April 23 Trail Report

We have now received over one-third of Boise's total annual rainfall in the past week, with over an inch coming down yesterday in the Foothills, and well over a foot of snow along our upper elevation trails.

Our soils unfortunately do not handle this type of moisture well. Even well maintained trails can become deep ruts as water moves the soil readily.

We are recommending that folks use only all-weather and our sandiest trails today to allow conditions to dry out. Fortunately that happens in most locations within a couple of days. Shadier hillsides like the Trail 4 climb to Sidewinder saddle, the Cartwright side of Polecat Loop, Cottonwood Creek Trail and the far end of Peggy's will take longer to dry. Lastly, as many trails start to dry, you will continue to encounter lots of wet locations - as usually dry swales that the trail crosses are all running water into the trail - and this could continue for some time. Sideshow Trail is a great example of this and should be avoided.

Please refer to our Interactive Map: https://ridgetorivers.org/trails/interactive-map/

And this webpage for some suggestions today: https://ridgetorivers.org/trail-guide/trail-etiquette/wet-weather-and-winter-trail-use/