This is a trip report for my September 2018 mountain bike ride from the South Fork of the Boise River to the small and remote town of Prairie, Idaho. This ride was done strictly on dirt roads.
Link to Featured Image Photo: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TPamEWGFWXB9PQjf7
Biking, Hikes and Fish Idaho
By Tim Bondy
Last updated on January 26, 2019
Introduction to the “South Fork of the Boise River to Prairie Ride”
This ride is almost “pure hell” for the first 45 minutes of the ride while climbing up to the Prairie escarpment. From there it’s just mostly a flat ride on country roads.
Pros: Scenic, expandable mileage tracks and can be rather isolated.
Cons: Depending on season and day, the traffic can be rather bad with up to 10 vehicles during a 3.5-hour ride. “That” first mile.
South Fork of the Boise River to Prairie Ride Trip Report Basic/Stats
Adventure Date: 28 Sept. 2018
Consider Doing it Again?: Yes
Trailhead: 43.403944, -115.562410
Turn-Around Point or Furthest Out Point: 43.500271, -115.559141
Trail/Road #: #121-South Fork of the Boise River Road / #116-Prairie Cutoff Road / #128- Prairie-Pine Road / #175-Smilth Creek Road.
7.5 Topo Maps: The Primary map is “Cathedral Rock.” The Prairie, Trinity Mountain, and House Mountain maps may come into play if extending beyond the town itself.
Land Ownership: The trailhead on the South Fork and up to the edge of the escarpment in public land. All lands to the north are private property.
Mileage: 23.84 miles
+Vertical Feet: 1,968 feet
Avg Slope from Google Earth Vertical Profile of the GPX File: 2.7% is a guess.
MyMaps Link: Not available – only recorded a part of the ride
Google Photo Album Link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DC932jD1sU8u8b7F9
Google Earth KMZ: PRAIRIE – Bike – South Fork to Prairie.kmz
GPX File Name: 20180928-145737.gpx but this is only part of the ride.
Driving Time to Trailhead: About one hour
Summary of Ride: This is a “favorited” ride so I’ll be doing it again in the future. The first portion of the ride is brutal but worth the pain once it levels out. While I consider this an expandable ride in that I can add to the mileage, it is a long journey so adding routes/trails means getting in better shape. That is my goal so good on me.
“I’ll be back on this ride during the summer of 2019.” ~ Tim Bondy
Originally published elsewhere on October 12, 2018
Sincerely,
~ signed ~
Tim Bondy – Freelance Writer