We Love Idaho Trails
As the voice for hikers, Idaho Trails Association promotes the conservation and enjoyment of Idaho’s backcountry on foot.
ITA is a nonprofit that works with volunteers, organizations, and government partners to preserve Idaho’s incredible trail system through education, maintenance projects, and public lands advocacy. Join us in our mission to keep Idaho’s hiking trails open for all!
Caretaking of Trails
Caretaking of Trails
Since ITA began, we’ve completed nearly 400 trail stewardship projects with the help of hundreds of volunteers.
Education and Awareness
Education and Awareness
ITA educates the public about the stewardship of our recreation areas and following Leave No Trace principles.
Advocacy and Protection
Advocacy and Protection
As the voice for Idaho’s hiking community, ITA works to conserve trails and keep public lands public.
Traditional Skills
Traditional Skills
Crew leaders teach volunteers the safe use of hand tools on every project to keep trails open in the front and backcountry.
Volunteer with ITA
We need hikers, bikers, equestrians, hunters, and public lands enthusiasts of all kinds to join us on trail maintenance projects across the state of Idaho. Give back to your trails by volunteering for a day, weekend or weeklong project in some of the most beautiful landscapes Idaho has to offer. Our experienced crew leaders will teach you everything you need to know about maintaining trails using traditional trail maintenance tools. Find adventure and give back to your public lands!
We host special projects for women, youth, veterans, and more. Check out our FAQs about volunteering or the full list of upcoming projects to find the right one for you.
“There are a lot of things I love about volunteering with ITA! From the smell of freshly-cut everything to being able to explore little-known spectacular Wilderness areas to opening up new/old trails for everyone to explore. I also love all the people that I have met through my ITA experiences. There’s just something magical about quickly forming a team, slowing down to nature’s pace, putting in some hard work on trails together, dealing with and/or accepting whatever weather arrives, and then being able to share stories back at camp or even back at home later.” – ITA Crew Leader Bryce Campbell
Recent Stories
Volunteer Spotlight: Trisha Thomason
We’re thrilled to shine the spotlight on Trisha, one of ITA’s incredible volunteers whose passion for the outdoors and ... Read More
Trail Spotlight: Shingle Flat
Our Trail Spotlight highlights day trips to multi-day hikes across Idaho. Trail conditions can change quickly- swollen rivers can become impassable, ... Read More
Volunteer Spotlight: Jessica Evett
Jess brings a wealth of experience to ITA—from working as a wilderness ranger to decades in nonprofit and public ... Read More
Follow us on Instagram @IdahoTrailsAssociation
6 ITA volunteers spent 5 days clearing the Lake Creek trail in the Gospel Hump Wilderness. From the trailhead to Fish Lake, they cut 360 trees while fending off mosquitoes and daily thunderstorms. It has been a few years since this trail was open, so get out there and enjoy it before next season's trees come down!
An SBFC crew will continue work from the lake to the 233 road later this year.
Photos by Clay Jacobson, Dan Lynch, and Chuck McKenney
Last weekend, ITA hosted our first all-girls youth trail project. Seven girls, a volunteer crew leader, volunteer camp cook, and ITA Executive Director Melanie Vining traveled east of Stanley, Idaho to work on the Warm Springs Trail in the Cecil D. Andrus- White Clouds Wilderness. This amazing group of young women, all new to trail work except one, cleared 16 logs, brushed, and improved trail tread on 3 miles of trail. Even more than the trail work, the leaders were impressed by the way these girls- previously strangers- became friends, working as a team both on the trail and in camp. The future of public lands is bright if these young women are any indication!
Photos by Melanie V., Brenda M., and Samantha W.
We had six crews out on trails all across Idaho this past Saturday in honor of National Trails Day! Over 70 volunteers came out to clear brush, fix tread, dig water bars, and remove trees from trails. Thank you to our volunteers, members, and supporters who help make this work possible!
Trails we worked on:
Station Creek in the Boise National Forest
Upper Basin Interpretive Trail in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest
Purjue Canyon in the Owyhee Canyonlands
Mickinnick Trail in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest
Polecat in the Boise Foothills
City Creek Trails near Pocatello
#NationalTrailsDay
Trail Spotlight: Shingle Flat
Whether you live in west-central Idaho or are just passing through on Highway 95, this trail is convenient to access and grab a short hike with big views. At an elevation of just over 3000 feet, Shingle Flat Trail is spectacular with wildflowers and views of the green Council Valley as early as late April/early May. See link in our profile for all the details about this great little hike!
TONIGHT!
50% of all drink sales will be donated to ITA at Payette Brewing in Boise. We will have an assortment of trail carnival games including a crosscut saw race, McLeod ring toss, and outhouse corn hole with the chance to win prizes just for playing. See ya there!
When: Monday, June 9, 6-10pm
Where: Payette Brewing, 733 S Pioneer St, Boise, ID
Happy National Trails Day! 
Today, we celebrate the incredible trails that connect us to nature, adventure, and each other. Whether you're climbing switchbacks to a mountain view, strolling through the forest, or getting your hands dirty maintaining a trail, you’re part of something bigger.
Thank you to everyone who hikes, volunteers, and supports our efforts to keep Idaho's hiking trails open for all!
#idahotrailsassociation #nationaltrailsday
Volunteer on an ITA project and be entered to win a National Parks Pass!
Sign up to volunteer on any ITA project between June 5-15 and you will be entered to win an America The Beautiful National Parks and Federal Lands Pass good through June 2026. The Forest Service, the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and US Army Corp of Engineers honor the Annual Pass at sites where Entrance or Standard Amenity Fee(s) (Day use fees) are charged. This pass will get you plus anyone else in your vehicle into over 2,000 recreation areas across the US!
See link our profile to see all our volunteer projects.
Not sure where to go? We recently opened up our Alturas-Mattingley, Stateline Trail, and Needles-Kennally Projects and need volunteers!
On May 10, ten volunteers cleared 2.5 miles of trail on Priest Lake’s gorgeous Beach Trail. Volunteers enjoyed beautiful lake views while doing brush work and clearing more than a dozen fallen trees off the trail. Thankfully there were blue skies all day, without any worry of rain. Warm temps, cheerful volunteers, a beautiful setting and the project goals met made this a day to remember. - Crew Leader Melodie V.
Photos: Vivien S., Melodie V., and Trisha T.
Join us on Monday, June 9 for a pint night at Payette Brewing in Boise! 50% of all drink sales will be donated to ITA. We will have an assortment of trail carnival games including a crosscut saw race, McLeod ring toss, and outhouse corn hole with the chance to win prizes just for playing.
When: June 9, 6-10pm
Where: Payette Brewing, 733 S Pioneer St, Boise, ID 83702
See ya there!