Eightmile Mountain is one of limited number of peaks within a 2 hour drive of Boise that has a trail to the top. The peak sits just north of the Payette River and east of Lowman. It is near Bonneville Hot Springs and campground.

The peak had been on my list for quite a while. After long drives the previous few weekends, Carrie and I decided on this peak last minute. We didn't get up very early and started up the trail later than we should have.

The trail was in good shape and the area was lush and green... however, it was HOT! There was limited wind, and even in the trees we were roasting. Despite all of that, we pushed on. The thicker trees past Point 6868 helped and eventually we were at the base of the peak with about 200 feet of gain to go. This is where we found some hope in a spring shooting right out of the side of the mountain. We cooled off, soaked our bandannas, filled water bottles and over hydrated!

The peak was within 20 minutes of the spring, so we were comfortable the remainder of the hike.

The top of really impressive views of the Sawtooth mountains, the Boise range, and even some Salmon River mountains. It was a stunning day, with little haze. I was impressed with the summit... just do it on a cooler day!

Take Idaho 21 for 19 miles east of Lowman. Turnoff at the well-signed road that leads to Bonneville Hot Springs and campground.

We started hiking off of the road to Bonneville Hot Springs, about 1/2 a mile from the turnoff from Idaho 21.

I think you could save yourself 1/2 a mile of hiking by starting from the trailhead at the east end of the Warm Springs Landing Strip. A few vehicles were parked there on our return.