Bogus Basin opens on Friday with new bike trails. Masks required on lifts, in other spots
Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area plans to open its summer operations Friday, and things will look a bit different at the Boise-area mountain thanks to new mountain bike trails and a requirement for masks or face coverings to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Summer operations open Friday and will run seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Brad Wilson, general manager at Bogus, said in a phone interview that the ski area’s new high-speed quad Morning Star chairlift will be its primary lift for bringing mountain bikers uphill, which has “changed the whole complexion of our mountain bike park at this point.”
Bogus already has a handful of popular mountain bike trails, particularly Around the Mountain, which lets riders circumnavigate the entire recreation area. But the new trails will largely accompany existing downhill tracks like Berm, Baby, Berm, a popular “flow trail” that lets cyclists pick up speed and coast down the mountain.
“For opening day, we’ll have a brand new ‘green circle’ beginner flow trail that will be completely redesigned brand new for the season,” Wilson said, referring to the symbols that denote trail difficulty. A green circle is for beginners, blue squares are intermediate and black diamonds, like in skiing, are for experienced riders.
Another “blue” flow trail is in the works, Wilson said. The first half will be ready to ride early in the season, and cyclists can try new sections as construction continues through the summer.
“What bikers will see this summer is every few weeks there will be a new trail or new section of a trail opening,” Wilson said. “We’ll end (the season) with a black flow trail. ... (That’s) a trail that would have pretty good-sized jumps and big berms and be designed to be ridden fast and by those people with real experience.”
Don’t have a bike? Bogus will debut a new fleet of Trek mountain bikes to rent, Wilson said.
Bogus has scaled back its other summer operations due to the pandemic. Wilson said the Glade Runner mountain coaster will open Friday, as will summer tubing, but its rock climbing tower and trampoline bungee jump won’t open this year.
“We just couldn’t figure out a way to open those and still stay physically distant from our guests,” Wilson said.
He said Bogus is adhering strictly to coronavirus prevention guidelines laid out by local health districts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Employees have worn masks since returning to work, and guests will be required to wear them in places where they’ll be in close contact with employees or other visitors.
“We’ll be asking guests when they come up to bring their masks and wear those masks when we can’t guarantee they’ll be far enough from one another,” Wilson said. “(In places like) bathrooms, the base lodges, in line at the Double-R Ranch BBQ, ticket lines, lift lines.”
Wilson said Bogus has a stockpile of masks to give guests in the event they forget their own, and he clarified that masks aren’t necessary the entire time you’re visiting.
“That doesn’t mean you have to wear your mask when you hike or you bike or you’re in your Adirondack chair or your blanket on the lawn,” he said. “We’re trying to keep our employees safe, and we really want our guests to feel safe. We want people to come up and feel as safe as anywhere.”
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 11:00 AM.
