Thorn Creek Butte
Elevation 7515'
A hike to a fire lookout in the Boise Mountains
July 10, 2021

43.7448°N / 115.7514°W
Thorn Creek Butte fire lookout.

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Thorn Creek Butte is located in the Boise Mountains, southeast of Idaho City. It stands up above the surrounding terrain and offers great views. The summit is home to a fire lookout that is often manned in the summer. It can be reached in a high clearance vehicle, or a short hike from nearby Bald Mountain Campground.

I had to be back early for a family BBQ, and needed a shorter hike close to home. I’d been curious about the area, and my youngest son even agreed to join me, so was looking forward to a nice morning hike. After a couple wrong turns, we made it to our Bald Mountain Campground. (Advice: Don’t trust google maps, just follow FS-304.)

We parked at the campground to make for a sporting 3 mile round trip hike, but the road to the top is driveable for any high clearance vehicles. We saw motorcycles, ATV’s and jeeps throughout the morning. So not exactly a wilderness experience on a busy Saturday, but still a very pretty area with great views and lots of wildflowers.

Once we reached the fire lookout, we checked out the views for a while, then descended to find a spot in the shade to eat our PBJ’s before the hike down. Round trip was 3 miles and 700’ of elevation gain.

Map of the route, 3 miles and 700' gain round trip.
Map of the route, 3 miles and 700' gain round trip.
Lupine in bloom.
Lupine in bloom.
Smokey views.
Smokey views.
Mixture of forest and meadows.
Mixture of forest and meadows.
Heading up the
Heading up the "trail".
Early view of the lookout.
Early view of the lookout.
Almost there.
Almost there.
Thorn Creek Lookout.
Thorn Creek Lookout.
Selfie on the deck, with a friend.
Selfie on the deck, with a friend.
The view north from the lookout.
The view north from the lookout.

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