Thousands Springs Valley Idaho Trail Reviews

Thousands Springs Valley

Average Rating:

(3 of 5)

No. of Reviews: 1

A wide single track trail that has been completely redone by the FS (YOUR TAX $ AT WORK). This is an absolutely beautiful trail through evergreen forest to a wildflower infested alpine valley, Sound good; IT IS! It's an out and back ride. For a nice 11 mile total ride, I suggest you turnaround at Blacktail Pass which is beyond the valley (it's right after a moderate climb above Crystal Lake - a very small alpine lake). You must checkout the view from Blacktail Pass; the mountain to the east is Garns, the highest peak in the Big Holes. There is not much elevation gain on this ride; just a series of relatively short(1/2 mile or so) up and downs with flats in between. I rate it intermediate; but I would not take a novice on it. For you gonzos, you can keep going over Garns mountain and make a big loop back canyon creek trail or proceed on to Driggs. The riding to Blacktail is very moderate and suitable for a strong beginner; the trail is a wide enough for ATV's and you will most likely see some motorized (ATV and motorcycles), especially on weekends. I rode it today (July 14) and saw only 2 ATV's and a Basque sheepherder searching for his wandering steed (his border collies were not friendly) Note: I don't recommend you proceed past Blacktail and on to Garns unless you are an experienced rider.

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Latitude	43.66141431780774
Longitude	-111.39870643615722
Trail Directions	Another outstanding trail in the Kelly Canyon area. Kelly Canyon is a ski area 25 miles east of Idaho Falls on state highway 26. Turn off route 26 at the Heise Hot Springs sign. Drive past the hot springs resort to the ski area. The road to Kelly is paved, but turns to dirt at the ski area. It's a good dirt road. Go past the ski area on the dirt road and proceed east on FS road 218 (Get a Targhee NF, Palisades Ranger District map).Pick one up in downtown IF at the Visitors Center or at the FS office 5 miles east of town on hwy 26. Follow FS 218 for 12 miles (yes a significant dirt road drive, but the scenery and the bike trail are well worth it. Immediately after you pass the beaver maps along the right side of the road,hang a right on the Moody Swamp road (some jerk has removed the Moody Swamp sign). Go about 3 miles on this road and it dead ends at the Thousands Springs trailhead (yes this One is marked).
Trail Length	11 miles round trip
Trail Level	Intermediate
Trail Type	Singletrack
City/County	Idaho Falls

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Reviews 1 - 1 (1 Reviews Total)

Review Date
July 28, 2009

Overall Rating
3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
2 of 5

Technical Difficulty
1 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: Southernx , Cross Country Rider

Summary:
This trail is in a beutiful location. I rode it with my wife who does not like to ride really technical terrain so from that aspect it was perfect. Personally, my preference is a more "true" single track. Most of this trail is wide enough for a truck to drive on due to the amount of dirt bikes and ATV's that ride the trail. We went on a saturday - we were the only mountain bikers on the trail, everyone else was on a powered vehicle. I would recomend staying away from weekends. Nice cruising ride.

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