Guffey Butte is located near Melba Idaho, just south of the Snake River. It’s a neat area to check out in the cooler months of the year when the desert terrain is a bit more hospitable. The area is accessible from one of the many trails found near Celebration Park. The area has a lot of personality, including crossing the Snake River on an old railroad bridge, neat rock spires to check out, and a cool “hole in the rock” to peer through.
We’d visited the area a couple years ago, and I figured it would be a good destination for a larger group of family to go and work off some calories from our Thanksgiving turkey dinner. The kids loved the river long river crossing to start the hike. Next was a short but steep climb, followed by a meandering section that took us up a draw to the backside of some neat rock formations.
Most of the group decided to stop for a view of the big turkey-leg spire, while one of my sons and I decided to hike up to the highpoint for some great views of the Snake River plain and the Owyhee Mountains to the south. One the way back down, we stopped for a look at the hole in the rock, then made a steep descent back down to the main trail. Soon enough, we were all back to the car for some snacks.
Map of our route, just over 3 miles round trip with 900' elevation gain. |
Guffey railroad bridge across the Snake River. |
Easy hiking. |
Hiking up the draw. |
Neat scenery. |
Viewpoint where most of the group turned stopped. |
Nearing the summit plateau. |
Posing by the summit cairn. |
Heading back down. |
Hole in the rock. |
|
|
IdahoAlpineZone is unofficially sponsored by Skippy Peanut Butter.