The Lydle Gulch area on the South side of Lucky Peak Dam is an area crisscrossed by a series of old two track roads and game trail on the ridge tops and draw bottoms rather than an engineered and maintained trail. The best access point is the Lydle Gulch TH (restrooms) that is can be reached off Highway 21 and driving across the Lucky Peak Dam. A good first hike in the area would be to begin at the Lydle Gulch TH, and walk south on the old two-track road up Lydle Gulch. Due to the nature of the trails here, one can walk any distance desired, as an out-and-back, or make loops. I like to make the Bonneville Point Kiosk a destination which is about 2.5 miles out and 800 feet elevation gain, all on old two-track road. From the Kiosk, the return can be made down (North) on the ridgeline to the powerline road and then down the short but steep grade to return to the draw bottom and the Trail Head. Another small loop that I prefer is to head directly South from the Trailhead on a path that leads up the ridgeline towards a powerline tower that can be seen from the TH. This first bit of the trail is about .5 mile to the top of the ridgeline and about 500 feet of elevation gain. Someone has placed a bench at the ridge-top making a nice rest area with a good view of Lucky Peak Dam and downtown Boise. Once on top of the ridgeline, continue southerly on the ridgeline for another 1 mile until you encounter an old two track road in a saddle. From the saddle, you can choose one of several routes: 1) return on the route taken to the Saddle 2) go downhill in a northerly direction and follow the drawbottom back to the road and parking lot. There exists a good game trail in the bottom of this draw. 3) From the saddle, continue North on the old two-track, which will take you down-hill to the bottom of Lydle Gulch. Once at the bottom of Lydle Gulch, the two-track road become better defined and you can return to the trailhead by following it north (downhill). 4) From the Saddle, continue North on the old two-track, will take you down-hill to the bottom of Lydle Gulch. Once at the bottom of Lydle Gulch, the two-track road becomes better defined. You can turn North, towards the old corrals and follow the road to Bonneville Point. The Bonneville Point Kiosk is plainly visible from the saddle.

This area can be hiked year-round, however, the open grassland environment can be hot in summer mid-days. And, of course, during the winter this area can and does get snowfall. This is good winter-range for deer and elk and are often seen in the area. I have seen Bald eagles here and at least two Golden Eagles. I expect rattlesnakes inhabit the area but I have never seen one there.

If you are into a bit of exploring, this is a great area, as the trail routes can be mixed and matched for some great loop hikes (I like to hike to the Lucky Triangulation Marker). While close to Boise, this area gets few people compared to the Ridge-to-River trails, however, mountain bikers, equestrians, and a few of the two-tracks are used by motorized folks. Much of this area is leash-free so the dogs can get a chance to roam freely.

Elevations: The TH is at 3080 feet and Bonneville Point is at 3878 feet. Lucky Triangulation Marker (more correctly called a BM or Bench Mark) is at 4078 feet and the Lat/Lon is 43.504 N, 116.032 W.

The best map for the terrain is a USGS Topo map which can be viewed at the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation website. A link to that map is also provided by this Idaho Trip Reports website, located under the “Online Resources” tab.