Boise National Forest

Covering 2.2 million acres of rugged mountains north and east of Boise, Boise National Forest provides the primary outdoor recreation resource for Idaho's capital city and protects vast ponderosa pine forests, subalpine meadows, and hundreds of alpine lakes scattered across granite basins. The forest contains portions of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, the largest contiguous wilderness in the lower 48 states, where visitors can experience some of the most remote and pristine backcountry in the American West. The Middle Fork of the Boise River, South Fork of the Payette River, and North Fork of the Boise River offer exceptional whitewater rafting and kayaking through deep forested canyons.\n\nDozens of natural backcountry hot springs -- including Kirkham Hot Springs, Bonneville Hot Springs, and numerous undeveloped pools along remote creeks -- make the forest one of the premier hot spring destinations in the country. Historic mining districts from the 1860s gold rush era dot the landscape, with ghost towns like Idaho City preserving the legacy of a boomtown that briefly rivaled Portland in population. The forest supports healthy populations of elk, mule deer, mountain goats, gray wolves, black bears, and mountain lions, while its streams provide critical spawning habitat for chinook salmon and steelhead trout on their remarkable 900-mile journey from the Pacific Ocean.