A Front Row Seat to the Owyhees

Sometimes you’ve just got to get out of town and break up the riding routine. This week’s ride took me about an hour outside of Boise to Wilson Creek, on the edges of the Owyhee Front. This place is massive, raw, and filled with more riding options than I could possibly cover in one post. So today, I’m just sharing my first ride out there and highlighting Bingo Trail. I've included some GoPro clips from Bingo, some photos of China Ditch, and the link to my strava ride if you wanna check out the area for yourself.

My Strava for this ride

Ride Stats

• Distance: 9 miles
• Climbing: ~1,400 ft
• Level: Intermediate (with 1 hike-a-bike)
• Location: Wilson Creek Trailhead, Owyhee Front

Parking & Trailhead Info

There are two main parking areas at Wilson Creek. We opted to drive just up the road beyond the main lot, which shaved off a bit of the initial climbing (you can check out the screenshot of our route below). Both parking lots have bathrooms and a large trail map that’s worth snapping a picture of before you set out. The area is managed by the BLM and the trail names are just numbers. It's kind of confusing at first, so I highly recommend chatting up the locals and getting the trail nicknames.

Link to the parking lot on google maps–> HERE

The Ride

We kicked things off with a grinding climb up Wilson Creek Road, heading toward the junction of W160 and W500. That’s where we dropped onto Bingo Trail (W500). It's a flowy downhill with wide-open views of the Owyhee Front. It’s fast, fun, and just the right amount of flow mixed with some random rock tech to keep you on your toes.

There are some cool rock features out here with some small rollers and drops. There is a cool drop right at the end of W500 just before we connect to W410 (I included it in the GoPro video). Once you're on W410 stay to the right and descend another section of W500 for a second helping of flow. This goes down to an area called China Ditch, W600.

Here's a quick GoPro edit of the ride down Bingo to China Ditch.

The area around China Ditch is stunning. You’re riding above a creek with wide views of the canyon before dropping down into it. It’s remote, peaceful, and one of the prettiest sections of trail I’ve ridden in a while. I’ll include a few photos from this stretch so you can see what I mean. The temps were amazing, however, I wouldn't want to be out here in the middle of summer, aside from the danger noodles in the area, there is little shade out here. Early morning rides, winter and spring make the most sense out here.

The Climb Out: Jacob’s Ladder

Our exit route took us up W510, affectionately known as Jacob’s Ladder. The first chunk of this climb was brutal. Most of it was a hike-a-bike slog, but the payoff is a quick reconnection back to W410 and W400, which led us back to our vehicle and wrapped up the loop. The climb up W400 was classic XC riding like areas in the Military Reserve. Just slow steady grade as you climb back to your rig.

Final Thoughts

Wilson Creek is rugged, remote, and worth exploring. I can't believe I'm saying that after hating on it for the last 2 years. But I really did enjoy the riding out there. Maybe that's because it feels totally different than the Boise Foothills, more wild, more open, and honestly, more epic. If you’ve got a sense of adventure and some legs for climbing, I’d highly recommend exploring this area.

A final note, I love riding at sunset and this is not the place I'd do that. Especially down by China Ditch, it's prime snake country and I wouldn't want to be out there when the danger noodles are out and about. I'll keep my sunset rides to the Boise front and my sunrise rides to Wilson Creek. Shoutout to my guide Seth for showing me around the area. You the real MVP! Check out his instagram HERE

Forever Two Wheels!

-Myles