Boise, ID

After the old Idaho State Pen closed and was abandoned back in the early 70’s, it became a curious playground for those of us whom lived in the area. Part of it’s mystery was a few dusty cattle trails and an abandoned wagon road. The road was used by inmates to haul sandstone cut from the cliffs above the prison-used in its construction.

It’s history was pretty much a mystery to us, until it was placed on the Historical Register. The Penitentiary became a tourist attraction and museum. The dusty trails, became part of the Ridge to Rivers Trails System.

I had been wanting to take my young grandkids, (Ages 6, 3 and 21/2), out to hike the local trails, but knowing some of the steep terrain, I had some concerns. That is until my daughter-in-law, reassured me that they would do OK. (Word of Warning: Take plenty of drinking water and/or some energy bars. Also there are no toilet facilities…Don‘t ask me why)!

There are several routes to get there, but the quickest is probably the freeway. Take any on-ramp to I-84 and head East. Take the Broadway exit and head North to Warm Springs. Turn right or East on Warm Springs towards Warm Springs Mesa. When you pass Adams Elementary School & the Trolley Restaurant at the end of Warm Springs Ave., look for the Old Idaho State Pen and Idaho Botanical sign to your left.

Take this road North almost to the end. Just after you pass the entrance to the Idaho State Botanical Garden on your right, make a left. There is a sign adjacent to a chain link fence, pointing to the gravel parking lot behind the buildings.

I had wanted to arrive around 8:30AM. It’s cool in the morning, just right for a hike and the chance to see deer, fox, and other wildlife is greater. But as anyone with kids or grandkids knows, it’s near impossible to keep to a schedule! (The best we could do was arrive at 10:30AM).

The weather was cool, but not enough for a jacket. We packed up some water bottles, and headed off. There is plenty of signage pointing to trails and loops. Our trek began at the lower Quarry Trail sign, near the parking lot. Last month, hiking by myself-I had taken the Quarry Trail to the top of the ridge then hiked up to see remnants of the old sandstone quarry at the upper Castle Rock Trail.

It’s a pretty steep and narrow trail up to the Quarry, so we opted to stay on the lower trail and head for Table Rock. At one point, you come within a few yards of some new homes on the sandstone ridges. There is another trail that veers off to your left, which I think is the Crestline Ridge Trail. We bore to our right, on the Table Rock trail.

This portion of the trail is wide and gently sloping. The wildflowers were out in full force and everything was turning green. Meadowlarks sang their songs as we walked along. A prominent landmark with a large cross-Table Rock was just above our heads. At one point, you can make out another trail descending back towards the old state pen from the Table Rock Trail. That’s where we headed.

An intersecting trail, just below Table Rock, veers back to the West is rather steep and narrow. We thought about doubling back from whence we came, but the kids outvoted us! (I would caution anyone with little ones to go first themselves one day, then decide if you want to bring your kiddies along).