Stout run or long hike to the top of a Boise local mountain.

Statistics

3 - 4

hrs

968

m

968

m

9

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

Lucky Peak is the obvious mountain rising east of Boise, making an easily accessible incline playground for all types of recreation.

This route is one of the more direct ascents and grants landscape panoramas every step of the way.

If taken to the top and back, it's nearly a half-marathon with more than 3000 feet of gain.

Prepare for a grueling few hours! The ascent begins on the non-motorized Homestead Trail, then takes Lucky Peak Road the rest of the way up.

The road is for 4WD vehicles, but traffic is usually light, and it's actually closed to motorized use Nov 15-May 1.

You can guarantee solitude during those colder months, but it might be hard to find good conditions for running. The elevation and exposure on Lucky Peak warrant certain considerations for weather.

The treeless, south-facing slopes roast in the summer, and the upper elevations hold snow throughout winter and spring.

The best times for covering the whole mountain would be early mornings in the summer or anytime in the fall before it snows too much. Note that there are multiple trails and roads that reach the top of Lucky Peak.

The route mapped here returns by the same way, but you could devise your own variations to switch it up. Source: https://www.ridgetorivers.org/