Explore the best rated trails in Payette, ID. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Stoddard Pathway and Weiser River National Recreation Trail. With more than 4 trails covering 133 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I am from Tucson looking for paved non-street rides. Greenbelt is fabulous, but: 1) The route west really ends at Eagle road regardless of what some maps indicate; 2) Ambiguous signage can confuse out-of-towners (like me!).
We rode from north trail head to Cambridge - 44 miles. This is a true rail trail - an old railroad bed in some places dirt, some gravelish, some bumpy, some deeper gravel. North to south is downhill, but you pedal the entire way. We loved the trail, but were definitely beat at the end. Do not underestimate the effort per mile. Scenery is terrific - woods at the beginning, scenic prairie and canyons toward the end. Take lots of water and spare tubes. You pass several towns, but alot is remote without cell service, and services are slim. We used Weiser Shuttle Service - highly recommend.
Beautiful fun ride! Lots of people so at times slow going.
The pathway has been extended. It is at least three miles long now. Also it connects to Wilson Pathway which can extend it several more miles.
The green belt has so many closed areas and what is open is unpaved. We road in circles three times back to the beginning and started over to find a way up the river but with all the construction and new homes, private path signs, and construction vehicles we didn’t make it to our planned lunch spot. The map does not show the closures and new structures and fences that were in our way.
A lot of rough trail, would highly recommend at least fork suspension. Also a lot of total cell black zones, so have backup navigation and communication option if you’re worried. Long stretches are completely isolated and road is inaccessible, so if you need medical assistance or have a break down, it can be a long walk. Great variety of scenery, and all the small towns the trail passes through are good for an hour’s investigation and/or a meal, particularly in Midvale. Having just done the entire trail, I’d recommend Fruitvale to Tamarack and back for by far the best bang for your buck.
This is an incredible ride. The mostly paved path runs on both sides of the river in town with lots of stopping points. You’ll also find many parks offering great picnic stops, restrooms and bike tools. Plenty of entry points at the parks lining the river. Crowded in the summertime. Head east towards Lucky Peak Dam and it will thin out.
Today in 2020 the various cities along the trail have made numerous improvements, added a number of parks and replace the bridges and trail segment damage in the flooding of 3 years ago. Today you can ride paved trail from Eagle Idaho all the way to Lucky Peak Dam to the east. The replacement of the bridge to Plantation Island is wonderful. And while the section in Garden City continue to have some rough areas, on the whole Garden City has done the most to improve the trail in their city. The replacement of the Plantation Islsnd bridge and pavement on the island is great. The new widening and resurfacing of the section from Plantation Island behind the former Le Bois horse track in nothing short of spectacular.
Winter snows have been low. Spring rains have not been bad. New trail addition at west end of trail in Eagle is a great addition. While,as in the past, the Garden Valley section is the least enjoyable it is the most improved and it is clear the City of Garden Valley is working hard to upgrade the trail segments in their city. Perhaps the biggest hilighy is the the replacement ofPlsntation Islsnd bridge tole Bois horse racing facility.
Started at Weiser. Got a flat w/in 3miles of TH. We were riding our fat tire ebikes, each approx 70 pounds. We pushed/towed/tugged the one flat tired bike to a roaded access point through a private farm field, while my husband rode the one good ebike back to TH to get our Jeep and find me somewhere near a farm field. Pushing a 70 pound fatty in soft sand can be a challenge... Found a bike shop, JD's Bike Shop, in Weiser but due to Covid lockdowns, he wasn't open, BUT his phone was on and he was hanging out at his place so he drove over to his shop on his Harley and fixed our flats and a few other issues we were having with our bikes. Jeff was a great guy, we discussed politics and pandemics and for a mere $20 we were off again to finish our adventure.
The next day we started at the Wye TH and rode all the way to Fruitvale and back. We noted that the Hiway 95 bridge was being worked on but the signs for closing the trail were not blocking the trail (going south) so we navigated through the construction debris. At Starkey, the trail is closed with a number of signs and we were re-routed onto the adjacent road. We saw why the trail was closed. There are two lengthy trestles between Fruitvale and Starkey. The Starkey one is missing the entire rail/trail bed due to washout. Only the railing is there. (see picture). Repair for this will be costly. One the way back to the Wye TH, the "closed trail" signs under the Highway were put up but since our Jeep was at the TH, we hurried through this section despite the workers on the highway yelling at us. Yes it is dangerous because construction debris can fall off the bridge onto the trail (including orange peels) but we couldn't walk the 10 miles back to the TH or ride our bikes on the very crowded highway. At a minimum, there should have been a sign on the kiosk at the Wye regarding the closed trail. And there is no mention either of the missing trail at the Starkey trestle or the closure.
The following day was a short one as we rode between Goodrich to Mesa Siding. (Poor directions were given both on the RTC website and the brochures so for those who want to park at Goodrich (there are at least 3 spots on new gravel, but no room for trailers), remember to turn right at the Goodrich Creek road off of Goodrich road. Due to lots of housing development, there are alot of new roads and we ended up making lots of u-turns. There is a trail sign but it can only be seen if you drive from the Cambridge side. We drove in from the landfill side off the highway as the brochure indicated). This stretch of trail is very nice with turkeys, quail and the smell/spoor of a bear under or near the Weiser River bridge. No-one else was on the trail and we were not near the hiway so the peacefulness was very relaxing.
This trail is nicer on the north and middle parts but the south part out of Weiser was not so good and there are lots of puncture vine (aka goathead weed) plants just waiting to flatten a tire. (per Jeff at JD's Bike shop). Also there are very few places to sit and have lunch/snack. We found only two benches on the north end, and only one bench by Goodrich.
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