on the Idaho Fish and Game winter refuge.
The middle loop trail here starts at Barber Village, which was the site of housing for sawmill workers, and meanders across the southern flank of Shaw Mountain, to the abandoned Highland Valley road, and then down to Ben's Crow Inn, a seafood and burger place.
The middle loop trail is mostly on double-track jeep trails. On my trip I saw a Golden Eagle, Deer, and many cows. I heard meadowlarks on most of the trip. This is a short (9 miles) but very steep trail in places. You need either a light body or low gearing. The downhill section on Highland Valley road can become tricky and treacherous when sand washes onto the road.
Penitent believers may hike or bike from the Old Idaho State Penitentiary to the cross on Table Rock 1000 feet above. Unrepentant sinners, pagans, and rock climbers should take the alternate trail to the sandstone quarry.
The lower loop on Shaw Mountain is from Barber Park to Ben's Crow Inn, taking the Cobb trail instead of proceeding up to West Highland Valley Road