Snake River Trail in Burley, ID (Blog Hike #859)

Trail: Snake River Trail

Hike Location: City of Burley Boat Ramp
Geographic Location: west side of Burley, ID (42.54134, -113.81246)
Length: 1.9 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: July 2021
Overview: An out-and-back on concrete trail along the Snake River.
Area Information: https://burleyidaho.org/236/Burley-Snake-River-RV-Park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=879972
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: In southeast Idaho, take I-84 to SR 27 (exit 208).  Exit and go south on SR 27.  Drive SR 27 south 1.4 miles to Bedke Blvd. and turn right on Bedke Blvd.  Drive Bedke Blvd. west 1.1 miles to the Burley Snake River RV Park and boat ramp on the right.  The boat ramp parking area also serves as the parking area for the Snake River Trail. 

The hike: Rising in the southernmost part of Wyoming's famous Yellowstone National Park, the Snake River flows on a 1078 mile west and northwest course to its mouth at the Columbia River in southeast Washington.  The Snake River is the second longest river in the Pacific Northwest (behind only the Columbia).  For centuries the river has provided a transportation corridor through an otherwise mountainous and inaccessible region.  The Nez Perce and Shoshone people lived along the river for thousands of years, and in the 1800's the Oregon Trail used the Snake River's corridor through southern Idaho as one of its western-most segments.

            In terms of scenery and recreation, the Snake River's most famous features are the spectacularly rugged Hells Canyon and the dramatic Shoshone Falls.  For people wanting to experience the river's more serene sections, they could do far worse than the section near Burley, Idaho.  A 1 mile concrete path recently built by the City of Burley allows visitors to walk along the river's south bank, and that path is the one described here.  While not the most secluded area, I appreciated this easy hike on a hot summer day that would see temperatures rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit later in the afternoon.

Trailhead at boat ramp

            From the east end of the boat ramp parking area, head out the concrete sidewalk-like path marked "no vehicles" and pass a kiosk offering life jackets.  The Snake River appears through a thin but dense strip of bushes to the left, and an active farm field soon appears on the right.  Because you are in Idaho, it should not surprise you that this field was growing potatoes on my visit.  I could hear a lot of birds in the bushes to the left, but the dense greenery prevented me from seeing many.

First Snake River view

            Soon you reach a trio of benches located at a clearing in the bushes, thus providing your first clear view of the Snake River.  Custer Island can be seen across the main river channel, and the river is deep, wide, and calm here.  As you continue upstream, the potato field gives way first to undeveloped land, then an old river access, and then a modern hotel.  More nice views of the river emerge, and the hotel's lawn sprinklers felt good on the hot mid-July afternoon that I came here.

Hiking along the Snake River

SR 27 Snake River bridge

            The concrete trail continues for about 1 mile, and toward the end it comes close to 3rd Street on the right.  A nice view of SR 27's bridge over the Snake River appears on the left just before the trail ends.  Retrace your steps back to the boat ramp parking area to complete your hike along the Snake River, looking for birds and other wildlife you may have missed earlier along the way.

Thousand Springs State Park: Malad Gorge Unit (Blog Hike #356)

Trail: Northrim Trail

Hike Location: Thousand Springs State Park: Malad Gorge Unit

Geographic Location: southwest of Gooding, ID (42.86698, -114.85395)

Length: 0.6 miles

Difficulty: 0/10 (Easy)

Date Hiked: July 2011

Overview: A leg-stretcher hike on paved trail with fabulous gorge views.

Park Information: http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/thousand-springs

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=943615
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: Between Boise and Twin Falls, take I-84 to the signed exit for the state park (exit 147).  Exit and follow signs to the park, paying the small entrance fee.  Turn right at the first park intersection and follow the road for the Devil’s Washbowl Overlook.  Park at the parking area for this overlook.

The hike: Most people driving along I-84 cross the Malad River in just a few seconds, never seeing the scenic gorge they just zoomed across.  For travelers willing to take a short drive off of the interstate, spectacular views await.  At 250 feet deep, the Malad River cuts a deep, jagged gorge through the unusually flat (relative to otherwise mountainous Idaho) Snake River plain.  Parts of the gorge are only a few feet wide, while the section closest to the Snake River is around 100 feet wide.

There are no trails into the gorge and no true nature trails, but the short blacktop trail described here takes you to two fabulous gorge overlooks.  Even better, this trail is the perfect length and location for a leg-stretcher hike if you are driving along otherwise monotonous I-84 between Boise and Twin Falls.

Trailhead at Devil's Washbowl

              The paved trail leaves the Devil’s Washbowl parking area and passes an information kiosk.  At 0.1 miles, you reach the I-beam style iron footbridge over the gorge.  Stop on the bridge to get a great view down the pipe of Malad Gorge.  The river itself is a tiny white/blue ribbon rushing through the gorge-bottom.  The black basalt cliffs contrast vividly with the dry grass and sagebrush covering the gorge rim.  The I-84 bridge blocks any view upstream, and Devil’s Washbowl lies out of sight underneath you.

Looking down Malad Gorge from bridge

            Across the bridge, the asphalt trail curves left and begins heading for the second overlook downstream on the west gorge rim.  Prairie grass growing in the thin soil on either side of the trail appears green in the spring and yellow in the summer.  A couple of smaller streams tumble into the gorge, forming tall waterfalls in season. 

At 0.25 miles, you reach Devil’s Washbowl Overlook.  Perched on a peninsula on the gorge rim, the overlook gives nice views downstream, but the real show can be seen looking upstream at Devil’s Washbowl.  Devil’s Washbowl is a high-volume 60-foot waterfall that marks the river’s main entrance into the gorge.  Many years ago, this waterfall was located south of here where the Malad River enters the Snake River, but headward erosion has moved it to the current location, carving the gorge in the process.  The process of headward erosion continues, so imagine where the waterfall will be years from now.

Devil's Washbowl

View downstream from Devil's Washbowl Overlook

            The trail ends at the overlook, so you will need to turn around and retrace your steps to the parking area.  Before you return to I-84, be sure to take the self-guided auto tour to get more views of the gorge.  Of particular note is Woody’s Cove, stop #6 on the auto tour, where another short trail takes you to the rim of large horseshoe-shaped Woody’s Cove, a very scenic area and worthy end to your visit to Malad Gorge.

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve: Caves Trail (Blog Hike #355)

Trail: Caves Trail

Hike Location: Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve

Geographic Location: southwest of Arco, ID (43.44595, -113.53475)

Length: 1.8 miles

Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)

Date Hiked: July 2011

Overview: A mostly flat trail leading to several cave entrances.

Monument Information: http://www.nps.gov/crmo/index.htm

Hike Route Map: http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=135347
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: The entrance to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is located on US 20/26/93 18 miles west of Arco or 25 miles east of Carey.  Enter the preserve, pass the Visitor Center, and begin the main loop road.  The trailhead for the Caves Trail is located at stop 7 on the loop road.

The hike: For my general comments on Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, see the Devil’s Orchard hike blog entry.  The trail described here explores the caves section of the preserve.  Unlike muddy limestone caves familiar to most travelers, these caves formed as pockets in the lava flow and hence are very rocky, dark, and somewhat unstable.  For these reasons, permits and appropriate equipment are required to enter the caves themselves.  However, visitors walking along this trail can look into the small lava caves with minimal risk and no special accommodations.

Caves Trail heads into the lava

            The asphalt trail exits the far end of the parking area and starts out across the lava flow, heading slightly uphill.  Looking ahead to the east, only lumpy black lava rock can be seen.  Unlike the North Crater Flow explored on the previous hike, this trail heads across the Blue Dragon Flow.  This flow is larger, slightly older, and features many hollow lava tubes.  Lava tubes form where molten lava flows underneath lava that has already cooled to form rock.  Some lava tubes have their ceilings collapse to form a sink, while others intake water to form cave-like formations.  In fact, the caves featured on this trail are actually lava tubes.

            At 0.25 miles, you reach signed Dewdrop Cave, the smallest of the four caves.  Dewdrop Cave is 10-17 feet high, and most of the cave can be seen from the trail.  If you choose to venture into the cave, watch your step on the loose black rocks that cover the cave floor.  The trail also forks at Dewdrop Cave.  To save the largest cave for last, I chose to take the left (north) fork first.

Dewdrop Cave

            At 0.4 miles, you reach the entrance to Boy Scout Cave.  The entrance to Boy Scout Cave is only 3-4 feet high, and you will have to crawl over loose rock to enter.  Also, sunlight does not reach most of the cave, so you will need a flashlight to explore.  On the bright side, Boy Scout Cave is sufficiently large, dark, and cold that ice collects during the winter and remains year-round.  The cool cave interior makes a sharp contrast with the hot sun radiating off of the lava rocks on the paved trail.

Entrance to Boy Scout Cave

            In another 0.1 miles, the trail ends at the entrance to Beauty Cave.  More large rocks must be climbed over at the entrance, but the floor of this 300 foot long and 13 foot high tunnel is flat.  A flashlight will be needed to explore this cave, and be sure to turn around where the cave is closed: the ceiling beyond this point has experienced recent collapse.

            Turn around at Beauty Cave, retrace your steps to Dewdrop Cave, and then angle left to begin the south arm of the trail.  The trail heads due south across more black rock.  A collapsed lava tube forms a black crater only feet from the trail.

Collapsed lava tube

            1 mile into the hike, you reach the metal steps that descend into Indian Tunnel, the final and largest cave on this trail.  Indian Tunnel is 20-40 feet high, and several holes in the roof provide enough light for visitors to explore most of the cave without a flashlight.  With a little rock scrambling, you can walk through the cave to a second entrance 800 feet away.

Steps descending into Indian Tunnel

Cairns on trail across lava rock

            If you do not wish to walk through the cave, you can also reach the second entrance by following some cairns south across the black rock.  The hike across the rock is more challenging than the paved Caves Trail, but it provides more of a true wilderness hiking experience.  Of course, you could also walk through the cave and then follow the cairns to return to the Caves Trail.  The Caves Trail does not continue past Indian Tunnel, so you will need to retrace your steps on the Caves Trail, making sure not to miss the left turn at Dewdrop Cave, to return to the parking lot and complete the hike.

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve: North Crater and Devil’s Orchard (Blog Hike #354)

Trails: North Crater Flow and Devils Orchard Nature Trails

Hike Location: Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve

Geographic Location: southwest of Arco, ID (43.45765, -113.55854)

Length: 0.75 miles

Difficulty: 0/10 (Easy)

Date Hiked: July 2011

Overview: A pair of short asphalt trails through the black lava.

Monument Information: http://www.nps.gov/crmo/index.htm

Hike Route Map: http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=135133
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: The entrance to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is located on US 20/26/93 18 miles west of Arco or 25 miles east of Carey.  Enter the preserve, pass the Visitor Center, and begin the main loop road.  The trails described here are located at stops #2 and #3 on the loop road.

The hike: To early geologists, the black-rock lava fields today protected as Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve looked like the surface of the moon as seen through a telescope, but modern geologists and well-traveled visitors will see more resemblance to Hawaii’s lava fields or Ethiopia’s Great Rift.  Indeed, the geologic plate tectonic movements that form those landscapes today years ago formed this landscape: tectonic plates pulling apart allow molten rock to seep and explode through cracks and holes (volcanoes) in the earth’s crust.  Early white settlers to Idaho chose to avoid this area due to the barren landscape, and Shoshone Indians frequently sought refuge from enemies among the lava formations.

            Since the rock you see today came through the crust less than 2000 years ago, the trails at Craters of the Moon tread some of the youngest rock in the contiguous 48 states.  A Visitor Center contains an interesting film about the monument’s landscape, and a small campground provides accommodations in season.  Most of the rest of the monument is designated wilderness, and no other services can be found in the area.  Make sure you have sufficient fuel, food, and water before making your way to the preserve.

            Visitors can tour the developed part of the preserve on a 7-mile paved loop road.  For those wishing to explore the preserve on foot, several trails depart from various points on the loop road.  The best hiking trails in the preserve start at the trailhead at the very southern tip of the loop near Broken Top.  The 2-mile Tree Molds Trail leads to imprints of lava-charred trees, and the 1.8 mile Broken Top Trail leads around one of the cinder cones that spewed lava 2000 years ago.  Unfortunately, on my visit this part of the loop road was closed for repairs, so I had to settle for hiking some of the preserve’s shorter trails.  This description describes two short paved trails that depart from the first parking areas on the loop road.

View from trailhead at North Crater

            The 0.25-mile North Crater Flow Trail begins at stop #2 on the loop road.  From the signed trailhead, the asphalt trail heads west into the lava.  The black cinder cones uphill to the left are the source of the lava you are walking on now, while the grassy cones straight ahead were the source of older volcanic activity.  Behind the grassy cones stand the high, rounded Pioneer Mountains.  All of these cones form a line called the Great Rift that stands almost 700 feet above the surrounding lava flows.

North Crater

            The last remnant of the previous winter’s snow pack clung to the mountains on my early July visit.  Weatherwise, Craters of the Moon is a land of extremes.  At over 5500 feet in elevation, snow covers the land most of the winter.  However, the black rock radiates the sun’s heat during the long, hot days of summer, and temperatures regularly exceed 120 degrees.  Be sure to come prepared for the season.

The trail curves right and heads for three large chunks of rock.  These large chunks are crater fragments, pieces of the volcanic cone moved here by the lava flow.  You will see three main types of lava flow on this trail: the crater fragments, lumpy lava that cooled quickly, and smoother lava that cooled more slowly.  Interpretive signs help you identify what is what.  At the crater fragments, the trail curves right and heads gently uphill to return to the parking lot and complete the first short trail.

Crater fragments moved volcano by lava flow

            The 0.5-mile Devils Orchard Nature Trail begins at stop #3 on the loop road.  This wheelchair-accessible trail is wider than the North Crater Flow Trail described above.  The nature trail winds its way through the black rock, passing several interpretive signs along the way.

            From a distance the lava flows look barren, but as you continue to walk along the trail, careful looking will reveal that plenty of life manages to eek out a living among the rocks.  Lichens grow on the rocks, and plants such as syringe, bitterroot, and monkeyflower find root in cracks among the rocks.  Sagebrush grows where a little more water and nourishment can be found, and even some stunted slash pines manage to live here.

Syringa flowers growing in rock cracks

Pine trees and sagebrush among rocks

            The trail curves more to the right than to the left as it forms its loop.  Nothing but black rock can be seen to the left, while the Pioneer Mountains can be seen in the distance to the west straight ahead.  In 0.5 miles, the trail returns to the parking area to complete the loop and the hike.