Boise River Greenway Bike Ride

I woke to the sound of landscapers trimming trees, cutting grass, and working through the plantings near the condos behind Lucky 13 Pizza. It looked like routine fall cleanup, getting everything ready for winter. The parking lot where I had spent the night was tucked behind the restaurant and surrounded by condos, and as I climbed into the driver’s seat I could see the neighborhood coming to life. Mothers were adjusting backpacks, kneeling down to say something to their kids, and walking them toward the elementary school nearby. I loved the feel of the area, housing, shops, and schools all within walking distance. The only thing it seemed to be missing was office space.

I drove over to the Oregon Trail Reserve, Kelton Trailhead, not far from Lucky 13 Pizza. The trailhead sits near the route of the old Oregon Trail and turned out to be a perfect place for breakfast. It was quiet, with a view toward the Boise River and the old trail corridor, and the area was set aside for walkers and runners, no bikes allowed. The weather was about as good as it gets, cool, sunny, and deep blue skies overhead. I opened the side door of the van, made French toast, and settled in for a slow breakfast while trying to catch up on blog writing and photographs. The restrooms were large and clean, which only added to the sense that I had found an ideal place to ease into the day.

Sometime before noon, I started getting ready for a bike ride. My original plan was simple, just an easy out and back of maybe 15 miles. I downloaded a route into the Garmin 840, made sure everything that needed charging was ready, and drove over to Kristin Armstrong Municipal Park. In daylight it looked completely different from the same area I had seen the night before. The Boise River Greenbelt runs right through the park, and once I rolled out onto it I could tell immediately this was going to be one of those rides that keeps getting better the farther you go.

I later learned that where I started was not actually the beginning of the Greenbelt. The main route continues a few miles farther toward downtown. Still, it was a great place to begin. The trail was beautifully maintained, smooth concrete, almost no cracks, and flat enough to make the riding feel effortless. In the wider sections, people could ride side by side and still leave room to pass. Some stretches were shaded by tall trees, while others opened up along the river or beside ponds and backwater channels. There were bridges, quiet wooded sections, and long runs where the trail curved gently through neighborhoods and parkland.

I headed east toward Lucky Peak State Park, about 11 miles away. Along the way the trail kept changing character. One minute I was passing homes and sports fields, and the next I was riding through thicker trees with the river close by. In a few places I passed near roads and businesses, even circling back close to Lucky 13 Pizza again, but most of the ride felt removed from traffic and city noise. I stopped at a dam on the way out and turned around at the park. There were not many people there, and no one was at the entrance. The sun was strong enough that I stopped to put on sunscreen again before heading back.

Somewhere along the return, one of my earbuds fell out. I use one earbud for Garmin directions, so I stopped and spent about 20 minutes searching for it. Several people asked if I needed help. One couple stayed for a few minutes and looked with me, though we both knew the odds were not great once something that small disappears along the edge of a bike path. Their willingness to stop said a lot about the feel of the place. I finally gave up and kept riding.

The Greenbelt took me through an interesting mix of parks, neighborhoods, and recreational areas. I passed a firefighters' memorial, a large sign showing the Greenbelt trail system, and a lake where someone was out paddleboarding with the dry Boise foothills in the background. Farther along, I stopped to watch surfers riding a standing wave in the river. It was interesting to see people surfing in the middle of Boise. The trail followed the water through open areas with very few people, and in one quiet stretch I watched a man fly fishing while someone else sat along the rocky shoreline.

The scenery kept changing as I rode. One section passed an RV park, followed by a long, straight stretch of concrete trail with open grassland on one side and trees on the other. Then I was back in residential neighborhoods, riding past houses with beautiful yards and landscaping. There were several pedestrian bridges crossing streams and channels, some surrounded by thick trees that almost completely blocked the sunlight. I passed athletic fields where a group of young girls were practicing soccer. There was always something different to see, and I enjoyed how the trail connected so many parts of the city without having to ride on busy streets.

As I continued, the trail wound through more wooded areas, with occasional openings that gave me views of the river. There were people walking, jogging, cycling, and pushing strollers, but it never felt particularly crowded. I stopped several times to take photographs, especially where the late afternoon sunlight was coming through the trees and casting long shadows across the bridges and pavement. One of my last stops was the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial. It was closed when I arrived, but I could still see the stone walls and a monument with a passage from Anne Frank's diary.

By then the sun was getting low, and I still had to make my way back to the van.I made it back to the van around 6:30. It still was not dark, but the sun was dropping quickly. By the end of the day I had ridden 43 miles, nearly three times what I had expected when I set out. I packed everything up, changed into my Crocs, which felt especially good after that much time on the bike, and headed to Planet Fitness for a shower and a session in the massage chair. I could easily have used a second round, but they only allow one massage chair session per day.

Afterward I made dinner in the Planet Fitness parking lot. It was quiet, with very little traffic, and it felt good to sit still for a while, eat, and read for an hour. Around 10 p.m. I headed back to my overnight spot behind Lucky 13 Pizza. They were already closed.

It had been one of those days that just works from start to finish. A quiet breakfast near the Oregon Trail, perfect weather, a beautifully designed bike path, kind people, and miles of easy riding through some of the best urban trail scenery I have seen in a long time. The Boise River Greenbelt gave me exactly what I had hoped for, and then quite a bit more.