North American Bike Park Review Tour

BOGUS BASIN BIKE PARK

After 2 weeks of shredding bike parks in Utah and Colorado, our crew was happy to be on the road back to Bend, Oregon. We were in desperate need of a few days of R&R, but, being the gluttons we are, we decided to spend a few days at Bogus Basin as we pulled into Boise, Idaho. We’d seen very little about the mountain and didn’t quite know what to expect and figured most of you don’t know much about it either. Well, here’s the low down.

THE TRAILS

Bogus Basin is a non-profit mountain that puts any profits toward charitable causes and improving the mountain, which we think is really cool. The trails at Bogus Basin aren’t going to satisfy the most agro of DH fiends but are still fun in small doses. We’d say the trails at Bogus are best described as flowy, low grade and mellow for the most part.

Riders have a number of options when it comes to green and blue trails, however there are only two black diamonds and one double-black diamond called G19. Most of the trails are multi-use trails and multi-directional, which means you could skip the affordable lift ticket price and opt for a pedal up to the top. It seems most people we saw going uphill were pedaling Around the Mountain, which is a nearly ten mile trail that offers beautiful views, and lots of fun corners. We preferred going downhill and taking the lift up, but we saw quite a few people out for longer XC rides.

The dirt at Bogus is definitely slippery! Although the trails were the easiest ones of our Bike Park Tour so far, we definitely had some of the scariest moments here as the speeds are high and the surprisingly silty, loose turns can lure you in. You’ll want to make sure you’ve got some fresh rubber to keep your tires planted when the dirt gets dry at Bogus Basin.

Despite the trails being pretty mellow for the most part, we had a lot of fun shredding our trail bikes at Bogus. We liken the experience of riding here like taking a chairlift to pristine backcountry trails. Some of our favorite trails weren’t more than 18 inches wide and meandered through beautiful green fields, through trees and around natural obstacles. We felt more like we were in the middle of nowhere than a bike park.

If you are looking for some more technical trails, Shindig, Tempest and G19 are your best bets. Berm, Baby, Berm and Morning Star are also pretty fun trails and we enjoyed riding those quite a bit. However, despite having plenty of signed trails, many of them are right around the one mile mark in length, so, the amount of time one needs to spend at Bogus isn’t much. We’d originally planned on staying to ride 2.5 days as filming always takes longer than expected. By the end of our first full day we already decided that we’d be done by lunch the following day.

We rode almost every trail and figured another half a day would be sufficient time to explore this new mountain. Although it’s fun, it just wasn’t quite the bike park experience we were expecting. There is a lot of pedaling to be had if you want it, so we highly suggest bringing a trail or enduro bike instead of a DH rig.

ON-SITE ACTIVITIES AND FOOD

Bogus Basin is a pretty small mountain and doesn’t really have much in terms of a village. There is one lunch stand where we ate food and purchased a couple sodas mid-day. There’s also a sleepy ski rental/bike rental shop that doesn’t have any parts or gear, so be sure you pack everything you need with you as Boise is a 45-minute drive back down the mountain.

If you brought the family up for the day they’ve got a couple options for children’s activities which should buy you a little time to get some laps in. Bogus Basin offers an alpine coaster, which looked pretty fun, a trampoline-bungee jump, rock climbing wall and a rather mild “summer tubing” experience.

WHAT BIKE TO BRING

Without a doubt we’d suggest bringing a trail or enduro bike to Bogus Basin. Even if you stick to riding the DH trails you’ll still have a significant pedal from the chairlift to drop in. We exclusively rode our Trek Slash and Trek Remedy bikes the entire time and never wanted anything bigger. If you’re there to pedal and put in miles, you could get away with a hardtail or short travel dual suspension bike. Trail maintenance is very good and we didn’t remember coming across any braking bumps or major bomb holes. Plus, there’s an awesome trail that runs from Bogus all the way down to Boise! It’s got a fair amount of pedaling in it, but if you hitch a ride or take the Mountain Dew Shuttle Bus from town up to Bogus, you can end your day with a pretty epic descent.

WHERE TO STAY

Having never been to Bogus Basin we decided to stay on the mountain at a rental we got from Vacasa.com. We assumed there would be at least a few things going on and didn’t feel like driving 45 minutes up the hill every morning. We were wrong, nothing stays open after the park shuts down so if you do check in late, be sure to have some groceries and food to cook. Our condo unit was affordable, slept up to 8 people and was riding distance to the chairlift. That being said, we probably wouldn’t stay on the mountain again, unless we were looking to bring the whole crew and cooking/staying away from the city for a few days.

If you want some action in your life, restaurants, bars and people, we’d suggest staying down in Boise. There’s plenty to do and a huge offering of hotels, Airbnbs and camping.

LOCAL INFO

Boise is a growing city with lots to see and do. A quick search online will return you a long list of sites, activities or places to stop depending on your personal taste. We opted for a mellow day at the Boise Water Park. The scenery is great and there are tons of ways to enjoy the water. There are several standing waves, a lazy river and several calm water swimming zones that make it a true summer oasis.

Dining options are plentiful in downtown Boise and the historic buildings, neon lights and classic architecture will certainly entertain everyone from fine diners to low-budget bros looking for cheap pints and pizza.

THE WOLF’S LAST WORD

Bogus Basin certainly isn’t a standout park in terms of radical terrain, mind-blowing trails or extreme riding, but it does have something to offer. It’s a charitable non-profit and we admire their mission and believe that they have the terrain to continue growing and making better trails with the right trail designer on board. They’ve got plenty of pedal-friendly and beginner level trails, making it a perfect place for beginner riders or those who’ve never ridden a bike park.

If you’re looking for a destination bike park, this isn’t it. Unless you’re a total newbie to the lift-access bike park thing and want a sleep mountain with miles of mellow flowing trail. If you’re an advanced rider, than it’s best visited as a quick stop on a road trip to other parks. Bogus Basin has done a great job creating a lift-accessed backcountry experience and managed to do so at a very affordable price. That being said, the lack of advanced terrain, and services on the mountain don’t place it high on our list of “must hit” destinations.

To learn more, visit Bogusbasin.org

THE FINAL SCORE

Trails: 6.5/10
Affordability: 8/10
Food: 7.5/10
Nightlife: 5/10
Lodging: 8/10
Camping: 9/10
Off Mountain Activities: 8/10