Five early spring kid-friendly hikes in the Boise Foothills, Boise N.F. and the Owyhees

Bruneau River Canyon, courtesy Chad Case 

Shoofly Quick Loop, Owyhee Canyonlands 

On top of the Owyhee Plateau before dropping into the West Fork of Shoofly Creek. 

Hi all,

If the weather forecast holds, it should be a pretty nice weekend for early spring hiking. It's supposed to be mostly sunny on Saturday with highs in the upper 50s, and even warmer on Sunday, with highs in the mid-60s.

I've picked out five of my favorite hikes that would work well at this time of year (you shouldn't run into any snow), they're all kid-friendly, and they're in diverse locations in the Boise Foothills, Boise National Forest and the Owyhee Mountains. Two of the hikes are drawn from my Boise Trail Guide: 90 Hiking and Running Routes Close to Home, and three are pulled from my hiking and biking guide on the Owyhee Canyonlands.

Indian Paintbrush in Shoofly Creek

All of these hikes can be done as a day trip. Dress in layers, bring a shell or light jacket for wind-protection and warmth, pack a lunch and plenty of water, take your hiking shoes, and head for the hills! Hiking poles are recommended for the Shoofly hike and Station Creek.

1. Five Mile Creek-Orchard Gulch, Boise Foothills - Distance: 5.35 miles. Hiking time: 2.5 hours. Elevation gain: 1,149 feet. Rated moderate to strenuous. Drive up Rocky Canyon Road 2.5 miles to the Five Mile Creek Trail junction. Go slow and watch out for Robie Creek runners and mountain bikers. Park by the trailhead. It's a beautiful hike up Five Mile Creek on a singletrack trail. There are several creek crossings. Look for animal tracks. It's about 1.5 miles to Orchard junction (signed). Go right and climb to a small pass, where you'll drop into Orchard Gulch. Follow the trail down several switchbacks and hike back to Rocky Canyon Road. It's 1.2 miles of gradual downhill on the dirt road back to the Five Mile Trailhead.

Great views of the Boise National Forest from the Station Creek Trail 

Top of Bald Mountain in Garden Valley

2. Hike Station Creek Trail to the top of Bald Mountain, Boise National Forest - Distance: 7.2 miles. Hiking time: 3.5-4 hours. Elevation gain: 2,000 feet. Rated moderate to strenuous. This is one of the best hikes with an actual trail in the Boise National Forest close to Boise. It takes about an hour to drive to the trailhead. Take Idaho 55 to Banks. Turn right and follow the Banks to Lowman Road to the Garden Valley Ranger Station. Look for a primitive road on the left side of the highway, directly across from the ranger station. That leads to the Station Creek Trail. It's a sweet hike on a singletrack trail through ponderosa pine trees to the top of the ridge. Ignore the short-loop junction on the way up the hill. Once on top of the ridge (mile 2.1), you'll see Bald Mountain looming off to the right (east). It's another 1.5 miles one-way to the top of the mountain, but not that much elevation gain. Easy-going stroll to the peak. There's a goofy looking steel four-legged thing on top of the peak. Do a selfie on top, and retrace your tracks back to the trailhead.

3. Bruneau River Overlook - This is more of a driving tour, than a hike, but there are places to hike once you reach the overlook. The reason to go there is to see the jaw-dropping chasm of the Bruneau River and rushing water below. Allow several hours to reach the overlook. Take I-84 to Mountain Home. Take the first exit and go south to the town of Bruneau. Make note of your odometer reading or zero your trip odometer. Go south on the Hot Springs Road. It's paved for several miles and then turns to dirt. 8.5 miles from Bruneau, go left on the Clover Creek-Three Creek Road. This is a good-quality gravel BLM road. Proceed south on the road to a signed right-hand turn (mile 15.7) for the Bruneau River Overlook. It's three miles to the canyon. Bring your camera and your binoculars. Look for eagles and hawks. You might even see some whitewater boaters running Five Mile Rapids below. There are several two-track roads next to the overlook that you can explore for some short hikes. Watch your footing next to the canyon! It's a long ways down!

Three Fingers from a close distance ... the road cut provides a trail to the top 

4. Hike to Three Fingers Mountain - Three Fingers is an easy hike to the top of a basalt-capped mountain in the big wide open country of the Owyhee Canyonlands. Distance: 2.4 miles out and back. Hiking time: 1.5 hours. Elevation gain: 833 feet. Rated easy to moderate. The hardest part of this trip is getting to the trailhead, and that's not too hard. A 4WD rig is recommended. Follow the directions in this blog post,  which provides driving directions to the trailhead, and also directions on the hike. This hike is located near Succor Creek State Park, so if you feel like taking your car-camping stuff, by all means, do that and stay overnight at the park. There is a rest room in the park and more hiking nearby.

The Big Wide Open, Owyhee Canyonlands in Eastern Oregon. Norman Nelson soaks in the view. 

5. West Fork Shoofly Quick Loop - Distance: 5.5 miles. Hiking time: 3 hours. Vertical gain: 846 feet. Rated moderate. This is a pretty easy hike that takes you into the Jacks Creek Wilderness. It requires a little bit of route-finding, so be sure to bring a map. I pioneered this hike when I was working on the Owyhee Canyonlands guidebook, and it turned out to be a keeper. Follow the directions in my blog post, which provides driving directions and hiking directions. You might want to bring a GPS to make sure you're on track. You'll climb up onto the Owyhee Plateau and see the Shoofly Canyon in the "Between the Creeks" area, another favorite hike that's longer and has a different trailhead.

My friend John Robison did this hike with his wife and twin daughters when they were 15 months. This is what he said about the hike: "Great hike! The directions were spot-on! The last two miles of side-hill hiking were not ideal ... I would rate the hike as "moderate" because of this. Having hiking poles definitely helped."

There you have it! Hope you can get out and enjoy the sunshine this weekend!
- SS