The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Board is seeking to change a section of the Idaho Centennial Trail’s official route to improve hikers’ safety and avoid a dangerous creek crossing, state officials announced Sept. 3.
The Idaho Centennial Trail, or ICT for short, is a more than 900-mile trail that crosses the entire state of Idaho, from the desert at the Idaho-Nevada border, all the way up to the Canadian border. Along the route, the trail passes through some of the most wild, scenic and remote places in Idaho, including the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, the Sawtooth Wilderness and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.
Although a few people complete the Idaho Centennial Trail as a thru-hike in a single, months-long push, the trail is broken up into segments and utilizes other, existing trails to allow different users the opportunity to enjoy smaller sections of the trail without having to navigate the entire trail.
The new route change involves adding about nine miles to the Idaho Centennial Trail to avoid an unabridged crossing of Big Creek in the Salmon-Challis National Forest.
Rather than forcing hikers and backpackers to ford Big Creek, the new route will follow Milk Creek Trail 064 and Monumental Creek Trail 005 to allow hikers to safely cross Big Creek at a bridge near the junction with Monumental Creek, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation officials said.
“A longer trail isn’t always a better trail, but in this case, the additional miles provide a significant safety benefit,” Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Director Susan Buxton said in a written statement. “By routing the Idaho Centennial Trail across an existing bridge, we can help ensure that more people can experience this incredible section of the ICT without having to take on a potentially dangerous creek crossing.”
The official route for the Idaho Continental Trail was approved in 1990 by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Board, which has the authority to change routes on the trail in partnership with land managers and the public.
Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation officials said their counterparts with the Salmon-Challis National Forest support the change, and they are opening a 30-day public comment period about the route change.
To offer public comment, send an email to Hailey Husband, the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation’s nonmotorized trails coordinator, at hailey.husband@idpr.idaho.gov or call 208-514-2419.