Updates on National Forest closures, Idaho Power openings and outdoor ethics during COVID-19 pandemic

Make sure you practice proper outdoor ethics when you are out recreating on public lands.

Hi all,

It's been kind of disgusting seeing pictures of litter, garbage and even furniture(!) that people have been dumping on our public lands lately. 

It's kind of a sign of the times, I guess. People are flocking to Idaho's outdoors like never before during the COVID-19 pandemic because they want to get out of the house, and they have no where else to go! 

Perhaps we need to remind people about some basic outdoor ethics ... 

• Pack it in, pack it out is one of those best practices. Self-contained day trips are recommended right now, so pack up the day's food and drinks, put it in a cooler, drive to your destination, do your outing, and drive home. No stops needed. Pack out what you brought with you. Leave nothing behind.
• Leave No Trace means clean up your campsite before you go. Pack out all your garbage and try to erase all trace of your presence. Leave it nice for the next group.     
• If you have to poop in the woods, dig a hole and do it properly. Bring a little shovel and pack your own TP. The restrooms might be closed. How to poop in the woods.

In the interest of de-mystifying and updating where you can go here, what's open and what's closed on the 1st of May, I have some details on that:

• Idaho State Parks are open but overnight camping is closed. 
• Ridge to Rivers trails in Boise are open. Try lesser-used trails and trailheads. Please practice at least 6 feet of social distancing. Please go out of your way to practice good trail etiquette. It's crucial right now! Uphill traffic has the right of way. Bikes should yield to hikers and trail-runners. Be a good trail ambassador!
• The Boise River Greenbelt is open. Place practice at least 6 feet of social distancing. 
• Bureau of Land Management lands in Idaho are open. Day trips are encouraged. 
• Most named campgrounds and hot springs on National Forest lands are closed. Here’s a statewide interactive  national forest map that shows closure areas/sites throughout the state.
• The Forest Service placed a group-size restriction of 10 people or less on national forests statewide. 

The Boise National Forest has closed named campgrounds and hot springs in general. Dispersed camping is OK but not encouraged. Hiking trails are generally open. Danskin Mountain trailheads are open now, and several parking areas for motorized recreation are open in the Idaho City area.

If you’re interested in visiting the Boise National Forest, check the web site before you go.

For a list of Boise National Forest closures, go here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd730996.pdf

Call 208-373-4100 to leave a message and get a call back if you have a specific question. 

The Payette National Forest has closed named campgrounds and hot springs in general. Dispersed camping is OK but not encouraged. Pack it in, pack it out. See this link for information on what’s closed in the Payette National Forest. The South Fork of the Salmon River has been closed until June 30.

The Sawtooth National Forest just closed all of its named campgrounds and recreation sites until early June. Much of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area is still under snow. Here’s a link to the Sawtooth National Forest web site. Sawtooth NF offices are closed, but you can reach staff at the following numbers:

Ketchum Ranger District, 208-622-0090.
Fairfield Ranger District, 208-764-3202.
Stanley Ranger Station, 208-774-3000.
Sawtooth NRA headquarters, 208-727-5000.
Minidoka Ranger District, 208-678-0430.

Reminder: Blaine County and Valley County are discouraging people from visiting at the current time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Numerous Idaho Power boat ramps and day use sites are reopening on Friday, May 1. Here’s a link to all the sites that will be opening, including a number of boat ramps at CJ Strike Reservoir. 

See the Recreate Responsibly page on the Idaho coronavirus site for more information.

- SS

Updates on Recreate Responsibly Idaho campaign, boating safety and fishing ideas

Hi all,

I've been working together with a consortium of state and federal agency officials who are spreading the word about Gov. Little's Recreate Responsibly Campaign. So I'm sharing some updates and tips for folks heading outdoors this weekend.

No. 1 continues to be if you're feeling sick, feeling cold or flu symptoms come on, stay home! Don't go out and potentially spread your germs to others.

Idahoans are doing a good job with the shelter-at-home strategy, we've had 1,836 confirmed cases overall statewide, 34 new cases yesterday, 822 recovered, and 54 deaths. See the overall effort to flatten the curve, the graph from the Idaho coronavirus page below.

 Source: Idaho Coronavirus web site: https://coronavirus.idaho.gov/

People are flocking to Idaho outdoor venues in big numbers at popular areas, so please practice proper social distancing no matter where you go. Keep at least 6 feet of distance between you and others. You may want to wear a mask in congested areas.

Idaho State Parks are very busy in places. See article on this topic from Jerry Painter with the Post-Register in Idaho Falls. Park rangers had to close Bruneau Dunes State Park for about an hour last Saturday when the parking areas got too full. Eagle Island and Lucky Peak state parks have been very busy, too. Three Mile Island State Park in Glenns Ferry might be a possibility or Thousand Springs State Park near Hagerman.

Check before you go. You might call ahead or check online about whether parks are too crowded before you go there.

If a trailhead or destination seems overly crowded, try going somewhere else. 

Fishing is open. See article by Roger Phillips of Idaho Fish and Game about fishing in Idaho. Idaho Fish and Game has a great list of family fishing waters. See link to find a place to fishing close to home. Thank small ponds, reservoirs, the Boise River and other locations. A lot of those spots are stocked with rainbow trout.

Courtesy IDFG

Practice safe boating techniques if you go out power boating. Here's a video on boating safety. Go in small groups.



See Recreate Responsibly web site for more information on what's open and closed.

• Pack it in, pack it out. Bring stuff with you for a day trip, food and water, etc., and pack out your garbage. 
• Pack your own TP. You might need it. 
• Hike from home if you can. 
• Do bike rides from home. 
• Road biking is great for social distancing. 
• Avoid hazardous activities right now. EMS services are busy handing the virus. 
• Boise Foothills trails are being heavily used right now. Try lesser-used trailheads. I'm seeing some people walking or running on 8th Street or Rocky Canyon Road to avoid congestion. 

Remember that there's sheep on the trails in the Boise Foothills. The sheep are moving east through the foothills right now. A new group of sheep will cross Idaho 55 this morning (4/24) at the Beacon Light interchange at about 9:30 a.m. If you go watch, please practice safe social distancing.

Leash dogs when you encounter sheep and walk your bike through the sheep so as not to antagonize the guard dogs. 

We all have to do our part! Thanks for your patience. We will get through this!

- SS

Some tips on learning about birds in SW Idaho on outings close to home

Red-winged blackbird at Hyatt Hidden Lakes Reserve in Boise

Hi all,

I find that I am treasuring the small things in life right now during these weird times with the COVID-19 pandemic.

When out on a Boise Greenbelt ride or hiking the trails, I enjoy seeing things like the first wildflower blooms of the year, or watching the buds beginning to emerge on trees and shrubs. The stunning beauty of fruit tree blooms in our yard and the local 'hood. Just all kinds of little things make me smile.

We've all had to slow down the pace of our lives because of the coronavirus, stay closer to home, etc. At times like this, why not learn a little more about nature? For instance, why not take a little time to pay learn about the birds in your yard, your local neighborhood, the Boise River, the foothills or parks nearby? 

Yellow-headed blackbird at Hyatt Hidden Lakes

Springtime is a good time to watch for birds because there are lots of migrating birds passing through on their way to northern destinations and residents returning to nest. Songbirds we might see right now are feeding on buds and bugs, i.e., robins eating worms. Birds of prey are hunting for mice and ground squirrels. We see red-tailed hawks, Cooper's hawks, sharp-shinned hawks, kestrels and Swainson's hawks in the foothills doing courtship flight.    

Wendy and I went by the Hyatt Hidden Lakes Reserve today (near Chinden & Marigold) in Boise just before noon to take a few fresh pictures and see what kinds of birds we'd find in the wetlands and ponds. Wendy was happy to see that some yellow-headed blackbirds had moved into the area to establish nests for the next generation. We also saw a great blue heron at close range hiding in a little thicket as we walked into the reserve. We heard red-winged blackbirds everywhere in the wetlands.

On the ponds, we saw mallards, american coots, northern shovelers, pied-billed grebes, buffleheads, gadwalls and american wigeon. Elsewhere on our bird walk today, we saw snow geese, wild turkey, swainson's hawks, song sparrows, house rinches, robins and Canada geese.

If you're interested in a program about birds, the Boise River Enhancement Network is providing an educational program at 11:35 am-1 pm on Friday (April 17) by Louisa Evers of BREN and the Golden Eagle Audubon Society. The program will be presented via Zoom, and it's limited to the first 100 people who login tomorrow. Ms. Evers will talk about how to find and identify birds.

Coots

Great-blue heron getting hassled by a red-winged blackbird

Golden Eagle Audubon has a TON of birding programs coming up, so be sure to watch their web site for more information. Next week's program is on the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. 
 
The Idaho Birding Trail, sponsored by Idaho Fish and Game, is an excellent resource for learning where to find birds and what species you should expect to see at various locations. In the Southwest Idaho region, there are about 40 birding locations on the Idaho Birding Trail, including the Boise River, Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge/Lake Lowell, Black's Creek, Bruneau Dunes State Park and much more.

If you're on Facebook, the Idaho Birding page is fun to watch because a number of expert birders are posting really high-quality photos of songbirds, ducks and raptors on a continuing basis. Once you've spent some time on that page, you can friend some of the frequent posters who take amazing photos and share them with the group.

While you're out birding, start building your life list. I am lucky that Wendy is so knowledgeable about birds. She can identify songbirds from their calls or from sight. I have a long ways to go on that front.

Here's some video from 2010 when our backyard kestrel box yielded big results ... four baby kestrels fledged the nest that year and we watched how they did in their first few days out of the nest. Consider building your own kestrel box for your backyard ... it's fun!




Have fun! 

- SS  

Hike/bike/run close to home; follow social-distancing guidelines - your future access depends on it!

All I saw on the Broken Horn Trail #12 yesterday was a small group of cows. Try more far-flung trails to find more personal space on the trails during the COVID-19 outbreak. See more tips below.

Hi all,

These are difficult and challenging times in many ways for the people of Idaho during the governor's Stay-at-Home order, and increasing restrictions on where people can go outdoors to get a breath of fresh air, enjoy some Vitamin D from the sunshine and get out of the house!

Let's keep working on flattening the curve! The Stay-at-Home strategy is working!

The City of Boise Parks & Recreation Department has people watching the Greenbelt and foothills trailheads to see how people are doing maintaining at least 6 feet of space between people when they are out recreating on the trails. We really have to pay attention to these guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, or we could see more restrictions and closures occur.

The Boise Parks & Recreation closed all tennis and basketball courts this week to prevent the spread of the virus.

Some tips to remember:

• If you have cold/flu symptoms stay home! 
• Go hiking/biking/running close to home. 
• Walk from home to trailheads nearby to leave more space for people to park. 
• Bike from home. 
• Go out early in the morning or later in the evening ... less-popular times to do an outing. 
• Do a road bike ride/loop from home ... Road-biking is a good choice for social distancing ... 
• Cartwright Road Loop is a good one
• Lonely road out to Swan Falls from Kuna
• Pleasant Valley Road out to Tenmile to South Cole to Kuna-Mora Road 
• Boise Road Cycling Guide has over 30 rides to consider ... 

Looking back at the route to Mt. Kepros in the Boise River WMA. Trailhead is on Black's Creek Road.

Less-popular hiking areas to consider:

• Mt. Kepros, part of the Boise Grand Slam, starting from the first summit on Black's Creek Road. Mt. Cervidae is another good one.
• Mud Flat Road/Owyhee Backcountry Byway ... go for a scenic drive and hike from there. The Oolite BLM interpretive trail is a cool spot for adults and kids on the way south from Grand View. 
• Far-flung trails in the Ridge to Rivers system. Try something new and different. Avoid Camelsback Park.
• Boot hikes on snow on the Deer Point Service Road or Eastside toward Stack Rock. 
• Backcountry skiing/snowshoeing at Bogus Basin. 
• State Parks are open for day use ... 

Less-popular mountain biking areas to consider:

• Far-flung trails at Avimor such as Broken Horn Trail.  
• Ride more difficult trails in the Boise Foothills such as Hard Guy, Scott's, 8th Street, Rocky Canyon Road, Watchman or Council Springs near Harris Ranch to find more personal space.

All state parks are open for day use ...

Let's all do our part to maintain proper social distancing so we can keep our outdoor opportunities open and available during this difficult time. Thanks!
- SS 

 

Just as spring comes to Idaho, we're told to stay inside ... If you go outside, please practice social distancing ...

Hi all,

In several outings recently, I've been watching the shrubs and trees beginning to bloom, the showy blossoms of fruit trees leading the way.

Spring is about new life and renewal, but with the coronavirus spreading throughout Idaho and the world, everyone is concerned about potentially catching the virus or even dying from it.

If you are not a believer that COVID-19 is real threat, read the op-ed by Dr. Brett Russell of Ketchum, who caught the virus and felt its impact in a severe way. He is recovering, but he told his story so well. Very scary situation.

Our best strategy is to shelter in place, cocoon at home with your loved ones, and try to keep the contamination rate to a minimum. Gov. Little has announced a statewide shelter-in-place order effectively immediately.

Fortunately, we can go outdoors, but try to avoid the popular and crowded areas. Keep a safe distance of at least 6 feet, and avoid large groups.   

Wendy and I went on a Greenbelt ride yesterday, and I saw this sign posted next to the pathway near the Plantation pedestrian bridge.

"Stay Safe" - Do your part to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Link to state COVID-19 page.

• If you are sick, go home
• Follow social distancing recommendations and stay 6 feet apart.
• Avoid group gatherings 
• Wash and sanitize your hands often. 

"Failure to adhere to these guidelines could lead to closure of City of Boise parks and trailheads."

OK, so let's all do our part to hunker down and beat this damn virus.

I am not going to recommend any particular destination this week. Our neighboring counties have issued orders advising people to stay away. I have seen those messages from Owyhee County and Valley County. We need to respect their wishes as much as possible.

Find ways to enjoy the outdoors close to home. Get a breath of fresh air. Avoid popular parks and trailheads. Time your trips to avoid crowds. Go early in the day. Late in the day. Mid-week. Keep your social distancing to safe levels. Let's beat this thing!
 
- SS  

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

My outdoor tip: 5 mountain bike rides sure to please, plus fresh powder this weekend

Central Ridge trail, Military Reserve

Bitterbrush in full bloom, Military Reserve Park, Boise Foothills

 

Entering Reynolds Creek canyon, courtesy MTB project

Hi all,

I'm sharing my outdoor article in the Idaho Press on five rock-solid mountain bike rides in the Boise area as my tip of the week.

The weather shows it's going to be mostly rainy this weekend and beyond, however, so please save the mountain biking ideas until the trails dry out after the storms.

In the meantime, you might want to go powder skiing this weekend. There's a good chance of up to 6 inches of new snow at Bogus Basin, Brundage Mountain, and Sun Valley. Pomerelle might really get belted with more than a foot ... you can see the latest snow forecasts at Idaho Daily Snow.

Have fun!
- SS