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GENERAL COMMENTS: July 26, 2024
This weekend is promising temps in the upper 70s and possible a little more rain, which would be amazing for days spent outside on our trails. Even though the trails are certainly dry and dusty, and smoke is pushing in and out of our valley, the storms coming through seem to be helping to knock things down.

Throughout the summer SNRA trail crews have been monitoring and working on trails. For a complete SNRA trail report visit Sawtooth National Forest’s Current Conditions page. Below are some highlights of trails they have reported as seeing maintenance this month:

-Alpine Way Trail (528): Stanley Lake to Iron Creek- Trail cleared on July 6
-Elk Mountain Loop
-Iron Creek- Stanley Lake Trail (640): Iron Creek TH to Sawtooth Lake- reported trail cleared of logs and brushed Lake on July 6.
-Forth of July Creek Trail (109)- reported trail clear to Three Cabins TH on July 13.
-Livingston Mill-Castle Divide Trail (109/203/047): reported Washington Lake Tr to Chamberlain Basin- Snow free. Downfall in burn area as of July 8
-Little Casino Creek (232) – reported Some trees cleared, snow free besides two snow/mud patches on top north facing slopes on July 7

Last week the Sawtooth National Recreation Area reported closures of the Redfish Lake complex and surrounding trails due to the Bench Lake Fire. Today they announced a gradual reopening of the Complex, they did not mention reopening trails within the closure. The complex will reopen on July 29th for campers with existing reservations and July 30th for the general public. The fire has been reported as 58% contained as of today. As a reminder, the SNRA implemented stage 1 fire restrictions.


Wood River Trail Coalition reported that the Imperial reroute is almost done and it is tentatively planned to be open early August. The reroute will be complete once the new bridge goes in. A huge thank you and great work to WRTC and KRD for their planning and work on this!
Ketchum Ranger District reports the crew spent the week out Deer Creek completing maintenance on Deer Creek, Red Warrior to the junction with Warfield, Mars Ridge, Lick Gulch nearly to junction with Warfield, and Middle Fork – South Fork to Willow Creek. Last week they worked on clearing and maintaining Placer and Castle.
Sun Valley Company reports Bald Mountain Trail is open from the base of River Run to the overlook. It remains closed past the overlook to the top for trail maintenance. The Traverse trail is open from the base of River Run to French connection but closed from there to Warm Springs. The Warm Springs trail is still closed for trail maintenance. Cold Springs Trail will remain closed for the 2024 season for the Forest Health Initiative. Check out the Sun Valley app or their website for more information.

BLM reports that the construction of the approved trail in Hangman Gulch is going well and the IMBA trail crew great job building this multiuse trail. Currently construction is still occurring in Hangman drainage; they will eventually move into the Buttercup Hill/Quigley area in the next week or so. Please avoid the area where the crew is working. There are sections of rock the crew must work through, and it is possible for larger rocks to tumble into the drainage below. If you would like more information on the new trails or have any questions or comments, email me and I can help answer questions or point you in the right direction.

BCRD made more adjustments to the Quigley Bike Park Green Jump line. Last week BCRD added wood ramps to the Green Jump line to provide a more consistent take off and provide a jump line that provides a more consistent progression to the Blue Jump Line. This week a b-line option was added to the Green Jump Line, providing a different a more approachable option to the left of the new wood ramps.
A quick reminder that some trails have not and might not see maintenance yet this year, at this time they are still marked as yellow. They are open, but you are likely to find trees across the trail or areas in need of maintenance. If you do see something that needs attention while you are on the trails, please let me know.

Sheep: When traveling through areas with sheep, stay aware of your surroundings and give the sheep and their guard dogs plenty of space. If you are on a bike, it is recommended to dismount and walk your bike past the sheep dogs. For more information on traveling through areas where sheep are likely, visit our trails alert section on the Summer Trailinks page.

The Forest Service reports:
-The Baker Creek band is near the Baker Creek Yurt northwest of Fox Peak. They will be grazing in the South Fork and in the upper reaches of the East Fork Drainage.
-The Corral Creek/Pioneer Cabin band was trucked into Wilson Creek Thursday 07/25. This band will graze along Trail Creek Road towards Corral Creek. They will then graze into Uncle Johns Gulch.
-The Limekiln Band is currently grazing in Senate Meadows near Galena Lodge and will likely move towards Gladiator.
-The Lake Creek band is about halfway up the Eagle Creek drainage. This band will continue to trail southwest along Forest Service Road 144.
-The Willow Creek/Shaw Mtn. band is grazing in between Spruce Creek and Placer Creek. They will stay in the area until 08/05 at which time they will truck the band off the allotment.
-The Deer Creek/Curran band is southeast Buttercup Mountain in the Lost Gulch area. This band will be using Curran Gulch (Trail 160) and Deer Creek (Trail 158) to water.
-The Warm Springs band is near the Warfield drainage (Trails 120/151). This band will drop down close to Warm Springs Road and graze towards the Castle Rock drainage.
-The Cove Creek band is grazing in Finley Gulch. This band will cross Cove Creek and into Fowler Gulch.

When you head out for your adventures, feel free to report back anything you see that you think should be shared. Email me, the BCRD Trails Coordinator, Ashley Knox at aknox@brcd.org.

Enjoy the trails!