November 10, 5:30 pm PT/ 6:30 pm MT Join Idaho Trails Association and partners for a virtual conversation with author and thru-hiker Derick Lugo. The Unlikely Thru-Hiker is the story of a young black man setting off from the city with an extremely overweight pack and a willfully can-do attitude. What follows ... Read More
This blog is part of our series honoring ITA's 10-year anniversary! By Jeff Halligan, ITA Executive Director It's important to have the right tool for the job. These ten items will have any trail cleared in no time! Crosscut saw- This has been the backbone of trail work for a couple ... Read More
October 21, 7-8 pm Mountain Time Join us for a virtual night of live music, hiking trivia, an update from the 2020 season, stories from our history, and more. We'll be giving away a pair of Proof sunglasses and ITA swag to some lucky winners just for showing up! Sign ... Read More
By Clay Jacobson, ITA Trails Program Director Whether you are going out on an ITA project or planning your own backpacking trip, these items can help make your time in the backcountry a little more enjoyable! Hand Sanitizer – In the post-pandemic world, we have become increasingly familiar with the ... Read More
December 3, 7-8 pm Mountain Time Join the Payette National Forest Heritage Program for a presentation on the Three Blaze Trail. Built in 1902 by homesteaders and horsemen, the trail was for miners' travel to the town of Roosevelt and the Thunder Mountain mines. Segments of the trail have since ... Read More
October 13, 7-8 pm Mountain Time In partnership with Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, long-distance hiker Whitney "Allgood" LaRuffa will share his experiences and tips for hiking with your furry friend. Allgood is a seasoned long-distance hiker with over 10,000 miles of long-distance hikes under his feet. He has a ... Read More
All over Idaho, climate change is affecting our public lands in many different ways. Dan Isaak, a fisheries research scientist with the US Forest Service will talk about how climate change is affecting Idaho’s cold-water fish. Patrick Brown, a Wilderness Specialist will share how he's seen fire affect trails over ... Read More
Earlier this summer, ITA, in partnership with the Payette National Forest Heritage Program, helped complete a survey of the historic Three Blaze Trail in the Frank Church- River of No Return Wilderness. The Three Blaze Trail was built in 1902 during the Gold Rush days to connect the mining town ... Read More
Idaho Trails Association is seeking a full-time Executive Director. The chosen candidate will lead ITA into its second decade of promoting the conservation and enjoyment of Idaho’s backcountry on foot. Working collaboratively with the Board of Directors and ITA staff, this position will focus on seven main responsibilities: strategic vision ... Read More
Dear friends of Idaho Trails Association, After six years as Executive Director of ITA, Jeff Halligan will be retiring at the end of this year. Jeff has been involved in ITA from the start and has helped lead us through periods of rapid growth and great achievements. We are so grateful ... Read More
Join us for a free webinar about staying safe in the backcountry. We’ve got three great speakers lined up to teach you about basic first aid, safe stream crossings, and bear-awareness. Wednesday, July 9 at 7 PM MT Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kvprEkPRRbKN61ONq2M08g Paul Holle, Wilderness EMT, Senior Instructor with NOLS Wilderness ... Read More
Join us Wednesday, June 10 at 7 PM MT for a free webinar about getting ready to hit the trail. Whether you are new to hiking or already a trails enthusiast, you face different aerobic, balance and strength demands. Join Pamela DeMetro, a fitness expert and coach as she teaches ... Read More
Here at ITA we love Idaho's trails. We also appreciate that there are many types of trail users, and different forms of recreation to enjoy. At times, there has been some conflict between the Motorized and Non-motorized trail users as these groups struggle to fund and maintain trails with limited ... Read More
Anyone who submits a report to ITA's new trail reporter anytime from Saturday to the end of the day Monday the 8th will be entered into a drawing for a Gossamer Bumster lumbar pack. Our trail reporter is a simple survey that you fill out after your hike about trail ... Read More
Some friends ask me why someone who has no kids of their own would work so hard to provide opportunities to get someone else’s kids outside and into the backcountry. Well, it started when I was young. My parents liked to camp and visit the mountains and national parks during ... Read More
We have new shirts and cups to celebrate our 10 year anniversary! Every donor who gives $100 or more to our Idaho Gives campaign will have the choice of one of these goodies. Give today!
Join us for a night around the campfire telling stories! In this live webinar event, members from the ITA community will share their harrowing, hilarious or heartwarming trail tales from all over the state. There will be an opportunity for you as an audience member to "raise your hand" during ... Read More
Do you remember going on outdoor trips when you were young? Do you have fond memories of making s’mores around a campfire, learning how to pitch a tent, and using a crosscut saw to clear trails? Okay, probably not that last one. But maybe you remember hiking as a kid! Outdoor ... Read More
Join us for a free webinar about the outdoor apps that will enhance your outdoor experience. April 22, 7-8pm MT For most of us, smartphones have become a part of everyday life. It is the multi-tool of communication and entertainment. Utilizing your smartphone in the backcountry can shed ounces off ... Read More
We're exited to announce we're taking our Trail Master Presentation Series online so we can continue sharing ideas and resources during this time. Since we can't meet in person, on April 1, we will be sharing this presentation online through the webinar platform Zoom. Click the link below to sign ... Read More
We're exited to announce we're taking our Trail Master Presentation Series online so we can continue sharing ideas and resources during this time. Since we can't meet in person, on April 1, we will be sharing this presentation online through the webinar platform Zoom. Click the link below to sign ... Read More
The health and safety of our staff, members, family and community are our number one priority. In response to the worldwide Covid-19 outbreak and the concern it poses to everyone’s health and well-being, our entire staff will be implementing best practices which will still allow us to do our jobs ... Read More
With so many great projects on the schedule, it's hard to even know where to start! Here are a few that we are especially excited about: April 26 - May 2 • North Central Idaho • Gospel Hump Wilderness • Sheep Creek Jet Boat TripJet boat from Vinegar Creek Boat Ramp, outside of ... Read More
We're so excited to announce that our project schedule is open to members to sign up! There are so many great maintenance and monitoring trips this year and we can't wait to get out on the trail with you. We have projects from one to seven days and ranging from easy to difficult. Our Members-Only sign-up period will be ... Read More
On January 29th, as part of the ITA Trail Master Presentation Series, board member Pam Bond and Leave No Trace Ambassador Evan Worthington discussed the potential impacts, good and bad, of sharing our outdoor experiences through social media like Facebook and Instagram. Those who attended had varying opinions about how ... Read More
UPDATE: Since we can't meet in person, we are going to be doing this presentation online as a webinar! Same date and time as the original event. Please sign up below to get your spot! Wednesday, April 29, 7-8 pm Webinar description: Tired of eating pre-package backpacking meals? Guest speaker ... Read More
This event is postponed until further notice: Hey trail runners! If you are just getting started or have been running for years, you’re sure to find some nuggets of knowledge during this presentation. Guest speaker Hannah McLean will be talking about trail running in general and how it differs from ... Read More
For most of us, smartphones have become a part of everyday life. It is the multi-tool of communication and entertainment. Utilizing your smartphone in the backcountry can shed ounces off your pack weight AND gives you a wealth of information at your fingertips. Come and learn about the most popular ... Read More
Join us for a two-day celebration of the amazing outdoor lifestyle enjoyed in the Inland Pacific Northwest. The event will feature gear giveaways, kid-friendly activities, live demonstrations, outdoor educational clinics, and lots of awesome exhibitors including ITA. Come say hi! The Spokane Great Outdoors & Bike Expo Saturday, February 22- ... Read More
Have you ever thought about how your Instagram and Facebook posts are affecting the wild places that you love? Please join Idaho Trails Association for a discussion about the potential impacts, good and bad, on our shared outdoor spaces. Social media can have positive and negative consequences - they can ... Read More
Drink to donate! 50% of proceeds from all sales at Lost Grove Brewing in Boise will be donated to Idaho Trails Association. Representatives from ITA will be at the taproom from 5-8pm to answer any questions. There will also be a sweet cross-cut demo! Can't make it Tuesday? No worries! ... Read More
Join us at Lost Grove Brewing in Boise to celebrate and learn from Idaho Trails Association, Winter Wildlands Alliance, and WildEarth Guardians about the current projects going on and how you can be involved! The evening's excitement includes live music from Travis Ward, a food truck by Crisp and brews ... Read More
We are getting ready to kick off our third season of the ITA Trail Master Presentation series. We thought it would be a great idea to start offering a recurring presentation on something related to hiking, outdoor skills, etc. over the long winter months to keep our members, and the ... Read More
Since ITA’s start in 2010, the number of projects, volunteers, and supporters has grown every year. 2019 was no exception! Two hundred and seventy-seven volunteers contributed 7,996 hours of service and completed a total of 37 trail projects across the state. 2019 Totals: Miles of trail cleared- 189.5 Week-long Projects ... Read More
Going from freezing morning temperatures to an 80-degree bluebird afternoon is just part of the fun and excitement of an Idaho Trails Association project. In early June, our ITA crew started the day at Meyers Cove with a thick layer of frost on our tents. By afternoon we’d hiked 16 ... Read More
This week, we would like to highlight why ITA chooses to use traditional tools and skills for our work. We are fortunate enough to have our work take place in the wilderness. But what does wilderness really mean? Wilderness can be a general term used to describe a tract or region of land ... Read More
Amidst the rush of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, join us on December 3rd for Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving. Giving Tuesday is your chance to support the community organizations that contribute to your way of life. For the outdoor enthusiast there are plenty of ways to support ... Read More
This week we highlight our Women Only Weekends (WOW) and it's official! WOW has become an official Idaho Trails Association program called ‘Women in the Wild’. This program was unintentionally created last season when ITA partnered with the Boise Bold Betties Chapter for an all-ladies trail maintenance weekend. It was ... Read More
This week, we would like to highlight a new ITA initiative. As we know, one of the big pushes nationwide is to get America’s youth outside and away from the electronics and sedentary lifestyles. ITA has answered that call by starting our Youth Program for 14 to 18 year olds. With this program, we aim to get ... Read More
Why Become a Member of Idaho Trails Association? As the snow starts to blanket the high country, we're planning ITA's trail projects for 2020. I have to say we had a great season in 2019. We had a record number of volunteers provide time and energy to get the work ... Read More