SOUTHERN IDAHO

CITY OF ROCKS

MARCH 2017 & JUNE 2024

WINDOW ARCH

CITY OR ROCKS

CREEKSIDE TOWERS

BATH ROCK

CREEKSIDE TOWERS

CITY OF ROCKS

CREEKSIDE TOWERS

WINDOW ARCH

BATH ROCK

CREEKSIDE TOWERS

WINDOW ARCH

City of Rocks is a fun spot located about an hour south of Burley near the Idaho/Utah border. We stopped here for an afternoon in March of 2017 and did the quarter-mile hike to Window Arch, the half-mile loop around Bath Rock and a one-mile round-trip hike down the Creekside Towers Trail from Bath Rock. I was really impressed with the area. It was cool having a forest and stream mixed in with the cool rocks. I would love to go back to check out some of the other trails. The Visitors Center was closed, and there was hardly anyone there when we visited in March. It was an especially snowy winter that year, and the City of Rocks Road, which travels through the reserve, was closed just west of Bath Rock due to snow.

OWYHEE NORTH FORK

NOVEMBER 2020 & MAY 2021

OWYHEE NORTH FORK

I accessed the North Fork from the Owyhee North Fork Campground, located along Juniper Mountain Road outside of Jordan Valley, Oregon. The road is pretty well maintained, and should be passable to most cars when dry. There is a large pull-out in front of the campground you can park in if you're not interested in camping.

After parking, I just followed the river upstream on the left side. This required a lot of hiking up and down side canyons entering the main canyon, which was very time consuming. I also found it hard to follow too closely to the river for much of the hike due to how steep and rocky the sides of the canyon were. So I viewed most of it from above, just dropping down every once in a while when I found a way down. Because of this, I didn't make it nearly as far as I had planned. I only made it to the confluence with Juniper Creek before I decided to head back.

Hiking in the end of November, I didn't have too much daylight, and the water was too icy for me to want to wade in it. Hiking this in Spring or Summer would be much easier, as you could always wade through the water when the canyon walls became too steep to hike along. All in all, I was impressed with what I saw. This is a canyon I decided to try out after seeing how deep it was on Google Maps. I only scratched the surface of it on this trip, and already have a couple return trips planned for the future. I didn't see anyone else here, and I doubt it ever gets many visitors.

I tried this canyon again in May, when the water was warm enough to wade through, and this saved me a lot of time traveling up the canyon. The river was generally ankle-to-thigh deep, with a few deep pools that I was able to walk around on the sides of the canyon. It actually felt really nice wading up the stream. After about two miles I tried to hike up a really deep, narrow canyon on the right (second image from the top). However, it wasn't as easy to hike up as I had hoped. There were some deep pools and climbing, and it was choked with bushes. I ended up having to go around a few sections, which was very strenuous and time-consuming. The parts I did make it down to the canyon floor for, however, were impressive.

I plan to come back here at least one more time to check out a section of the canyon that looks like it could be really interesting. In looking at satellite images, there appears to be a lot of hoodoos and possibly some arches in a section about six miles upstream from that campground. For this trip I would just travel above the canyon on the right to save time.

OWYHEE MIDDLE FORK

JUNE 2015

OWYHEE MIDDLE FORK

The Middle Fork of the Owyhee was my very first trip into the Owyhees after moving to Boise, and I was blown away by the scenery. While the Owyhees definitely contain some National Monument worthy scenery and geologic features, they are relatively unknown due to there being such poor access to them. The hike up Middle Fork Canyon begins at the Three Forks parking area where the Main, Middle and North Forks of the Owyhee all come together. The last few miles of road to Three Forks can get muddy, so only attempt to drive it when it is dry. Also, the last mile or so from the canyon rim down to the Owyhee River is a bit rough. The first time I visited it appeared a bit too rocky for my Corolla, so I parked in the parking area above and rode my bike down. I probably could have made it in the car, but I decided to play it safe. I'm guessing I hiked about seven miles each way for an approximately fourteen mile round-trip hike, but I'm not really sure. I just remember being completely exhausted when I finished.

Once at the bottom of the canyon, you will take a left and follow the dirt road until it cross a bridge. Cross the bridge and continue on the dirt road a bit further until a stream crosses over it. This is the Middle Fork of the Owyhee. There is a dirt road following along the left side of the stream for a little while, but eventually you will need to head down the stream and walk along it. The going is rough, as there is no trail and a lot of large weeds and brush. Eventually, the canyon will narrow and you will be required to walk in the stream. This is where the scenery becomes amazing with high rock walls and hoodoos along the sides of the stream. Eventually, you will come to a wide pool that you will need to swim across. I brought a dry bag to keep my camera and food dry. I also brought a wet suit for extra courage going through the brush and water. I got a little nervous on some sections, because the grass is so high, you can't see where you are stepping. I saw at least one snake in the canyon. There were also fairly large crayfish along the bottom of the stream, that really looked out of place in such a harsh desert.

Eventually the canyon opened up just past some waterfalls. This is where I turned around. As I was hiking in June, I remember the heat being brutal once the canyon opened up again on the way back. I was just barely able to make it up the steep climb from the bottom of the canyon back up to my car at the canyon rim. Looking at a satellite image of the Middle Fork after my hike, I saw that there was another long narrows section located just a mile or so past where I had turned around that looks like it would be amazing to walk through. It is on my to-do list, but may require a backpack trip, as I was just barely able to hike the bit I did in one day. Again, while the scenery is stunning, some joy is taken away by the rough walk through tall weeds required to get to and from the narrows. This hike would likely be more pleasant in spring or fall, though the water level could be significantly different during these seasons.

CELEBRATION PARK

JANUARY 2018

CELEBRATION PARK PETROGLYPHS

SNAKE RIVER

CELEBRATION PARK PETROGLYPHS

SNAKE RIVER

CELEBRATION PARK PETROGLYPHS

OLD HOMESTEAD ALONG THE SNAKE RIVER

OLD HOMESTEAD

CELEBRATION PARK PETROGLYPHS

BOULDERS

Celebration Park is a cool area located along the Snake River containing many petroglyphs. It has a visitor's center and campground, and can get fairly crowded during spring, summer and fall, so I decided to check it out on a warm day in January. There are a lot of petroglyphs located on the boulders just above the parking area, and they continue to appear for a mile or so as you walk along the river. After about a mile, the trail will split. I stayed to the left to check out Halverson Lake. I didn't even know there was a lake here until I saw sign for it. While the lake was really nice, there were a couple guys who had camped there who were shooting off guns, which killed the peaceful mood of the morning. I had been all alone up to that point. Just past Halverson Lake are some sand dunes, an old dugout and another smaller lake.

After checking out the dugout, I headed back to the Snake River to see if I could find anymore petroglyphs. Just south of the second lake, right along the river, there was a big group of ruins. There appeared to be rock foundations for thirty or forty rooms. While there were signs these dwelling had last been used by homesteaders, I wondered if maybe this village had been originally established by earlier inhabitants. I couldn't find anything on-line about them. From here I followed along the river back to Celebration Park. Along the way, I did see another rock foundation for a dwelling with a large petroglyph next to it, making me think again that at least some of these dwellings has been established before the homesteaders arrived. There were also a lot of tiny oyster shells scattered along the ground around it.

If you're up for a along walk, you can actually walk along the Snake River all the way to Swan Falls and the Bird of Prey. I've heard there are more petroglyphs along this stretch if you look closely. I'm looking forward to checking those place out in the future. I have to say, I was impressed with the quality of petroglyphs at Celebration Park, and I'm sure there were a lot I missed. I also really enjoyed the peaceful stroll along the river. I'm learning to appreciate the beauty of the Snake River more and more.