Ridge to Rivers Logo

SPRING IS HERE and we would like to take this opportunity to focus on some very important aspects of Boise’s lifestyle culture – our foothills trails!

DID YOU KNOW?  Boise, Idaho has approximately 210 miles of Ridge to Rivers trails in the foothills!  We Boiseans love our outdoor recreation, and the foothills trails are a major part of our lifestyle!  You can see just how extensive our trails are by checking out the map here:  http://: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.ridgetorivers.org/media/1181/r2r-map-2022-printer.pdf

The Ridge to Rivers (R2R) website states that the concept of preserving the foothills and trail system dates back to the 1940s (!!!).  Per the website, “community leaders were discussing the future of the hills that had been part of the Boise Army Barracks military training area.  A number of committees over the years echoed this desire and in 1992 a variety of local, state and federal agencies combined their efforts to turn this dream into reality – the Ridge to Rivers partnership was formed.  The Ridge to Rivers partnership consists of the City of Boise, Ada County, the Bureau of Land Management Four Rivers Field Office, the Boise National Forest and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.  The Partnership exists under a multi-agency Memorandum of Understanding, with the City of Boise serving as the lead agency.”

You can go to the R2R website to read more about the partnerships and stewardship of the system:  https://www.ridgetorivers.org/about/ridge-to-rivers-partnership/

Muddy Trails Notice

2^nd FUN FACT:   There is a code of trail-users’ etiquette that will help all of us enjoy the trails for a very long time into the future!  You can read the General Trail Etiquette guidelines that R2R has established, here:  https://www.ridgetorivers.org/etiquette/general-trail-etiquette/.  You can also check the trail conditions on the R2R site, here:  https://www.ridgetorivers.org/

Sheep heading into the foothills for the season.

3^rd FUN FACT:   More than people use the trails!  Along with our pets that we bring along on our trail adventures, stock and wildlife are frequent visitors.  As a matter of fact, sheep ranchers utilize the area.  According to a Facebook post by the Avimor community, “Emmett sheep rancher John Peterson trucks ewes and lambs to Avimor from his ranch in late March/early April. The sheep graze on the spring green-up for about a month or so before heading north to higher elevations on the Boise Ridge.”

This grazing is actually a wildfire deterrent, among other benefits!  But, as also noted in the same Facebook post, there is a special trail etiquette that needs to be observed when sheep are present on and around the trails.  You can read all about that in the post, here:  https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=432816099404545&set=a.195902909762533

The Avimor website also posts a list of trail etiquette, here:  https://www.avimor.com/trails-and-outdoors.

We so appreciate all the efforts to faithfully steward our foothills trails, from the public agencies who support them, to the private landowners who have given us permission to use the trails on their land, to the volunteers who help maintain the trails.  It all adds up to an awesome quality of life here in the Treasure Valley!  Let’s all do our part to help out!

Thanks, again, for reading another Fun Fact Friday post!

Recent Trail Damage

Recent Trail Damage

Take the “Happy Trails” Pledge!