| Hiking In National Forests |
| | Boise National Forest | | Boise National Forest consists of about 2,612,000 acres of National Forest System Lands. It offers a wide variety of recreational activities for visitors to enjoy. Visitors can hike, ride horseback, or motorbike on over 850 miles of trails. Over 7,600 miles of streams and more than 250 lakes are reservoirs offer excellent water sports activities including rafting, kayaking, sailing, and water skiing. There are over 70 campgrounds and picnic areas within the forest. | |
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| | Payette National Forest | | The Payette National Forest spans over 2.3 million acres of some of west-central Idaho's most beautiful and diverse country. Spring through Fall the Payette National Forest provides fishing, hunting, hiking, backpacking, camping, picnicking, pleasure driving, sightseeing, horseback riding, off highway vehicle driving, nature study, and forest product gathering. Heavy winter snow pack is popular for downhill and cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and snow play. Two downhill ski areas are located on the Payette National Forest. | |
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| | Sawtooth National Forest | | Sawtooth National Forest comprises more that 2.1 million acres of public land, most of it in south-central Idaho, with one unit in northern Utah. Hunters come here for deer, elk, antelope, mountain goat, bear, and mountain lion. Sightseers, bird watchers, hikers, horse riders, and trail and mountain bikers add to recreational traffic on the Sawtooth National Forest. | |
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| Hiking In Wilderness Areas |
| | Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness | | Wildlife abounds within these 2,366,757 acres of land. As many as 370 species have been identified in a single year, including eight big game animals. A network of 296 maintained trails (approximately 2,616 miles worth) provides access to this seemingly endless area, crossing rivers and streams on 114 bridges. This is a paradise for horse packers. This area provides access to the Main Salmon River, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, and the Selway River. | |
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| Long Trails (9+ miles) |
| | Lightning Ridge Trail | | This trails elevation at access 1 is 5440 feet, and the elevation at, the end, access 2 of the trail is 5560 feet with an elevation change of 1200 feet. The trail is 13.2 miles long. | |
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| | Oregon National Historic Trail | | There are a number of ways to enjoy the Oregon National Historic Trail including auto-touring, visiting interpretive sites, hiking, biking or horseback riding trail segments and visiting museums. Depending on which segment visitors would like to explore, some or all of these activities may be available. | |
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| | Ten Mile Ridge Trail #157 | | Panoramic views from the top of the ridge on this trail include views of the Sawtooths to the east. This 11.7 mile gains 3,400 feet in elevation within the first 5 strenuous miles. | |
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| | Warm Springs Trail | | This trail is 13 miles long and starts at an elevation of 4800 feet and rises 2120 feet to the elevation of 6920. | |
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| Medium Trails (4-8 miles) |
| | Blue Jay Trail #149 | | This five mile trail is open to hikers, horseback riding, and ATV's. The trail begins at 4500 feet in elevation and ends at 7800 feet. | |
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| | Habit Creek Trail | | This trail starts at 5280 feet and ends at 7000 feet. The trail is 6 miles long. | |
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| | North Fork Boise River Trail | | This trail is a difficult to most difficult level of trail. This 8 mile trail starts and 4800 feet and climbs 1800 feet to it's ending elevation of 5600 feet. | |
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| | Wapiti Creek Trail #160 | | This trail starts at 6000 feet and ends at 8640 feet. There is an elevation gain of 2640 feet for the length of this 7 mile trail. | |
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| Short Trails (1-3 miles) |
| | Clear Creek Trail | | This 3 mile trail starts at 6340 feet and ends at 7640 feet; a 1300 feet gain in elevation. Because of it's length and the fact that it is largely obstacle free, this trail is suitable for children. | |
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