Trail Blaze

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

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

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

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

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

ITA is planning to transition our bookkeeping activities to a professional outsourced service or volunteer resource over the next 3-6 months.   Since ITA’s inception, we have leveraged an ITA volunteer to perform these tasks that will allow us to support our continued growth and complexity. We are seeking services from a ... Read More

Dear Idaho trail users and friends, Happy New Year! Here’s to remembering the challenges of 2020 but looking with hope to 2021 and time in our beautiful Idaho backcountry, accessed of course by Idaho’s extensive network of public land trails! As I begin my tenure with Idaho Trails Association, I ... 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