Trail Blaze

ITA's mission is "keeping Idaho's hiking trails open for all". We believe there is a trail for everyone, somewhere, be it deep in the Gospel Hump Wilderness or a mile outside of Sandpoint. I recently learned there is even an ADA-accessible wilderness trail outside Ketchum! I believe our work ... Read More

ITA's Annual Membership Drive starts November 15 and runs through the end of the year. We need your help to reach our goal of $50,000 to support ITA's trail stewardship work in 2023. You can join or renew for $25, $50, $100 or more! Why do trails need our ... Read More

We need your help to make the 2023 trail season the best one yet! Please fill out the questions below to help us know how best to plan for next year.

ITA member and volunteer Pauline Irish has been working hard on ITA trail maintenance projects since 2021 and this spring was trained to become an ITA backcountry cook. She cooked for her first crew on the Little Queens River Women Only project in July. Pauline is also a skilled outdoor ... Read More

September 24 is National Public Lands Day and we have two ways you can join us in celebrating our shared public spaces! Join us on a project- We have a weekend trip and two Saturday projects planned in North and South Idaho. Kirkwood Bridge • September 23-25 • Hells ... Read More

Earlier this season, ITA collaborated with the Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation on the Goat Ridge Youth project in the Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest. Four ITA teen volunteers worked alongside three SBFC Wilderness Ranger Fellows with the objective to clear the Goat Ridge Trail starting at the Shearer ... Read More

On her first ever ITA project earlier this year, Anna Jones, a communications manager who moved to Idaho two years ago from Mississippi, lost most of her camping gear. While the crew was out working on a project out of the Grandjean trailhead in the Sawtooth Recreation Area, sudden ... Read More

It is always a treat to spend a week in a place with a regal name, and the Women's Only Work Week left the Little Queen's Valley ruddy and rugged, if a little grubby, having earned a few crosscutting crowns. Nine women, some friends from before but all friends ... 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 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

The trails world lost a true friend in February 2022 with the sudden passing of John Platt. John was a lifelong hiker and mountaineer, an accomplished cyclist, a backcountry adventurer, and a devoted husband, father, brother and friend. John was also passionate about sharing the outdoors with anyone and ... 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

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

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