Kae, Dan and Kim floating down the Boise River. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

The Snake River is what most people think of when having to name a river in Idaho. While it’s the longest in the state at 779 miles, there is plenty of fun to be had on the 102-mile-long Boise River—which is a tributary to the Snake.

The Greenbelt is a paved path running 25 miles along the Boise River. It’s perfect for a casual bike ride or walking along.

Riding along the Boise Greenbelt. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

On this particular day the three of us pedaled about 17 miles, with the halfway point being the Sandbar restaurant where we had an adult beverage and listened to great music by Blaze & Kelly.

Much of the route the river is visible from the path. At times civilization seemed so far away. We seamlessly pedaled from one town to the next; which I only knew because my friends were telling me where I was.

The Greenbelt links 10 parks, a preserve and a trail all named after women who made significant contributions to the area.

Another day we spent floating the Boise River. We started at Barber Park and finished a couple hours later at Ann Morrison Park. Various floating devices are for rent, with an inner tube costing about $20. (My friends had a paddle for me; which I definitely needed.)

A three-speed bike is perfect along the Boise Greenbelt. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Kim had warned me there were three drops. I wasn’t sure what that was going to entail, but knew it was going to be more than the little rapids we had gone through. I believe at each one I said “oh, shit” before bouncing around, and the smiling and laughing afterward.

Like most things when you are above them, they look more daunting. And it’s not like I had much control even with a paddle. Good thing Dan warned me to keep my butt up. That could have been painful had I not taken his advice.

What an incredible few hours of fun. The water was chilly even in August, but also refreshing. Those “drops” soaked me. Fortunately, the sun dried me off pretty quickly.

Surfing is another activity along the Boise River. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

But this beautiful waterway wasn’t always in this condition.

“… until the ­1960s the river was a dumping ground for industrial waste and raw sewage. The riverbank was choked with trash and weeds,” the city of Boise’s website says.

In the late 1960s the first Greenbelt Plan and Guidelines were put in place.

Today, Idaho is known for its abundance of rivers that enjoyed by various types of outdoors people.

“Idaho is important in the history of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Two of the rivers designated with passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act are Idaho rivers—the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River and the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. This was due to the efforts of Senator Frank Church of Idaho, one of the chief architects of the act and its primary sponsor in the Senate,” according to Rivers.gov website. “In fact, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River flows through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, a 2.4-million-acre wilderness in the heart of Idaho’s rugged landscape. Despite the state’s role in the history of the act, of the approximately 107,651 miles of river in Idaho, only 891 miles are designated as wild and scenic—less than 1 percent of the state’s river miles.”