If you are in Boise and need to get some exercise by bike or walking, the
Boise Green Belt is the way to go. Located in Boise, Idaho, this long trail starts in Boise's North End and goes all the way into Garden City, one of Boise's suburbs and is very popular with locals all year long who use the Green Belt as a path to go to work or to school at Boise State University during the week. On weekends, the Green Belt is teeming with families on bikes and other folks walking or biking to burn off the stress of the week.
I used to live in married housing at Boise State University for a couple of years in the 1990's, and I used to take my bike or walk the Green Belt, which also goes through Boise State University. Now that I live in Meridian, I missed having a bike path nearby to take Loki and Katie for a long walk. I was so happy that my friend Karla lives right near one of the entries to the Green Belt near Veteran's Memorial Park in Boise's North End, and when Mom took a babysitting job to look after Karla's little girl, Lauren for the next month while Karla does the Spring resets for Home Depots throughout the Treasure Valley, I was happy and said we need to take advantage of the Green Belt and exercise Loki, Katie, and ourselves.
This past week, the Treasure Valley of Southwestern Idaho has gone through some of the worst snow and ice storms in years. The roads have been ice skating rinks that have led to many accidents including one that yours truly got into on January 29 on I-84. Totally stressed from that and our beloved Patriots losing the Super Bowl in a heartbreaker, Mom and I were in serious need to burn off some stress and the calories of the previous night's Super Bowl gorgefest.
I arrived at Karla's house with Loki and Katie about 11 a.m. today, and after Mom and Lauren got dressed and bundled up, we were off to the Green Belt. Lauren insisted on walking Loki and Katie, who at 85 and 97 pounds, respectively, can be a handful to walk even for me, but they were very gentle with Lauren and walked very slowly with her. Due to the snowstorms, part of the paths were icy, so we had to be very careful walking or one of us would be experiencing what Tom Brady did during the Super bowl, landing hard and flat on our backs, but minus the 250 pound plus defensive end on top of us!
The Green Belt is a very scenic and flat road, and you can see the Boise Foothills, Bogus Basin, and the mountains at several points of the trail. The half-mile Mom and I covered went from Willow Road to one of the ballparks further down the road that is accessible by State Street. There was a big field about a quarter of a mile from Karla's house that we let Loki and Katie run around, and Lauren wanted to make a snow angel, but she was not in her snow suit, and we said she was best not to or we would have to take her home wet and cold. That didn't stop Katie from making snow angels of her own, and she rolled over several times during our walk on any patch of snow that struck her fancy.
There is a soccer field along the Green Belt near the baseball fields, but it was being used by a huge flock of Canadian Geese as a resting spot. Lauren was fascinated by the geese and wanted to go inside the field, but we didn't want to disturb the geese and watched them from a respectable distance. Canadian Geese can be pretty nasty when intruded on, and Mom and I weren't ready to re-enact a scene from The Birds. Loki decided to go and check out a nearby tree and stumbled and slipped on the ice, and I had to run over and pick him up off the ice. The geese took off from the field in two groups, and the sight of them flying was magnificent for all of us to see.
When we started our walk, it was about 30 degrees and nice. I was in light layers, and Mom was in her LL Bean jacket. Lauren was in her pink camo fleece jacket and was getting hot, and she took off her jacket saying "I'm hot!" We made her put her jacket back on and told her she could wear it unzipped until she cooled down. A passerby said it would be too cold to have her unzipped, and we told them we were under control.
I would have loved to have gone to Veteran's Park, where I took Loki and Katie a couple of springs ago, but it started to get windy shortly after we passed the ballparks, and we decided to head back home, but we had gotten about a mile's round trip in our walk altogether.
The Boise Green Belt is open all day and night, but it's safest to walk or bike ride during the day. There have been past incidents of vagrants or other sickos attacking people, especially women, along the Green Belt, and about 4 years ago, a visiting flight attendant was kidnapped, raped, and killed on the Green Belt. Her killer was found and is now on Idaho's Death Row for her murder and the murder of another woman. The Belt along Boise State University has been notorious for vagrants sleeping in Julia Davis Park or Ann Morrison Park, which is also part of the Green Belt, but the Boise Police have made big efforts in keeping the vagrants out of the park and away from people who want to enjoy the Green Belt.
To get to the Green Belt from I-84, go down the Interstate and bear left onto I-184 or take the exit to I-184 depending on what direction you are coming from on the interstate. Go all the way into Downtown Boise and take a right at the Julia Davis Park sign and park there. Bring a picnic for afterwards and make sure you have good sturdy shoes and dress appropriately depending on the weather. The Green Belt is most crowed in late Spring and all Summer, and during the winter, it is mostly students going to school by bike or some walkers. Keep your dogs leashed and be careful!
From journal Super Bowl Weekend in Idaho