Boise, ID

Last week, I purchased a single speed beach cruiser to get me around my college campus this fall. I’d grown tired of being scoffed at by my peers for not riding a bike on a regular basis and when I do attempt to pedal around the block I’m too slow to accompany them. I’d had enough, and determined to prove that I knew the proper way to enjoy a bike ride I grabbed my helmet and steered my self in the direction of the Boise Green Belt, my boyfriend by my side.
The Boiseans take pride in their greenbelt as just one aspect of inheriting a biking town badge of honor. Thus it is imperative that as a member of the city of Boise, one enjoys it at least once during their time here. Run it, stroll it, bike it, trike it, or unicycle, the Boise greenbelt is a place for all to enjoy. We met the greenbelt at an entrance to the path just off of Capital Boulevard next to the Boise Art Museum in Julia Davis Park.
The Greenbelt is a stretch of mostly paved pedestrian paths that run along the shore adjacent to the Boise River. It’s approximately twenty miles of smooth leisurely riding between Lucky Peak Dam and Garden City (a recent city council decision prevented the Green Belt from stretching farther towards Eagle). It’s a nice cool place to ride without the pressure of riding fast or up steep hills, the bane of a single speed rider’s existence.

This put us a bit farther than halfway up the trail, which was fine for our purposes. We took turns following each other on the paths making way for faster road bikers and detouring around younger families with children eagerly pedaling their tricycles through tunnels.
The greenbelt travels through some of the best parks in Boise. One could stop and have a snack at my favorite Municipal Park off Warm Springs Road, take a raft down the river at Barber Park, or observe birds and turtles at Katherine Albertson Park. My favorite part of the ride was pedaling over the wooden bridges that cross over Veterans Memorial Park’s lakes where some go to cool off on a hot day. I made a mental note for next time to bring a swimsuit along. It would be nice to ride out to one of the lakes, take a dip, and dry off on the ride home. A little bit past these bridges we hit one that extended over the Boise River heading towards Garden City and some horse stables. We decided this might be a good place to hit the breaks and head back the direction we had come.

On the way back we stopped to get some water and relax our legs in the fresh cut grass. A man dressed in safari style hat and khaki’s road by on a gigantic old-fashioned big-wheeled bike. We sat in awe for a second then moved along; stopping only once more to observe the new guided tour voice boxes at the Anne Frank Memorial. We road downtown and grabbed a bite, and headed home, back up the hill towards Vista Avenue, unable to take a bus.

The easiest way to access this bike path is through by entering any of the parks that flank the Boise River, including: Julia Davis, Katherine Albertson, Municipal, Barber, Anne Morrison, or Discovery State Park. This is definitely a painless way to keep cool and get some exercise, and the best part is it’s free!