A Boise hiker checks his photos after hiking to the abandoned Adelmann Mine near Lucky Peak Reservoir.

A Boise hiker checks his photos after hiking to the abandoned Adelmann Mine near Lucky Peak Reservoir.

For many eastern Idahoans, a trip to Boise is a likely possibility sometime this summer.

Whether for family, business or just goofing off, Boise does have some great outdoor recreation possibilities.

My sweetheart and I were visiting my son and his family in Boise last week. We needed to touch base because he is planning to move soon — looking for greener pastures in the state of Washington. That will leave us with no children living in our blessed state of Idaho. (We don’t know if it’s the state or they just want to get farther away from their parents — I didn’t think my breath was that bad.)

On our visit to Boise, my son Levi lined up a short hike in the Lucky Peak area and a quick rock climbing session in the Black Cliffs area. Both turned out to be fun and worthy outings.

Lucky Peak Reservoir and state park, just west of Boise, is a popular destination for boating, fishing, paddle boarding/kayaking, mountain biking, cycling, hiking, camping and picnics. Nearby is also the Black Cliffs — a series of basalt rock walls that rim both sides of the Boise River canyon below the Lucky Peak Reservoir.

On Saturday morning, we hiked up the Adelmann Mine Trail just off State Highway 21. Next to the trailhead is the Idaho Fish and Game’s Boise River Wildlife Management Area.

The trail begins passing a few Fish and Game buildings and follows an old mining two-track road uphill to the abandoned gold mine for about 2.3 miles. The trail is nearly all uphill in open country with occasional trees. The trail follows a small stream. There are no toilets at the trailhead and parking is limited to maybe a dozen cars.

If you continue up the trail another 2 miles from the abandoned gold mine, you come to the summit of Lucky Peak to be rewarded with a view of most of Treasure Valley and Boise.

Because of the cooler spring we’ve had this year, the area is still green and wildflowers are still putting on a show.

After our shortish hike, my son and I drove down Highway 21 toward Boise and stopped downstream from the Lucky Peak Dam at a pullout below the Car Body East cliffs in the Black Cliffs area. The Black Cliffs offer more than 200 routes. We hiked up a nasty, boulder-filled trail to the base of the cliffs and climbed a few fun and challenging routes until the sun chased us away.

Surprising to me was that despite being so close to the state’s largest city (maybe 20 minutes), we only saw a handful of climbers on the wall on a Saturday morning.

The climbing reminded me of the basalt climbs you might find along the Blackfoot River canyon in eastern Idaho. There is a mixture of traditional routes (those requiring you to place nuts and cams) and sport routes with bolted hangers already in place. Information on the routes at the Black Cliffs can be found online or in Dave Bingham’s guidebook “Idaho Underground.”

We found plenty of routes from easy to hard at the wall we ended up climbing on.

There is also a popular pedestrian/bike path leading from downtown Boise all the way out to the Lucky Peak Reservoir along the Boise River greenbelt. This path is about 12 miles one way and is mostly flat.

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