It's been quite the rebound to winter-like conditions in the Boise Valley and greater Southwest Idaho in the last 10 days, plus plenty of spring rain, hail and graupel. That's an awesome thing for our water supply!
It should be obvious that many of the Ridge to Rivers trails are wet and soggy, and thus it's best to search for alternatives. Stay in tune with the latest conditions on R2R Trails here.
Looking ahead to the weekend, the weather forecast looks sunny and cool on Friday, rainy on Saturday, and sunny and cool on Easter Sunday.
New snow (1-3") is forecast at Bogus Basin for a special bonus day on Saturday. Sun Valley is operating 7 days a week through Sunday, April 17.
So if you're itching to make a few more turns, the skiing/riding conditions should be great at Bogus and Sun Valley. If you venture into the backcountry to go snowshoeing or backcountry skiing, you're likely to encounter DEEP snow, with over 20" of new snow that's fallen in the last 10 days, depending on location. Could be some of the best skiing of the season!
1. Bruneau Dunes State Park. Pure sand. Located about 1.5 hours east of Boise.
2. Eagle Greenbelt from Eagle Road to Glenwood. 4-6 miles one-way. You can do a loop by crossing the pedestrian bridge across the Boise River, if you wish.
3. Snake River Trail, accessed from Celebration Park, south of Nampa. Very sandy trail to Halverson Lake or stay on the river trail to a cool old rock cabin.
4. Harrison Hollow all-weather trail. Trailhead is by Healthwise and Highlands Hollow restaurant off of Bogus Basin Road. 1.5 miles out and back.
5. Walking path from River Run to Barber Park. Good all-weather surface mostly. 3 miles one-way. Start/finish in Barber Park.
I've always been one of those people who goes with the flow when it comes to blending weather with outdoor activities, if you haven't noticed that yet ...
And this weekend, if you're a snow person, you probably already know that we've got somemajor snow storms coming through Tuesday of next week. My post for the Idaho Daily Snow is headlined "Gonna be a Snowy President's Day weekend!"
Look at these snow maps! Not all of this snow is going to come at once ... it's going to be 5-10 inches per day, depending on location, and it's going to keep coming every day through Tuesday, with a possible break between storms on Sunday.
Downhill skiers/riders should make their reservations online in advance if they haven't done so already. Here are the links to Bogus Basin, Brundage Mountain, Tamarack Resort, and Sun Valley. Soldier Mountain, Magic Mountain or Pomerelle could be other options ... Magic and Pomerelle are forecast to be in the cross-hairs of the storm systems this weekend, with nearly 3 feet of snow expected by Monday.
Snow forecast for the next 10 days ...
Max snow quantities possible through next Thursday, Feb. 18 (Courtesy Weatherbell and OpenSnow.com)
Backcountry skiing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing should be excellent as well. Here's my post from a few weeks ago with more than 15 destinations on where to go for those activities.
Please be safe out there and heed any avalanche warnings that may occur as the storms play out. The Sawtooth Avalanche Center will be a good source of information for the Wood River Valley, Stanley, Galena Summit, and the South Hills. Consult the Payette Avalanche Center for conditions in the West Central Mountains.
And a little backcountry powder skiing footage from Sargant's Mountain near McCall ...
If you're not a snow person, it's going to be kind of rainy weekend in Boise, but there will be gaps in between the rain, especially on Sunday.
So I'm also recommending a couple of walks along the Boise River. The R2R Trails will be muddy; please stay away! See R2R Facebook page for the latest conditions.
Here's the map for the nature trail loop. Start at either Bown Crossing or the East ParkCenter Bridge or by Barber Park in East Boise.
Barber Park - Marianne Williams Park Loop
Many people have been aware of the nice gravel natural trail on the south side of the river that runs from Barber Park to the ParkCenter Greenbelt (three miles total one-way). The trail is a great place for wildlife-watching in general and eagle-watching in the winter, and it's a quiet place to go walking or running because the trail is not paved, and no bikes are allowed.
With the creation of the newMarianne Williams Parkin East Boise, there is now a nature trail on the north side of the river as well. It also is lined by cottonwood trees the whole way, and the trail passes by a series of wetlands that will be chock full of bird life in a couple of months. About a mile from Eckert Road, the natural trail in Marianne Williams Park merges with a new section of paved Greenbelt and continues west to the East ParkCenter Bridge and continues west.
The nature trail loop on both sides of the river is a little less than 4 miles total. It takes at least an hour and a half at a casual pace. If you're watching for birds, it might take more like 2 hours. After you're finished, you can head over to Bown Crossing and have lunch, dinner or a beverage of choice at several different establishments includingFlatbread Pizzaand theTavern. You're also close toLucky 13if you park at Barber Park off of Eckert Road.
If you want to go farther, keep going west under the East ParkCenter Bridge and continue another 2 miles or so to the big orange ParkCenter pedestrian bridge. Longer-distance runners may prefer to take the longer route.
Eagle Greenbelt Loop
Start either on the west end of the route and park by Bardenay or Nancy Merrill Park, or start over by Glenwood and park on the southeast side of the Boise River in the large parking lot next to the Greenbelt.
It's 4.6 miles from Eagle Road to Glenwood Bridge, or about 9 miles round trip if you go the whole way. With the pedestrian bridge located about half way along the route, you can do a loop from there. Watch for wildlife during your walk! Beautiful area.
Another option from Nancy Merrill Park is to cross the pedestrian bridge and take a walk upstream on Eagle Island. You can go for several miles in that area now. Pretty to talk by the river.
Here are some species you might see on your walk ... bring your binoculars for a better view:
Wood duck
Great blue herons. There's a large heron rookery on the south side of the river, just east of Bown Crossing. There must be about 15-20 nests in the rookery. The birds are beginning to move into the nests right now. You are virtually assured of seeing herons on your walk. Herons are fish-eaters.
Kingfishers. You'll hear the tell-tale rat-tat-tat call of kingfishers as they dart across the Boise River.
Red-winged blackbirds.You'll see the blackbirds moving into the wetland areas in the coming weeks. They love the cat-tail wetlands.
Kestrels. I have seen many kestrels on the nature trail in recent weeks. They are pairing up, mating and establishing a cavity nest. Seemy videoabout our backyard kestrel nest box. Kestrels are the smallest member of the raptor family. Also known as "sparrow hawks."
Red-tailed hawksfrequent the area. They are a very common hawk in the Boise Foothills and the Boise Valley. They like to eat mice. I think there are several red-tailed hawk nests in the vicinity of the nature trail loop.
Great-horned owls. There are several owl nests in the nature trail area on the south side of the river. These birds are very predatory in nature.
Wood ducks. The males are very showy in coloration. Watch for them on the river.
Well, the weather forecast is looking ridiculously warm for early February here in the valley. The high is supposed to hit 60 degrees F in Boise on Saturday, so if you want to play in the snow, you need to head north to Brundage or Tamarack and hope for the best and enjoy the last weekend of the Winter Carnival. Looks like it's going to be rainy and marginal at Bogus this weekend, so I wouldn't go there unless you are a glutton for punishment.
Below, I'll recommend two hikes close to home that would be doable in the rain. There's no bad weather, just bad gear, right? :)
The judges will be awarding prizes for the snow sculptures in the Winter Carnival, there is an ice show at the Manchester Ice and Event Centre on Friday and Saturday night, there will be fireworks and closing ceremonies on Saturday night, and a number of other activities such as the beer garden, live music, entertainment and more are happening this weekend.
The weather forecast for Brundage looks pretty wild on Friday and Saturday with lots of new wet snow in the forecast, plus high winds. Ditto for Tamarack. The Summit lift should be above the rain.
With all of the rain forecast for Boise, I'd recommend two hikes next to the Boise River that feature walking on gravel trails. I'd still wear your best muck boots to be on the safe side. And don't forget your rain gear! (Please stay off the foothills trails).
1. Hike a 4-mile loop through 72-acre Marianne Williams Park on the north side of the river from Bown Crossing and then cross the Eckert Road bridge and hike back along the south side of the river on the nature trail from Barber Park to Bown Crossing. And then find an eatery of your choice in Bown Crossing for a hot drink and a meal and get out of the rain!
GPS map from the loop.
Here's a YouTube video I took several years ago featuring Marianne Williams Park.
2. Take a 5-mile hike on the north or south side of the Eagle Greenbelt. Check to see if the new pedestrian bridge is under construction near the Riverside Village area. Construction is supposed to start on Friday, according to Garden City officials. If you do the whole loop on both sides of the river, that'd be a 10-mile loop. You could hike it or bike it. Head for the Eagle Bardenay after your outing and enjoy some great food and drink!
Eagle Greenbelt Loop. You can start near Eagle Road or Glenwood.
New pedestrian bridge provides access to the south side of the river
Red lines indicate trails in the vicinity (click to enlarge)
Here's our puppy "Huck" crossing the ped bridge
Typical scene on south side of the river
Ducks and geese like the ponds
wetlands
Typical habitat in the area
Nice pathways - thanks Eagle!
Huck surveys the scene
North Channel of the Boise River
Hi all,
We've got a new puppy, a German shorthair-English pointer mix. He's pretty little -- only 9 weeks now -- so I've been taking him on relatively short walks, and introducing him to nature and the big world out there.
I like to walk him on dirt or gravel paths, so the other day, I thought I'd take him out to the Eagle Greenbelt section that's best accessed from Merrill Park in Eagle River or behind the Bardennay Restaurant in Eagle.
It's a great place for a low-key walk with or without dogs. A new pedestrian bridge that spans the North Channel of the Boise River opens up access to a number of pathways on the south side of the channel. There's a gravel neighborhood connector trail that runs next to a future development called Hidden Island, and farther upstream, the gravel path makes a nifty loop over to another pedestrian bridge and neighborhood connector trail.
On the north side of the channel, the dirt paths around Merrill Park provide a short loop. For longer trips, you can walk the Eagle Greenbelt east along the north side of the channel to Riverside Park/Glenwood Bridge, which is 4.6 miles or about two hours walking time. That trip is detailed in my guidebook Boise Trail Guide: 75 Hiking & Running Routes Close to Home.
Or, you can do a short loop from Merrill Park by crossing the pedestrian bridge, go west to the Eagle Road bridge, cross the highway bridge to the other side of the river, and then walk the path along the north side of the channel east back to Merrill Park. That loop is 1.4 miles.
With the trail map shown above, you'll see the options in this little-known neck of the woods. You'll see quail, kingfishers, ducks and geese, maybe a few deer or fox and coyote, and possibly a bald eagle or red-tailed hawk. There certainly must be some owls hiding out in the cottonwoods.
To get there from Boise, take State Street/Idaho 44 west to the traffic light west of the concrete plant at the Idaho 55 junction. Turn left on Riverside, and then take an immediate right by the Park & Ride to enter the Eagle River business park. Go west about a half mile, and you'll see Merrill Park on the left where E. Shore Drive goes splits off to the left from Riverside.
Read all about Steve's outdoor trips in Idaho, including hiking, mountain biking, backpacking, camping, trail-running, whitewater boating, canoeing, SUP’ing, skiing and snowshoeing.
I love being outdoors and hanging out in the mountains. It's my favorite place to be. I love to explore new places and experience different outposts in the Idaho backcountry.
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