Yearning for a yurt? Fall is a great time for a cozy campout

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YURT CAMPING GUIDE CONTINUED FROM O1

WHERE TO GO

STAR GAZE

What: If you’re into really spectacular views and a mountain bike ride, this is the place.

The yurt offers open vistas toward Scott Mountain, Jackson Peak, Wolf Mountain, Steele Mountain, Pilots Peak and the Sawtooth Mountains.

There’s a long forest road system for a mountain bike loop ride, too

Elevation: 6,569 feet.

Activities: Good hiking on a one-half mile trail to the top of Stargaze Point. The area has a 7-mile mountain bike loop nearby. Maybe you’ll hear a wolf, too.

Dogs: Yes (year-round).

Getting there: Drive 25 miles north of Idaho City on Idaho 21 to Beaver Creek Summit. A nearby forest road leads to the yurt.

Road difficulty: The drive from pavement to the yurt is on a gravel road for 1.2 miles. A high-clearance vehicle is recommended. There are a few steep and narrow spots on the road.

Car to yurt: It’s a 300-yard hike from parking to the yurt. The elevation gain is 80 feet.

Family-friendly? Not as good as some of the other yurts. Some steep areas near the yurt.

BANNER RIDGE

What: You’ll find plenty of mountain biking and hiking on area roads and trails.

From Banner Ridge yurt, and the surrounding area, there are beautiful views of the South Fork of the Payette River Canyon, Bear Valley, Scott Mountain and the scenic Sawtooth Mountains.

Activities: Hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and wildlife watching. There’s also a fire pit for an evening of roasting marshmallows and story telling.

Elevation: 6,500 feet.

Dogs: Yes (April 16-Nov. 30).

Getting there: Drive 23.5 miles north of Idaho City on Idaho 21 to the Banner Ridge Park N’ Ski parking lot, just past mile marker 61. Turn right onto the dirt road that is across from the parking lot.

Road difficulty: It’s a 2-mile drive to the yurt summer parking spot on a gravel road that climbs about 650 feet to the top of the ridge. A high-clearance vehicle is recommended because of the water bars on the road.

Car to yurt: It’s a 300-yard hike down a single-track trail to the yurt.

Family-friendly? Good.

WHISPERING PINES

What: Located in a shady, woodsy area, the yurt is very private. There are open areas for the kids to play, too.

You’ll find room for a tent if the kids want to tent camp while adults enjoy the comfort of mattresses, dinner table and a futon couch.

Hikers and mountain bikers can use miles of marked and mapped roads and single-track trails that are easily accessible from the yurt.

Elevation: 5,900 feet.

Activities: Good for hiking and mountain biking.

Dogs: Yes.

Getting there: Drive to the Gold Fork Park N’ Ski parking lot, 20 miles north of Idaho City on Idaho 21, just past mile marker 59.

Road difficulty: Once at the parking lot, you will drive for 2.2 miles on a well-maintained dirt road to the yurt parking spot. The elevation gain is 350 feet.

Car to yurt: It’s about 400 yards with minimal elevation gain to the yurt.

Family-friendly? Very good.

SKYLINE

What: This yurt is for hardcore hikers and mountain bikers. It requires a hike or ride of more than 2 miles to get to the yurt.

But the views and many miles of roads and single-track trails are the rewards. From the yurt deck you can see Wolf Mountain, Steele Mountain, Sunset Peak, and Pilot Peak.

It’s an excellent area for fall colors with flaming reds, yellows and oranges in aspen groves. A tent area is available for extra people.

Elevation: 5,900 feet.

ctivities: Lots of hiking and mountain biking.

Dogs: Yes (year around).

Getting there: Drive to the Gold Fork Park N’ Ski parking lot, which is 21 miles north of Idaho City on Idaho 21, just past mile marker 59. About 200 feet past the Gold Fork parking lot, there’s a forest road on the right that leads to the yurt.

Road difficulty: Forest Service locks the gate on the road leading to the yurt from Idaho 21. It is a closure during hunting season. That means you have to hike or mountain bike 2.2 miles to the yurt. It’s a 650-foot elevation gain.

Family-friendly? Not so good. Packing the kids and their gear along with your own on a 2-mile hike with a climb in elevation might not go over well.

ELKHORN

What: The yurt is one of the more remote ones requiring a mile hike from the parking lot. But it is coveted by hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians who are looking for out-of-the-way places. More than 50 miles of roads and single-track trails can be accessed from this yurt.

It’s high in elevation and offers great views to the north, east, and south.

This is the place to get away from it all and watch the wildlife. Elk, deer, bears, and mountain lions are often seen nearby.

Elevation: 6,441 feet.

Activities: More than 50 miles of old roads and single-track trails that can be reached right from the yurt.

Dogs: Yes (April 16-Nov. 30).

Getting there: Drive to the Banner Ridge Park N’ Ski parking lot, which is 23.5 miles north of Idaho City on Idaho 21, just past highway mile marker 61.

Road difficulty: Once at the parking lot, it’s a 2-mile drive on a gravel road to the yurt. A high- clearance vehicle is recommended because of the water bars on the road.

Car to yurt: It’s a mile hike to the yurt from the parking lot.

Family-friendly? The mile hike carrying gear might be too much for some families. There are some steep pitches along the trail.

ROCKY RIDGE

What: This yurt is ideally located for fishing in Crooked River. It is about [0xbe]-mile from the Crooked River by way of the Lamar Creek trail.

The yurt is located at the end of a ridge with great views to the east, south and west.

From the yurt, you can also connect with the Crooked River Trail and the rest of the Idaho City Area Trail System.

Elevation: 5,298 feet.

Activities: Fishing, hiking and mountain biking on nearby forest roads.

Dogs: Yes (year around).

Getting there: Drive north from Idaho City on Idaho 21. Half way between mile marker 55 and 56 is a logging road on the east side of the highway.

Road difficulty: The drive from pavement to the yurt on a gravel road is 1.25 miles. It’s mostly flat.

Distance from parking: It’s a 200-yard hike on level ground to the yurt from parking.

Family-friendly? Very good because you park fairly close to the yurt, and it’s an easy walk.

BOOKING A YURT

Æ Costs (Off-season prices through Nov. 15) - Weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), $60 per night (first six people); weekdays (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), $45 per night (first six people). Each person over six is an additional $10 per person per night.

Æ To research and reserve a yurt, go to parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/index.aspx then lodging/ backcountry yurts/booknow tab

Æ Call Reserve America at (888) 922-6743.

Æ For more information, email Judy Ditto, backcountry yurt coordination at the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation at judy.ditto@idpr.idaho.gov.

GENERAL TIPS

Æ Gravel roads to the yurt parking areas are generally in good shape.

Although family cars can make it to most of the yurt parking areas in summer weather, you may want a pickup or SUV in the fall when you could encounter wet roads, snow or ice. Four-wheel-drive comes in handy on the back roads if the weather turns nasty.

Æ High clearance vehicles are recommended on some of the roads where there are water bars and ruts.

Æ Bring your own drinking water. State Parks is experimenting with bringing in nonpotable water for dish washing, but you may catch it when the tank is empty.

Æ Going light is still a rule of thumb for convenience. You could carry all your gear — sleeping bags, clothing, food and personal items, etc. — in a backpack.

But wheel barrows, wagons and bicycle trailers work well on the single-track trails for hauling gear. Coolers with wheels work, too.

Æ Although real dishes are provided in the yurts, you may want to use paper plates and cups to cut down on water consumption.

A slight breeze whispers over the trees and timbered ridgelines surrounding Banner Ridge Yurt, high up in the Boise Mountains northeast of Idaho City.

It’s crisp. Fall’s in the air.

The mountain ridges across the canyon of the South Fork of the Payette River are a series of blue and black silhouettes in the morning light. What views!

The mountain scenes from the deck of the yurt are spectacular, and you don’t even have to go for a hike or mountain bike ride to enjoy them. You can do so from one of the lawn chairs on the deck.

The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation rents six yurts about 20 or so miles northeast of Idaho City.

Camping, if you want to call it that, is easy in the fall at the Idaho City backcountry yurts. They offer comfortable camping when the days are warm for outdoors pursuits, but you don’t want to spend a long, cold night in a tent.

When night comes and the temperature drops, you can take refuge in a yurt with a toasty wood-burning stove.

There’s no sleeping on the ground. Yurts are spacious and cozy with a futon, bunks, a table and chairs, cooking facilities, and kitchen utensils.

Just bring food and personal items. It’s backcountry camping at its best. There’s also an outhouse located near each yurt

And what’s even better is the cost. Rental prices have been reduced in the off season. (The yurts are more popular in winter with snowshoers and Nordic skiers.)

Late spring, summer and fall are considered the off seasons at the yurts, but that’s because they haven’t been discovered for cushy camping.

“People don’t know how wonderful it is up there during the fall,” said Judy Ditto, backcountry yurt coordinator with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.

“It’s the fall colors. It smells like fall,” she said. “You have fall showers and storms. There are crisp nights, sunny decks, and cozy fires.”

Star gazing from the yurts is excellent this time of the year because of the longer nights.

In case you don’t know their history, yurts are circular tent-like structures with wood lattice frames and fabric coverings patterned after the homes of the nomadic people of Mongolia and Central Asia.

The modern versions make camping easy for families and those who don’t want to sleep on the ground or set up a big, elaborate camp.

Fall is a cool time for the yurts because the prime activities are mountain biking, hiking, wildlife watching, star gazing and just sitting around the campfire.

What a way to camp in the fall. Even the firewood is provided.

Pete Zimowsky: 377-6445

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