Four spring hikes close to Boise that'll get your legs broken in for the 2019 season!

Nature Girl: Wendy Wilson enjoys the Five Mile Creek-Watchman-Three Bears hike last Saturday.

Hi all,

My outdoor tip of the week focuses on four spring hikes close to home that'll get your legs and lungs warmed up for the 2019 hiking season!

I detailed the hikes in an outdoors article this week in the Idaho Press. Follow the link to read all about the hikes!

The hikes are:
1. Five Mile-Watchman-Three Bears - East Boise Foothills. 6 miles. About 3 hours travel time. Rated moderate to strenuous.
2. Station Creek to Bald Mountain in Garden Valley out and back. 7 miles. About 4 hours travel time. Rated moderate to strenuous.
3. Hillside to the Hollow Trails. Distance: You make the call. Easy and up.
4. Kepros Mountain out and back. Distance: 10 miles. 4+ hours travel time. Rated strenuous.

All of the hikes are featured in Boise Trail Guide: 95 Hiking and Running Routes Close to Home. 

See the Idaho Press article for more information.
- SS 

Join us for Spring Hike in the Boise Foothills Saturday

Hi all,

The Hillside to the Hollow Coalition will lead its second annual hike in the Boise Foothills at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 25, to showcase the area that the group has been working on preserving for more than a year. The public is invited and encouraged to participate.

“Join us for our second annual spring hike to get a project update (good things happening!),” said Steve Stuebner, a coalition spokesman. “Celebrate open space and Earth Day, learn about spring flowers, and enjoy some cookies and drinks afterwards. It’s a family-friendly hike. All ages are welcome.”

Meet at 10 a.m. Saturday by Lulu’s and Moxie Java in the Highlands shopping center. The weather is supposed to be grand -- high in the 60s with mostly clear skies.

The Hillside to the Hollow Coalition has been quite successful in building grass-roots support for the 350-acre swatch of foothills property bounded by 36^th Street, Hill Road and Bogus Basin Road. It now has more than 2,500 individual supporters, the endorsement of 10 neighborhood associations, and numerous businesses.

The group has presented its case to the Boise Foothills Levy Committee, the Boise Planning & Zoning Commission, and will be presenting soon to the Boise City Council. Approximately 300 people showed up for the spring hike in 2008.

“We’ve all heard the phrase a “death by a thousand cuts,” said Michelle Cooper, coalition president, a mother of two who’s been hiking in the area for 15+ years. “Well, that’s what is happening Hillside to the Hollow. We’re losing land and trails incrementally to development.”

Watch a cool video about why we need to protect Hillside to the Hollow.

For more information, call Matt at 345-2413 or email mattjc@cableone.net. Watch our web site for updates in case of nasty bad weather, www.hillsidetothehollow.org.

- SS