Boise trails saw a surge in use during warm winter. Now they face a new challenge
Unseasonably warm weather has Boise trails in better shape than usual for this time of year despite increased usage over the winter and a problematic new trend from teen users.
David Gordon, director of the Ridge to Rivers trail system in the Boise Foothills, told the Idaho Statesman in an interview that the trails are “about two weeks ahead” of typical late March conditions in terms of dryness and are in better condition than they have been in spring in years past.
Boise’s 200-plus miles of Foothills trails are largely in clay-heavy soils, which means use during wet weather in the winter can leave gouges and erosion that dry and harden into deep ruts. Those ruts become a potential hazard for trail users and are difficult to repair.
Boise saw little snow at all this winter and some significant rainfall, but Gordon said the trails held up well. Often, Ridge to Rivers spends much of the winter pleading with users to avoid trails in particularly clay-heavy locations in an effort to minimize damage. The organization offers daily trail condition reports on its website and Facebook page.
Gordon said the warmer temperatures may have lent themselves to some trail damage since the Treasure Valley didn’t experience a prolonged freeze. Frozen trails resist erosion, but when trails freeze overnight and thaw during the day, the melt-freeze cycle can push moisture to the surface of the trail and cause damage, he said.
But Gordon said a lack of a “rain on snow event” this winter, meaning it didn’t rain on existing snow on the trails, benefited the routes.
“Those really saturate the soils, and when the melt occurs from that, that’s often when we see a lot of erosion,” he said.
The “encouraging” trail conditions come as Ridge to Rivers trails saw increased traffic this winter.
“Considering the fact that people used the trails this winter way more than they probably ever have, because this is the mildest winter any of us can remember, they look pretty darn good,” Gordon said. “The skiing was no good for a large part of the winter, so people were hiking and running and mountain biking way more than they typically would.”
As the weather has continued to warm, Ridge to Rivers has encountered a new challenge: e-motorcycles on non-motorized trails. Gordon said trail users have reported seeing electric motorcycles and dirt bikes on trails around Hulls Gulch, Camel’s Back and Military Reserve, typically ridden by teenagers.
Gordon said Ridge to Rivers is getting reports daily some weeks, and attempts to contact the riders have been unsuccessful. Ridge to Rivers sent a news release to nearby schools to try to reach parents.
“These things go 30 miles an hour,” Gordon said. “They’re going off trail, they’re causing damage, it’s a huge safety issue. You try to talk to them, and they just take off, and you can’t catch them.”
More accessibility and additional trail mileage to come
Gordon said Ridge to Rivers has two projects in the works for 2026. One will improve access on an existing trail, and the other will add trail mileage on a newly acquired parcel of city land.
This spring, the organization is removing three of four gates on the Corrals Trail and replacing them with cattle guard-like grates. Gordon said hikers and runners will be able to walk over them, and mountain bikers will no longer need to stop to open and close the gate.
“Most importantly, it’s going to allow people that are on adaptive bikes to be able to ride this trail without having to have somebody else with them,” Gordon said.
The fourth gate will remain in place because of its proximity to Bogus Basin Road, but it will be fitted with an accessible latch.
Ridge to Rivers also plans to add around three-quarters of a mile of trail near Table Rock. Last fall, a landowner donated a 44-acre parcel of land to the city near Warm Springs Golf Course. The new route will be built on that parcel and connect to existing trails in the Table Rock Reserve area.
Gordon said the planned trail will “stay on the rim of (the plateau) so it’ll be in and out of some rock and afford a lot of nice views” of the scenery below.
