Go for a walk, run, hike, bike ride close to home to refresh the soul!

Cool granite rock formations can be seen on the way to Mt. Kepros, one of the Boise Grand Slam Peaks.

Leslie Gulch  in the Owyhee Canyonlands

Hi all,

It's pretty surreal to realize we are in the midst of a global pandemic with the coronavirus (COVID-19). Many forces outside of our control are affecting our lives and communities for coming weeks, months -- no one knows how long. All of the health and safety advice to lay low, stay close to home, avoid large groups of people, etc., seems wise.

We are fortunate to live in Idaho, where we have lots of open spaces, public lands, public access, and extensive trail systems close to home. In a way that perhaps we have never really thought about before, these places should be safe refuges from not only the coronavirus but any other contagious diseases for that matter. 

My recommendation at this time is to maybe spend some of your extra free time to invest in your personal health and fitness and mental well-being right now by getting out on a walk, a hike, a bike ride, maybe even an early spring camping trip to get some fresh air and Vitamin D from pure sunshine. These options seem like healthy choices to me if you go with your friends and family in small groups of less than 10 people.

The Idaho Statesman featured an outdoors article this week recommending the same thing with doctor's approval. 

Mt. Cervidae affords great views of Lucky Peak Reservoir and the Boise National Forest

Where to go?  

My local hiking guidebook, Boise Trail Guide, features 95 hikes and trail-runs close to home. Everyone has their go-to favorite places to hike, but Boise Trail Guide helps you branch out and try something new.

The book also is organized by challenge and difficulty, starting with over 15 flat Greenbelt sections from Eagle to Lucky Peak and other flat walks. And then we increase the fitness challenge with a wide variety of 15+ "Easy Mountain Trails," 25+ "Moderate Mountain Trails," 25+ "Strenuous Mountain Trails," and 5 "Epic Mountain Trails."

Most of the trails in the book are snow-free, but the higher-elevation trails would be places where you could go snowshoeing or backcountry skiing.

Two of the Boise Grand Slam Peaks would be great choices right now when the trails are dry -- Mt. Cervidae and Mt. Kepros. See previous posts for details. Keep a leash handy for your dog because there could be deer or elk in those areas in the greater Boise River Wildlife Management Area.

Talk about social distancing ... the Owyhee Canyonlands, by definition, are remote with solitude pretty much guaranteed. My guidebook on The Owyhee Canyonlands: An Outdoor Adventure Guide details 55 hiking and biking day trips in the Owyhees, plus ideas on camping and tips on roadside points of interest along the 100-mile Owyhee Backcountry Byway.

Snake River canyon looking down at Swan Falls Dam, a key access point

The Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey Area, Swan Falls Dam and Celebration Park would be excellent choices right now for hiking, biking, sight-seeing and just hanging out looking for birds during the spring nesting season.

I wrote about some choice mountain bike rides last week, but another perfect choice is to simply get out and ride the Boise River Greenbelt ... maybe try some sections that you haven't done before or go back to some of your favorites. The Eagle Greenbelt loop is one of my favorites this time of year because of the opportunity to see bald eagles, great blue herons and cormorants in a large rookery near the Boise River Wastewater Treatment Plant on the south side of the river.

Cartwright 3 Summits Loop always delivers!

To up the ante, try jumping on your road bike and start building your mileage for the spring/summer riding season. I've actually been sneaking in road rides mainly on the Cartwright 3 summits loop all winter long, logging that ride maybe once a week in between trips to the mountain for alpine skiing. Biking makes for stronger ski legs, and skiiing top-to-bottom thigh-burning runs makes for stronger biking legs. All good!

My full color road cycling map for the Treasure Valley, the Boise Road Cycling Guide, provides details on more than 30 road rides throughout the valley, plus some a la carte Canyon County rides such as the scenic Lake Lowell loop and the Gem County ride, Big Freezeout-Little Freezeout Loop. 

Other helpful map resources include the Ridge to Rivers interactive trail map and the Boise Trails online site. My books/maps are available at Bandanna (Boise Trail Guide), Idaho Mountain Touring, Boise REI, stevestuebner.com, and amazon.com.

This is a time when you can do more exploring on your own with these information resources close at hand. Have fun!
- SS

Here are 5 kid-friendly hikes near Boise for Unplug and Be Outside Week

My boys Drew and Quinn at Camelsback Park

Red Fox Trail above Hulls Ponds

A Dad and two kids hike in Surprise Valley on the way to Oregon Trail Reserve

Hi all,

It's Earth Day on Sunday, and a full week of activities kick off Saturday for Unplug and Be Outside week in the Treasure Valley. So I thought I'd suggest five kid-friendly and family friendly hikes close to home for the upcoming weekend. After kind of a soggy week, the weather this weekend looks fabulous! Temps in the 80s! OMG!

First I'd like to wish all of the Race to Robie Creek runners and walkers the best of luck participating in the "toughest half-marathon in the Northwest" on Saturday. Hat's off to you.

The whole point of Unplug and Be Outside is to get your kids outside (leave the headphones and cell phone at home, please), and discover the wonders of nature. When you're out doing whatever activities you choose this weekend, look for little "teachable moments" when you can teach your kids little tidbits about nature. Maybe you can identify a wild flower, a shrub, a plant or a tree. Show them how to remember that species.

Take a sample of water from a pond or a creek and put it in a jar at home. See what's swimming around in the water and learn about it. Put it under a microscope if you have one.

Spend some time just sitting on a hillside and watch the clouds go by. Look for birds of prey flying above. If you look close, you're likely to see a kestrel, a red-tailed hawk or maybe even a cooper's hawk. Bring a pair of binoculars, a bird book and a wildflower book on the hike to help with identification.

Here are the kid-friendly hikes, all drawn from my book: Boise Trail Guide: 75 Hiking and Running Routes Close to Home.

1. Owl's Roost-Red Fox Loop. This is an easy 2.2-mile loop in the Central Foothills, starting and finishing from Camelsback Park (13th and Heron) in Boise. Rated easy. This one is great for infants or toddlers in the backpack or young kids who might be able to walk that far. Start from behind the tennis courts in the east side of the park or on the north end of 9th Street. Go north on Red Fox Trail, cross 8th Street, and come back on Owl's Roost. You'll find Owl's Roost next to the Foothills Learning Center.

2. Castle Rock - Table Rock Loop. This hike is called "Foothills on the Rocks" in my guidebooks. It's best done on foot because the trails are quite steep in a few places, especially in the approach to Table Rock on the south face. Trip distance is 4.35 miles. Travel time is 1.5-2 hours. Rated strenuous. Take Warm Springs Avenue east to the Old Penitentiary. Park behind the Bishop's House at the public trailhead. Take Castle Rock Trail #19 to the top of Castle Rock. If you have small kids, this can be your destination and loop back to the trailhead. Otherwise, take Trail #15 from the top of Castle Rock and climb to the top of Table Rock. Enjoy the view. Do a loop of Table Rock on Trails #16 and #17 and then retrace your steps back to the trailhead. It's a good workout.

3. Surprise Valley - Oregon Trail Loop. It's 2.6 miles and 1 hour hiking time. Rated easy. Start from Trinity Presbyterian Church in Surprise Valley (don't park there on Sunday morning). The church is on the right side as you drive into the Surprise Valley area on Surprise Way, off of Boise Avenue or Amity. Go behind the church and pick up the public trail that runs along the base of the basalt cliff, follow that for a mile or so, and then go up the Kelton Ramp, a rocky two-track where Oregon Trail wagons descended into the Boise Valley. Once on top of the rim, you can follow a trail that stays close to the rim, or several others on the flat portion of the Oregon Trail Reserve Park, and complete the loop.

Learning about Oregon Trail history is the teachable moment on this trail. This is what one of the interpretive signs says: Standing here, you are only a short hike away from original Oregon Trail ruts. Pioneers by the thousands walked and rode through this very country. Turning wagon wheels represented more than simply a people moving West; as the wheels turned so did the pages of our history, uniting our nation from coast to coast."

4. Military Reserve Double Ridge Loop. The loop is 3.7 miles long. About 2 hours travel time with small kids. Rated moderate to strenuous. Take Reserve Street north from Fort Street, and turn left on Mountain Cove Road. Follow the road for over a mile around a corner and park at the trailhead. Take Central Ridge Trail #22 and climb up on the middle ridge in Military Reserve Park for a mile or so. At the top of the ridge, turn right on Ridge Crest Trail #20A and go downhill to Cottonwood Creek. Go left at the bottom of the hill, cross the creek, and go left on Eagle Ridge Trail #25. Follow that trail to the toe of the ridge, and drop down to the trails by the flood control cells next to Reserve Street. Turn right and hike back to the trailhead. If you want to shorten this route for young kids, do a short loop on the Toll Road Trail #27A and Cottonwood Creek Trail #27 (total distance is slightly over 1 mile).

5. Seaman's Gulch Loops. This is a sweet and easy loop off of Seaman's Gulch Road in NW Boise. On the way to the Ada County Landfill, you'll see a trailhead, rest room and parking area on the right next to a large brown water tank. There are two short loop hikes you can do here. The loop on Trail #110 is one mile, and the loop on Valley View Trail #111 is three miles. I recommend Valley View -- it has a great bird's eye view of the city up on the hill. Rated easy.

All of these hikes and many more are featured in my book Boise Trail Guide: 75 Hiking and Running Routes Close to Home.

For tips on hiking with children, the Statesman featured Boise dad and Outside correspondent Mike Lanza this week. Mike had some great tips on getting your kids started out early in the outdoors ... and how to get them started out right ...

Beyond the hikes, check out the activities for Unplug and Be Outside week. On Saturday, they've got golf clinics, a scavenger hunt at the World Center for Birds of Prey, rock climbing at a climbing gym and a story trail at the Foothills Learning Center. There are all kinds of activities going on all week!

BTW - I will be teaching a flatwater kayaking clinic at Sierra Trading Post in Meridian on Monday and Thursday nights of next week, if you'd like to know more about places where you can paddle in a non-threatening environment in SW Idaho and what crafts to use for these kinds of paddling adventures.

For more information on kid-friendly activities, see the Be Outside Children in Nature web site and Be Outside videos.

Have fun!

- SS

Steve shares his weekly outdoor tips with Ken and Tim on 94.9 FM The River each Friday morning in Boise at approximately 7:10 a.m. If you miss the program, you can hear the segments on River Interactive.com. Detailed descriptions and color maps of Steve's hikes, bike rides and paddling trips are available for 99 cents each atwww.stevestuebner.com, plus the full ebooks and hard-copy guidebooks.

Ten hikes & bike rides suitable for families and kids for Be Outside and Unplug Week

Geoff Baker and his son, Morgan, on the Castle Rock Trail.

Dry Creek is a wet shoes kind of hike or bike ride, but it's really cool.

Kids love the pump track at the Eagle Cycle Park.

My son Quinn when he was much younger near Hulls Gulch

Steve enjoys the view on top of the Bruneau Sand Dunes

Hi all,

In the spirit of Unplug and Be Outside Week, I thought I'd recommend 10 hikes and mountain bike rides close to home that are perfectly suited for families and kids.

I took my 7th grader, Quinn, on a bike ride yesterday in Military Reserve. He's kind of a super jock, so he's been spending a lot of time playing hockey, skiing and playing baseball in recent weeks. Yesterday was a rare day when he didn't have baseball practice or a game, so I seized the day to take him on a ride on a gloriously sunny afternoon.

We rode the Jumpin' Jeepers Figure 8 Loop, a 6.5-mile hike or bike ride that culminates in climbing to Shane's Summit (see description below). Quinn had a funny low-speed crash on a tight corner. Check out the video.

He was complaining a bit about climbing Shane's until he saw a couple of young boys and girls at Shane's Summit from the Boise BYRDS, a youth-development cycling team. Some of the kids were less than 10 years old, and they made it up there! Plus, one of Quinn's classmates at North Junior High was there with the BYRDS. He was impressed.

All of the routes I'm recommending are featured in the Boise Trail Guide: 75 Hiking & Running Routes Close to Home and Mountain Biking in Boise, 5th edition. Most of these routes are pretty easy, but I tossed in a couple that are a little more challenging as well.

Be sure to bring plenty of food and water with you in a day pack. Pack a camera and take some pics. Take your time, and ask your kids how they're doing frequently to make sure they're having a good time. It's important that they have a good time, so they'll want to go on the next adventure.

In the spirit of the "unplugged" nature of this week, the tunes and cell phones should be left at home or in the vehicle. Blame it on me.

Here we go:

1. Veterans Park - Garden City Loop. This is a 3.25-mile Greenbelt loop. Good for hiking or biking. Hiking time is 1+ hour. Biking time is about 30 minutes. Start at Veterans Park in NW Boise at the corner of Veterans Parkway and State Street. The loop goes from the Veterans Memorial Parkway bridge to the Main Street bridge by the Double Tree Riverside and back. Check out the new pedestrian bridge along the way, and you can figure-8 the loop by crossing the bridge in each direction. If you've got really young kids, do the Veterans Pond loop (1 mile total). Here's some helmet cam footage of this loop.

2. Eagle Cycle Park. Go out West State Street to old Horseshoe Bend Road by the Stinker Station. Turn right and proceed 1.5 miles to the cycle park on the right. Here, you can set the kids loose on bikes and let them fool around on the pump track and small jumps. You also can cruise around on the easy but twisty singletrack trails next to the jumping area. The trails include Rabbit Run, D's Chaos, Twisted Sister and Junk Yard. All of the trails are short loops, so just cruise around until you or your kids get tired. The trails at the cycle park are open to hiking, running and biking. Here is my favorite video of the Eagle Cycle Park.

3. Owl's Roost-Redtail Loop. This is an easy 2.2-mile loop in the Central Foothills, starting and finishing from Camelsback Park (13th and Heron) in Boise. You can hike or bike the loop. Start from behind the tennis courts in the east side of the park. Go north on Red Fox Trail, cross 8th Street, and come back on Owl's Roost. You'll find Owl's Roost next to the Foothills Learning Center.

4. Seaman's Gulch Loops. This is a sweet and easy loop off of Seaman's Gulch Road in NW Boise. On the way to the landfill, you'll see a trailhead, rest room and parking area on the right next to a large brown water tank. There are two short loop hikes you can do here. The loop on Trail #110 is one mile, and the loop on Valley View Trail #111 is three miles. I recommend Valley View -- it has a great bird's eye view of the city up on the hill.

5. Military Reserve Double Ridge Loop. Go to the Fort Boise ballfields in NE Boise near St. Luke's Regional Medical Center. Take Reserve Street north from Fort Street, and turn left on Mountain Cove Road. Follow the road for over a mile around a corner and park at the trailhead. The Double Ridge Loop is 3.7 miles long. Take Central Ridge Trail #22 and climb up on the middle ridge in Military Reserve Park for a mile or so. At the top of the ridge, turn right on Ridge Crest Trail #20A and go downhill to Cottonwood Creek. Go left at the bottom of the hill, cross the creek, and go left on Eagle Ridge Trail #25. Follow that trail to the toe of the ridge, and drop down to the trails by the flood control cells next to Reserve Street. Turn right and hike/bike back to the trailhead. If you want to shorten this route for young kids, do a short loop on the Toll Road Trail #27A and Cottonwood Creek Trail #27 (total distance is slightly over 1 mile).

6. Jumpin' Jeepers Figure 8 Loop. This is a 6.75-mile moderate to strenuous loop in Military Reserve Park that's more suited for young teen-agers and up. Start at the same Military Reserve Trailhead (see directions on #5 above). Take Mountain Cove Trail along Freestone Creek out to the police firing range. Turn right on Trail #20 and climb to the left-hand turnoff for Buck Tail Trail #20A. Enjoy the twists and turns in Buck Tail and climb to Shane's Junction (Trail #26A). Climb to Shane's Summit. Now it's all downhill on the way back. Complete Shane's Loop, then take Central Ridge Trail #22 all the way back to the Trailhead. It took Quinn and I a little under 2 hours to ride this loop, including a few short stops.

7. Castle Rock - Table Rock Loop. This hike is called "Foothills on the Rocks" in my guidebooks. It's best done on foot because the trails are quite steep in a few places, especially in the approach to Table Rock on the south face. Trip distance is 4.35 miles. Travel time is 1.5-2 hours. Take Warm Springs Avenue east to the Old Penitentiary. Park behind the Bishop's House at the public trailhead. Take Castle Rock Trail #19 to the top of Castle Rock. If you have small kids, this can be your destination and loop back to the trailhead. Otherwise, take Trail #15 from the top of Castle Rock and climb to the top of Table Rock. Enjoy the view. Do a loop of Table Rock on Trails #16 and #17 and then retrace your steps back to the trailhead.

8. Surprise Valley - Oregon Trail Loop. I wrote about this earlier this spring as a great early-season route. Check out my blog for details on this route. It's 2.6 miles and 1 hour hiking time. Rated easy. It's great to do this one on a bike or on foot.

9. Dry Creek out and back. Ironically, Dry Creek is the only perennial stream in the Boise Foothills, even though the name would suggest otherwise. This is a good out-and-back trail. It's more than six miles to the top of the trail, but most people go just a few miles up and back. To find the trail, go about three miles past the stop sign at Bogus Basin Road and Curling Drive and park in an unsigned pullout on the right side of the road. This is an intermediate hike best suited for 8-year-olds and up. It's an advanced mountain bike ride. Be aware there will be several stream crossings, so your feet may get wet, especially this time of year.

10. Bruneau Dunes State Park. I had to toss this in as an option because kids love to play in the sand, and spring is a perfect time to visit the park. Take I-84 to Mountain Home. Go south on ID 51 toward Bruneau. After you cross the Snake River, turn left on ID 78 and follow signs to the park. There is overnight camping and RV hookups. Drive into the park to the closest access point to the dunes next to the lakes. Look for interesting animal tracks in the sand. See if your kids can identify the tracks. Climb to the top of the sand dune and enjoy the view.

For more detailed information and site-specific maps of these trails, go to www.stevestuebner.com.

For a large-scale Ridge to Rivers map of the Boise Foothills, click here.

-- SS

Steve shares his weekly outdoor tips with Ken and Tim on 94.9 FM The River each Friday morning at approximately 7:10 a.m. If you miss the program, you can hear the segments on River Interactive.com.