Birds of Prey Area Hikes

Hikes: D.
Total Distance, D: 3-11 miles.
Difficulty: Level I.
Season: October 15-May 1.
USGS Maps: Initial Point, Sinker Butte.
BLM 100K Map: Murphy.
Dirt Road Miles: 4 gravel, 1 1/2 good dirt.
PLSS Location: Section 35, T1S R1W (Wees Bar).
Other Sources: Various BLM Birds of Prey Area pamphlets, maps, etc.

Introduction: These hikes are in the Birds of Prey Natural Area. One follows the Snake River to Wees Bar, an outstanding petroglyph site. Another climbs to one of southern Idaho's outstanding viewpoints, the summit of Sinker Butte.
  In some respects, good management in the Birds of Prey Area is beginning to be felt. The Wees Bar hike is through an area closed to motor vehicles, along a road that provides good family hiking (and which is also used by mountain bikes). The route to the petroglyphs is on once-private land recently acquired by the BLM. A century of overgrazing at such low elevations cannot be undone in a few decades. Although grazing continues, there is now hope for this stretch of low desert.
  On the other hand, management on the plateaus above the canyon is abysmal. National Guard tank training continues to expand, churning up the landscape. Cattle grazing should have been ended long ago, but it continues at too-high levels. Wildfires race across the area with ever-increasing frequency as cheatgrass replaces shrubs and native grasses. One wonders how long the desert rodents which feed the birds of prey will remain.

The Wees Bar Hike: The Wees Bar hike follows the Snake River for 3 1/2 miles. Cross the recreational walkway across Swan Falls Dam by walking through a gate and across the spillway to the main dam entrance; and then through a gate on the left that leads to a catwalk on the upstream (reservoir) side of the dam. Once on the other side turn left, walk upstream along the river for while, and then cut right and climb a very poor road (used to build the dam) to a Melon Gravel bar and a main junction (W1). Turn right and then left, and follow this ancient road down a steep hill to the river. The stretch of river you follow trends northwest for two miles.
  At the end of that two miles, beyond the disturbed lands around Priest Ranch, the river bends to a more westerly course. Take time to observe the rocks here. Boulders with jagged edges have fallen from the canyon walls since the Bonneville Flood. Boulders with rounded edges were plucked from the narrow canyon walls or floor by the flood, and were rounded off by the swirling waters.
  Wees Bar is just around the corner to the left. Some of the biggest examples of Melon Gravel were deposited in that relatively quiet backeddy of the flood. The Indians of southern Idaho put those rounded boulders to good use, creating the largest petroglyph field in the state. The author presumes this was a major winter camp area, and his guess that this area was especially important to the Indians seems borne out by the nearby Otter Massacre site. (That massacre has apparently been mislocated on USGS maps for many years. Newer research indicates that the massacre took place near Henderson Flats, about 1 mile downstream from Castle Creek.)
The Sinker Butte Hike: The view from Sinker Butte (3421 feet) takes in a lot of territory. It's the highest point along the river in the Birds of Prey area, with the Boise Front, the Owyhee Range, and a long stretch of Bonneville Flood-impacted canyon in sight.
  You have two ways to hike the Butte. One is from Swan Falls Dam. Cross the dam and climb to the main junction on the Melon Gravel bar (W1), turn left, and climb up the old road to the trailhead on the south side rim (T2).
  The other way is to start at that trailhead, reached by poorer roads from the south. Just aim for the Butte, follow ways that lead toward it, climb its side, and you're on top.
  Narrow benches below the butte's southeast rim give the best views of the Snake, in its narrowest stretch between Pocatello and Hells Canyon. Here the force of the Bonneville Flood was constricted, damming up the waters until they deposited gravel 435 feet above the river. Sinker Butte stood squarely in the water's path, and the raging waters gouged out the alcove below you.
  The author would like to camp in this area during the winter. There are many suitable campsites on Sinker Butte and on the bench to the east.

Access: For Sinker Butte (T2), start at Grandview, at the junction of ID-78 and ID-67. Head west on ID-78, toward Murphy. After 11 3/4 miles you cross Castle Creek, with rugged Jackass Butte barely visible to the right. After 12 3/4 more miles, you cross Sinker Creek's beautiful gorge. After 2 3/4 more miles (27 1/4 miles from Grandview), take a paved road that leads to the right (north). (This paved road is also 3 3/4 miles east of the courthouse in Murphy.)
  Follow the paved road up on to an upland farming area, turning left after 1 mile and right after 1/2 mile. Continue straight (east) on the paved road for 3 miles, until the pavement ends. Turn left (north) on a gravel road, and drive 3 miles. The dirt road to the right is the alternate access route. Continue 1 mile due north, and turn right on the regular access road. Follow it 1 1/2 miles, until you approach the rim, where the road turns right and momentarily divides. Park here. If the regular access road is too muddy, try the alternate access road. To take it, turn right, drive 1 mile, turn left, drive 1 more mile, and then turn right for 1/2 mile to the rim.
  To reach Swan Falls Dam, which is the Wees Bar trailhead (T1), drive south from Meridian on ID-69 for 7 miles, turn right with the highway, and go 1 more mile, to the eastern edge of Kuna. When the highway curves right, go straight and turn left (south) on Linder Road (Swan Falls Road). Follow this road 19 miles to a large transformer, and take a hard right. This paved road quickly descends to Swan Falls Dam. Turn right and park near the dam.