Boise, Idaho

[WhitehouseLV]

question for those that have lived in Boise, are living in Boise or know about the area.

Is there places you can camp and ride from with kids? Is there boondocking or is it in a campground. Does it get so busy that you need to take Thursday off to beat everyone there? How many miles and hours to it?

Is there ATV/SxS & motorcycle trails? Are the riding area kids friendly, meaning that an official won't mind if my kids (7-12) are riding their motorcycle or quad?

Is the riding seasonal or year round?

thanks

[ReneeG]

So many areas here for your camping needs that come to mind now - you can even boondock along the road to Bonanza and Custer off Hwy 75, north of Sunbeam Dam, east of Stanley, and ATV along there, past Custer and into the hills beyond. This is ATV and RV country. Just move here and you'll probably find your new neighbors all camp and ATV.

The Warm Lake area is big for ATVing as is Horsethief Reservoir. We took our Jeep up to Stolle Meadows to scout out camping areas and there were big fifth wheels up there dispersed camping. What we found interesting is there was also a nice big CG with a nice vault toilet, and there was no camping fee. There was a big fire up in that area years back so it's a big open areas with burned remains but to me it's still beautiful.

[ReneeG]

Yes, you can get a lot of house for the money, depending on if you live in Boise or one of the bedroom communities like Meridian. Meridian has a really nice dump station at the city sanitation plant. A lot of RV'ers in this area so there are a lot that head to the hills in almost any direction come weekends. On holiday weekends, the transportation department sets up flaggers at the intersection of the Banks/Lowman Highway and Highway 55 because of the volume of campers. We've never had to deal with it because we leave camp by 7am to head down the mountain and always beat the flaggers and traffic. Depending on how adventuresome you are, you can camp late into the Fall and early Winter. We boondock sometimes close, along the Middle Fork of the Payette river north of Crouch and Garden Valley and a lot of people ATV up there. There are several campgrounds on the Middle Fork but it may be tight for your Raptor.

As for the road to Bull Trout/Martin Lake - the highway is good, some 6% grades and winding but do-able. The two mile road back into the CG also is good with spots wide to move over if you encounter anyone.

As with any rig our (and yours) size, you pick and choose your CG's and boondocking sites, but we have never NOT found a spot. As for Bull Trout, you'll want to be in the Martin Lake section for your rig.

[WhitehouseLV]

ReneeG wrote:
We live in Meridian which is just West of Boise. We don't have ATV's but often, where we boondock up in the Sawtooth's, we see them. This area is seasonal as it gets lots of snow. There are many FS CG's in the Hwy 21 from Lowman to Stanley area and lots of boondocking. Bull Trout FS CG is popular with ATVs as is the FS road going in where a lot boondock. In many roads to the middle fork of the Salmon River, there's a lot of boondocking areas as is the road to and past the Bradley Boy Scout camp past the Seafoam guard station. There are both FS CGs and boondockins spots. When we go, it's on a Thursday evening for what we think is a good spot, but there are many.

Are you planning on traveling through a certain time of year or moving here, hence the questions?

moving. Currently planning my exit strategy 🙂 and would like to stay in the Mountain States. Looked at Denver, but housing prices are high and from what my I've read and my friends tell me, traffic into the mountains on the weekend is terrible. Similar to traffic from California to Vegas on a Friday. I was searching zillow & realtor.com for housing and stumbled across the Boise area and it seems you can get a lot of house for the money. Plus from what I've read Boise seems to have a "newer" feel to it and a good vibe/energy.

Bull Trout area is beautiful!!! That looks like the mountains we are used to camping in. Even though its only ~100 miles its appears you're right in the heart of the mountains. how is the road?

[WhitehouseLV]

Bedlam wrote:
You can camp right on the Camas Reservoir and ride in that area. It is off HWY20 east of Mountain Home.

are those pics of the Camas area? Looks like a desert-like climate. Looks like you can ride to Anderson dam from there. Could my kids ride from camp?

[ReneeG]

N-Trouble wrote:
Your only about 300mi from some of the biggest, baddest sand dunes in North America. St Anthony sand dunes just north of Idaho Falls.

You're right, and there is a big RV park right there too.

[N-Trouble]

Your only about 300mi from some of the biggest, baddest sand dunes in North America. St Anthony sand dunes just north of Idaho Falls.

[ReneeG]

We live in Meridian which is just West of Boise. We don't have ATV's but often, where we boondock up in the Sawtooth's, we see them. This area is seasonal as it gets lots of snow. There are many FS CG's in the Hwy 21 from Lowman to Stanley area and lots of boondocking. Bull Trout FS CG is popular with ATVs as is the FS road going in where a lot boondock. In many roads to the middle fork of the Salmon River, there's a lot of boondocking areas as is the road to and past the Bradley Boy Scout camp past the Seafoam guard station. There are both FS CGs and boondockins spots. When we go, it's on a Thursday evening for what we think is a good spot, but there are many.

Are you planning on traveling through a certain time of year or moving here, hence the questions?

[Bedlam]

[Bedlam]

You can camp right on the Camas Reservoir and ride in that area. It is off HWY20 east of Mountain Home.