Although I enjoy bicycling on the Nampa greenbelts and mountain biking in the local mountains, I've only ridden on the Boise River Greenbelt once, and just a portion of it.

With the fall leaves rapidly loosening their grip on the trees and the sun shining brightly enough to make it almost warm, my brother Jason and I decided to tackle the greenbelt Sunday afternoon and see how far we could get in two-and-a-half hours.

I was surprised how quickly the greenbelt on the north side of the Boise River got us through the city. In just an hour and fifteen minutes, biking at a moderate pace with a couple quick rest stops, we made it from the start of the path at Les Bois Park in Garden City to the Black Cliffs east of Boise near where the path ends at Lucky Peak Reservoir. And the whole way we were surrounded by views of the river, numerous parks, small lakes and the foothills. The paved path was well-maintained, had few road crossings and had numerous off-shoots leading to different parts of the city.

Deciding to take a different way back to turn our ride into a loop, we took an offshoot near the Idaho Shakespeare Festival that led us to Barber Park in east Boise, where the greenbelt on the south side of the river starts. This greenbelt is different, varying from designated pathways to bike routes along a roadway to unmarked paths through neighborhoods. It took some work for my brother and I to figure where to go next at vague sections of the route, and we did make a couple wrong turns. But the southern section of the greenbelt is just as scenic as the northern section as it takes you through beautiful neighborhoods and along the river bank. The path ends around Ann Morrison Park, where we crossed a bridge back over to the northern greenbelt.

Our total trip time was just under three hours. The southern greenbelt takes 15 to 20 minutes longer than the parallel section of the northern greenbelt, but it's well worth the extra distance. I calculated our trip mileage at around 30 miles, making for an excellent afternoon ride.

Find more information about the Boise River Greenbelt at cityofboise.org