Spring green up and wildflowers are spectacular right now! Three hikes where you'll enjoy nature's beauty in Boise

Quinn Stuebner on the trail to Mt. Kepros, lit up by lupine and arrowleaf balsamroot. 

Hi all,

After the super long and cold winter, the spring green up and wildflower display in the hills surrounding the Treasure Valley has been spectacular! 

I hope you've been out to see it! If you're looking for more destinations with flowers in bloom, here are six suggestions close to home in the Boise area: 

• 5 Mile - Watchman Loop, Boise Foothills - 6-10-15 miles. Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous. Hiking time: 2.5-3 hours if you hike up 5 Mile to Watchman and drop out back to Rocky Canyon Road by the 5 Mile parking area on the Three Bears spur. It's a beautiful walk with water in 5 Mile Creek for the puppies. 
  
  
  
  
• Watchman - Three Bears bike ride: This is still one of my all-time favorite rides in the Boise Foothills. After you make the initial climb to Watchman, when you come around a corner into the next draw, the whole mountainside is blooming with arrowleaf balsamroot. Gotta see it. 
• Start and finish at the bottom of Rocky Canyon Road for the 10-mile version of this ride. Or start from Military Reserve Park for a longer version that clocks in at 15 miles. Vertical gain 2,500 feet. Rated advanced. Travel time: 3 hours. Start in Military Reserve. Take the Mountain Cove Trail along Freestone Creek to Ridgecrest #20 and climb to Central Ridge Trail. Climb Central Ridge to the Bucktail junction. Go straight, climb a short distance and then contour over to Rocky Canyon Road on Shane's. Climb Rocky Canyon Road to the Five Mile Trail and Creek. Climb Five Mile to Watchman. Follow Watchman across the foothills and go left at the junction with Three Bears/Curlew Ridge/Trail #6 and follow Three Bears down the spine of Curlew Ridge (super fun downhill with one technical section) back to Shane's Junction. Descend back to the bottom of Military Reserve however you like ... I always have to ride Bucktail and cruise the super-cool GS turns.
  
  

  

  Courtesy Matt Clark 

  
  
• Station Creek Trail, Garden Valley - This is also one of my all-time favorite hikes in SW Idaho. Just saw some pics on Facebook from Boise friend Matt Clark, and the green meadows under the Ponderosa pine trees are aglow with color with multiple wildflower species in bloom! The Station Creek hike is featured in my book, the Boise Trail Guide: 90 Hiking & Running Routes Close to Home. I rate it "moderate" in terms of difficulty. It's a sweet singletrack that climbs 1,300 feet over several miles to the top of the ridge overlooking the broad valley. It's a 4.5-mile hike round-trip. Travel time is 2+ hours. Pack a lunch for the top. If you have time, I highly recommend climbing Bald Mountain, located just above the ridge. You'll add maybe 45 minutes to an hour to the trip, round-trip. Plus, always better views from the top of peaks. 
  
  The trailhead is about 1:15 from Boise on the Banks to Lowman Road. Take ID 55 to Banks, turn right to Garden Valley. Proceed past the town of Garden Valley to the Garden Valley Ranger Station. Station Creek Trail is directly across the road from the station. There's parking there but no rest room. 
  
  

  

  On the way down from Mt. Kepros peak ... the trailhead is way the heck off to the south! 

  
  
• Hike Mt. Kepros, one of four Boise Grand Slam peaks. It's a 10-mile, moderate to strenuous hike, but worth the effort. Travel time: 4-6 hours. Doing the hike in May and early June, the flowers are spectacular! Trailhead is off of Black's Creek Road, east of Boise on the freeway. See details on directions and highlights along the way in my post on hiking Mt. Kepros.   

---------------------------
Outdoor notes:

Noteworthy events going on this weekend:

• Big water blowout on the Salmon River in Riggins, Saturday, June 3. The Salmon is running 47,000 cfs as of Thursday at Whitebird. Gonna be big! 
• Eagle Rec Fest at Eagle Island State Park, Saturday, June 3. Free entry to the park! Great place to take the kids for some fun activities! Plus there's 5 miles of trails at the park, ponds and other things for the kids to play on. 
• Snake River Raptor Fest - Saturday, June 3, 12-5 at the Indian Creek Winery in Kuna. 

Have fun! 
- SS