Trail #3 | Mt. Heinen
Round Trip: 12 miles
Map: Dunnigan Creek, ID & Arrowrock Dam, ID
Difficulty: Difficult/Strenuous
Time: 5 hours
Author's Recommended Method of Travel: Hiking
Description
This is an excellent cross-country hike that is close to Boise but gives you quite a feeling of seclusion. Knowledge of using a topography map and compass is a must. A GPS is also handy on this hike. There are more direct routes to Mt. Heinen but this route provides the least amount of dirt road travel and the most scenic hiking with a great chance of spotting wildlife.
The route follows the ridge between Deer Creek and Cinch Creek. There are good quality game trails along the route which make hiking easier, but this is fairly steep country. Elk, deer, and eagles are some of the animals I saw on the hike in late November. In the summer months, this could be a very hot hike and bringing plenty of water would be advisable.
At mile 4.7 you reach a peak labeled 6,060 on the topo map. There is a nice horse camp set up here. From the horse camp you head east across a saddle to Mt. Heinen. Crossing the saddle gives your first good view of the peak.
There are two monuments set at the summit. One set by the USGS in 1959 and the other set by the Forest Service. When I visited the summit on 11/29/2009 there was a canister with names and dates of other peak baggers.
~Tad Jones
Access
From Boise head East on Highway 21 towards Idaho City. Directly after crossing the bridge at More’s Creek turn Right on Arrowrock Dam Road towards Spring Shores State Park and Atlanta. Mileage for the drive starts here. Drive past Spring Shores State Park & boat Ramps. Drive past Mack’s Creek Boat ramp. At 5.7 miles from the intersection with Highway 21 you will see Arrowrock Dam and the pavement ends. Continue up the dirt road. This road is very skinny as you approach the dam so be weary of traffic coming the other direction. Uphill traffic has the right of way unless the vehicle coming down the hill has a trailer. You will reach the top of the dam at mile 6.5. Continue another .8 of a mile to an undeveloped dirt boat ramp. This is the parking area. The hike starts across the road and heads directly up the ridge between Deer Creek and Cinch Creek.
Photos
