This summer, ITA crew leader and former employee Clay Jacobson will be hiking the Continental Divide Trail starting north and going south. The CDT spans over 3,000 miles from Canada to Mexico and crosses through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. We’re happy to be following Clay along his journey ... Read More
This summer, ITA crew leader and former employee Clay Jacobson will be hiking the Continental Divide Trail starting north and going south. The CDT spans over 3,000 miles from Canada to Mexico and crosses through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. We’re happy to be following Clay along his journey ... Read More
We are so grateful for the work that Hobart puts in to make trails better! If you have ever tried out our crosscut saw demo at an ITA event in Boise, you have probably met Hobart! He not only built the demo saw buck but also generously stores it ... Read More
This summer, ITA crew leader and former employee Clay Jacobson will be hiking the Continental Divide Trail starting north and going south. The CDT spans over 3,000 miles from Canada to Mexico and crosses through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. We’re happy to be following Clay along his journey ... Read More
This summer, ITA crew leader and former employee Clay Jacobson will be hiking the Continental Divide Trail starting north and going south. The CDT spans over 3,000 miles from Canada to Mexico and crosses through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. We’re happy to be following Clay along his journey ... Read More
This season, ITA is hosting two projects in the Gospel-Hump Wilderness, a 206,000 acre wilderness that stretches from the Main Salmon River to the South Fork of the Clearwater, between Riggins and Grangeville. With the Frank Church River of no Return Wilderness to the South and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness ... Read More
Our Trail Spotlight highlights trails across Idaho that are worth hiking! Ranging from one-day to multi-day trips, these recommendations are trails that ITA has recently cleared or a volunteer has hiked. Trail conditions can change quickly- swollen rivers can become impassable, windstorms can knock trees down across trails, and ... Read More
PACK YOUR SUMMER! Starting June 20th and going through the end of the month, we'll be running an online auction full of awesome Idaho adventures. Get your bags packed and your boots ready! We'll be auctioning off a five-day rafting trip for two, a weekend pack trip in the ... Read More
Lilly Ragan, tax accountant by day, serves as ITA’s Bookkeeper and a member of the Advisory Board. We are so grateful to Lilly for the many hours she spends crunching the numbers for ITA as well as working hard on trail maintenance projects! We appreciate Lilly’s constant smile (even ... Read More
National Trails Day is June 4th and we have three exciting ways you can celebrate trails with us! 1. 🥾Volunteer for a project! 🥾 We'll be hosting four trail maintenance projects June 4 across the state on trails in North, South, and East Idaho: Hawkins Loop in the Boise ... Read More
By ITA Volunteer and Board Member Liz Bridges In the US, many of our most revered routes trace trails created by the native peoples of this continent. In Idaho, the Shoshone, Blackfoot, Paiute, Nez Perce and others had long established trails that connected spring foraging areas with summer hunting ... Read More
Volunteers from a 2020 Little Queens River Trail project sawed many logs to clear this trail. But more work is needed to open up the Queens/Little Queens 30-mile loop. We have two projects scheduled on this lost trail and we are hoping to complete the loop this ... Read More
If you’ve ever looked in the back of one of ITA’s tool trailers, you’ve probably seen a jumble of pulaskis and crosscuts, boxes of cooking equipment and eating utensils, and bags of camping gear and ITA hardhats. No matter how hard our crew leaders and staff worked to ... Read More
New to backpacking? We have some awesome ways coming up for you to learn the basics! This year we are excited to kick off our Backpacking 101 series. We'll be hosting webinars, in-person events, and trail projects to teach you how to feel comfortable, be safe, and respect ... Read More
On February 8, 2022, we were shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of John Platt. John was one of the leaders of the Idaho Trails Association. He served on our Board of Directors, volunteered to lead many of our trail crews, was a valued teacher, and ... Read More
About Tom Tom’s been fortunate to hike and climb in some of the most beautiful places in the world, especially right here in Idaho. To help others enjoy outdoor adventures, he’s led hundreds of hiking and climbing trips and served as an instructor for classes in rock, snow, ... Read More
By Jeff Halligan Clem Pope passed away on February 2, 2022. He led a life of true adventures, friendship, laughter and love and was a great and caring friend, brother, father, and partner to Diane. Clem leaves behind a huge number of friends and acquaintances throughout the world and will ... Read More
Did you miss our webinar about reducing waste in the backcountry? You can watch the recorded presentation here! We welcomed Ana Lucía, a thru-hiker who completed the Pacific Crest Trail in 2021, to share her zero waste journey with us. Her presentation included a lot of awesome recommendations for ... Read More
Dust off your boots and get ready for trail season! Join us the evening before our volunteer schedule launches to learn about this year's best projects and how you can join. Hear this season's highlights from our Trail Projects Director Alex Cravener, Executive Director Mel Vining, and Board President Tom ... Read More
What is orienteering? It’s simply navigating a course using a map and compass. Join the City of Trees Orienteering Club and ITA to learn the basics of this unique outdoor sport. You don’t have to be a cross country runner or an endurance athlete to have fun with it. It ... Read More
Learn the basics of using the navigation app Gaia GPS (https://www.gaiagps.com/) on the web and your phone from ITA Board Member and GIS guru, Pam Bond. During this one hour presentation, participants will learn how to plot and manage waypoints and routes, effectively use overlays and basemaps, download maps for ... Read More
Join us for an online presentation about going zero waste in the backcountry. We'll hear from Ana Lucía, a thru-hiker who completed the Pacific Crest Trail waste-free. Her love for the outdoors has made her develop a close and respectful relationship with nature, and she wishes to share and inspire ... Read More
John serves as Treasurer on ITA's Board of Directors. He is originally from rural northern Idaho and appreciates the region’s dark forests, abundant water and fluid weather. Since moving to Boise 26 years ago, he has enjoyed southern Idaho’s blue skies and year round outdoor recreational opportunities. If he is ... Read More
Join ITA for an evening sipping delicious Lost Grove beers, enjoying fun stories, and learning about how various types of pack animals are used in the backcountry. All ages welcome! Wednesday, January 5 @ 6pm MT Lost Grove Brewing 1026 S La Pointe St, Boise, ID 83706 Can't make the ... Read More
We are excited to introduce to you Alex Cravener, the newest member of our staff joining us as ITA’s Trail Projects Director! Alex will soon be working with volunteers and coordinating all things related to our trail projects. Alex grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and has been living in Boise ... Read More
Today I am thankful for you- our volunteers and members. I can see snow outside my window and, since trail folks are always thinking about trails, my mind wanders to my favorite wild places and how most Idaho trails must be blanketed in white by now. Here at ITA, if ... Read More
By Hobie Swan, ITA communications and trail crew volunteer The holiday season is upon us, and among the many things we at ITA are thankful for is our volunteers! We’d like to introduce you to two of them—one of our oldest, and one of our youngest. Meet Bruce Shaffer. Bruce ... Read More
By Liz Bridges, ITA Advisory Board Member and Youth Trail Program Cook Wilding, grubbing in the dirt, trail crew, fun…however you want to describe them, ITA’s Youth Trail Crews are all that and more. The first Youth Trail Crew took place along the banks of Big Creek in the Frank Church-River ... Read More
ITA's Fall Membership Drive starts November 1 and runs through the end of the year. We need your help to reach our goal of $35,000 to support the work of ITA in 2022. You can join or renew for $25, $50, $100 or more! When you become a member of ... Read More
Big news! We are proud to share with you our new logo as part of a larger campaign to refresh our brand! Our previous logo served us well over the past ten years and we wanted to keep many of the same elements and colors while creating an updated design. ... Read More
After much consideration, the Board and staff of ITA have decided it would be best to move ITA's End of Season parties online due to the current COVID-19 threat throughout Idaho and the strain that hospitals are feeling. The board and staff are disappointed we won’t be able to gather ... Read More
If you're lucky, you've had the pleasure of being on an ITA trip with Cindy! This year, she took volunteering as an ITA cook to a new level and planned out the meals for many of our trips. Thank you for taking on this new responsibility and keeping our crews ... Read More
After six years leading and organizing trail projects across Idaho, Clay Jacobson is leaving ITA for new adventures, including hiking the Continental Divide Trail next summer. We will miss Clay and wish him the very best! ITA is now advertising for a Trail Projects Director. This person will oversee the ... Read More
John is an ITA crew leader and board member. He retired to the McCall area after living much of his adult life in Boise. His professional career includes working in outdoor sports stores, teaching outdoor sports, and technical writing for a large bicycle manufacturer. His outdoor influences came from growing up ... Read More
The West is in the grip of a particularly hot, dry summer and a historically severe fire season. We all can do our part to be sure we and our loved ones enjoy our trails while taking precautions to keep ourselves safe and our forests green.Going hiking or camping this weekend? Stage 1 ... Read More
Check out part 1 and part 2 of Alexis's journey! On Sunday, June 6, I finished my personal challenge to summit all four of Boise’s Grand Slam peaks in one day. I started at Heinen at 5:20 a.m. and finished Kepros at 6:51 p.m. for a total time of 13 ... Read More
Training on in the rain on Kepros Training is coming along. We’re only a couple weeks away from my attempt at the single day Grand Slam challenge. I’m keeping an eye on weather, as it appears that this cloudy, rainy front will be passing soon and we’ll be expecting some ... Read More
May 26, 7-8 pm Mountain Time ITA's Pam Bond and Leave No Trace Ambassador Evan Worthington are teaming up to get down and dirty about how to deal with your pee, poop, and periods while you are exploring your favorite wild places. Get your free spot here!
Completing the 35.7 miles with 11,493 vertical feet elevation gain that is the Boise Grand Slam is no small feat in itself. Especially, Heinen. Blessed, Heinen. For those unfamiliar, the Grand Slam is made up four hikes in the nearby Boise area. All are gnarly in their own right. Completing ... Read More
As an organization that cares about Idaho’s wild places, we want to let you know about an opportunity to speak up for a special area of Idaho. The Payette National Forest is seeking comment on a travel management plan for Rapid River, which includes the Rapid River Wild and Scenic River ... Read More