To The Trail: From the stoplight at Main & Bullion in Hailey head west on Bullion St. Go three blocks, passing Hop Porter Park and crossing the Big Wood River, the parking turnout for Carbonate Mountain is on the right after the bridge.

The Trail:
Carbonate Mountain

Map created by EveryTrail: GPS, Photos & Geotagging!

Distance: 6 Miles
Elevation Gain: 2,320 Feet (1,100 feet first 2.5 miles)
Highest Point: 8,880 Feet
Rating: Easy to Moderate
Access: Dirt Road
Area: Boulder Mountains

To the Trail: Drive north from Ketchum on Highway 75 for 7.8 miles and turn right at the SNRA building. Continue past the visitor parking and drive 1 mile to a sign reading Murdock Creek Trail to the right. Following the sign, drive a short distance to the parking lot. Stay right and ignore a little road that goes left to a campsite.

The Trail: The trail begins from the lot at a registration box. Sign in and follow the trail for .2 miles to where it crosses the creek. You should be able to make your way across on rocks and logs. The level path follows along the creek for 1.5 miles until again crossing to the other side. Before the trail starts to climb farther on, there are great spots along the creek for an afternoon picnic.

Now the trail starts to ascend along the left of the canyon. At 2.25 miles re-cross the creek and follow the steep trail up the other side. After leveling off, the trail re-crosses the creek. At 2.5 miles, near a large basin, the trail crosses a tributary stream and starts a steep ascent up the ridge. To this point, there’s been a cumulative 1100 foot ascent though most of it is very gradual. At the end of this arduous climb at 8,800 feet is a rock outcropping to your right. This is the place to stop and take in the great views. A faint trail continues from here but dead-ends soon after.

Distance: 7 Miles
Elevation Gain: 1,920 Feet
Highest Point: 8,840 Feet
Rating: Moderate
Access: Dirt Road
Area: Boulder Mountains

To The Trail: Drive north from Ketchum on Highway 75 for 7.8 miles and turn right at the SNRA building. Continue past the visitor parking area onto North Fork Road and drive 5 miles on dirt road to the parking area.

Total Distance: 7 Miles
Highest Elevation: 9,528 Feet
Elevation Gain: 2,210 Feet
Rating: Moderate
Access: Dirt Road (4×4 Recommended)

To The Trail: Drive north from Ketchum 12.5 miles and turn right onto Boulder Creek Road, located at the top of Phantom Hill at mile marker #141. Follow the dirt road, going left at the first junction. After approx 1 mile follow the sign indicating ‘Boulder Basin 5′ to the right. Continue on, the rough road crosses through Boulder Creek and then up into the canyon. Around 1.5 miles after the last junction there is a place to park in an area of sparse, tall pines and cut down stumps. Park here. A registration box is up to the left, next to the road.

The Trail: From the parking area the trail is on road all the way up into Boulder Basin. First following along the bottom of the canyon, through forest before turning up and to the left when it begins climbing along a long exposed slope of shale and rock. It eases off a bit past the first long climb into the bottom of the valley again before resuming the climb up a series of switchbacks of rocky road.
Reaching the top of this climb the road passes through pine forest and begins to make it’s way into Boulder Basin. There is a stream crossing just before getting into the first meadows of the basin, which may be deep in high water. Past here the road crosses some big meadows and scattered forest as it slowly curves left up in the valley, eventually reaching a junction.

• Going right continues to climb, reaching another junction approximately .75 of a mile up at the base of steep rockfall underneath a cliff. There is a dark mine shaft here with rusty, twisted railway metal sticking out.

  • From here going left leads up a short climb to the biggest and most perpetual of the Boulder Basin Lakes. There is an old cabin here.
  • Going right, again continues to climb, curving up and around a rocky knoll before eventually topping out near the base of the cliffs and near a small glacial pond/tarn area. Here there are vantage points where you can walk out to the edge and look back down into the basin.
    

    ---

    Boulder Basin Images:

Total Distance: 2 Miles
Highest Elevation: 5,400 Feet
Elevation Gain: 100 Feet
Rating: Easy
Access: Paved Road

Most of the trail is dirt single track open to foot traffic, bikers, & equestrians. Dogs (& their owners) are welcome on the trail as well, with several waste cleanup stations along the way.

To The Trail:
The northern end of the trailhead is located behind the Community Campus. Turn left off Highway 75 onto Fox Acres Road. Drive straight towards the base of the hills following the sign for Founders Field and event parking, turn right into the Campus parking lot . The trailhead is located behind the buildings on the south side, up against the hill and next to the bus facility.

There is also access along the length of the trail at several points from Woodside Subdivision including Founders Field/Silverstone Condos, Laurelwood Drive at Woodside Park and the future Echo Hill park.

Click map to see full size. (opens PDF file)

The Trail:

Future plans include the installation of water fountains at Echo Hill Park (sometime spring 2007) and Woodside Park. Woodside Park also includes plans for construction of basketball courts, restrooms & ballfields. Long term planning also hopes for extending the trail south to the city of Bellevue and further, and to the north into Quigley Canyon. These plans are contingent on the involvement of many factors including easements from property owners and the combined efforts of city and state organizations. Further information is available at haileycityhall.org. Tax deductible donations can be made to the Hailey Parks Foundation - P.O. Box 3107 Hailey, ID 83333. Donations will be used for additional signs and benches.

Google Earth

NASA Worldwind

Developed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the sensors at these stations relay snow depth, snow water equivalent, precipitation, air temperature, as well as soil moisture & temperature. The data is collected by two master stations located in Boise, ID and Ogden, UT, who in turn offer the information online. Both current and historical records can be accessed through the Snotel website.
This is a good resource for outdoor recreationalist venturing in areas near these sites or for a general overview of a region. Care to see what temperature extremes you may encounter, just take a look at the recent 7 day data. Winter enthusiasts can research snow depth and current accumulation as well as investigating the current temperatures effect on the integrity of the snowpack.
Idaho alone has more than 80 sites. Some of the more local ones include Hyndman Creek, Chocolate Gulch, Galena Summit, Dollarhide Summit, Soldier & Garfield Ranger Stations. The interface at the site is fairly simple to use with all the locations clickable on an overview state map as well as a drop down menu with the stations listed alphabetically.

Recently we discussed a basic introduction to Google Earth, and the NCRS has created a data file which overlays an interface upon the Google maps so users can view station info and location there. This really enhances the information and adds to the fun. So take a look, though the site can seem a bit cryptic it is fairly easy to use and is another nice way to explore a destination. Just remember to get out there in person sometime.