BOU AVENUE
Cervidae Peak
On 26 December 2025, Zosia Zgolak and I hiked up Cervidae Peak located in Idaho's Boise River Wildlife Management Area.  A good trail runs all the way to the top, and given its close proximity to Boise and easy access, the peak is exceedingly popular and likely climbed year-round.  Although we were not yet aware of it at the time, Cervidae Peak is one of the four Boise "Grand Slam Peaks" as described by Idaho: A Climbing Guide author Tom Lopez.  According to Lopez, the peak's name was officially adopted by the US Board on Geographic Names in 2015.  Cervidae happens to be the genus name for the deer family.

From the intersection with Surprise Way in southeast Boise, drive eastward along Highway 21 for 15.6 kilometres and turn right onto Arrowrock Road immediately after crossing the bridge over Mores Creek.  Drive 3.4 kilometres and park in a dirt pullout on the right.  The signed trailhead is on the north side of the road opposite the pullout.

From the trailhead, Zosia and I followed the obvious trail which rises gently at first to the east before turning northward up the crest of a long ridge.  The trail follows the many undulations of the ridge, and with the exception of one optional bypass, it pretty much stays right on the crest the entire way to the summit.  A couple of sections are quite steep but not too prolonged, and there are no route-finding challenges.  Best of all, the trail is very scenic from top to bottom since there are virtually no tall trees in the vicinity.  Ironically, the worst views are from the summit which is partially cluttered with bushes.

After reaching the summit, Zosia and I stopped for a nice break before retracing our steps down the mountain.  Like the ascent, the descent was very straightforward, and other than having to sidestep the numerous other hikers still going up, we had no issues whatsoever.
Don't need the map to climb Cervidae Peak! Zosia studies a map at the trailhead.
An already scenic hike! Lucky Peak Lake is visible at left as Zosia climbs up the initial section of trail.
No route-finding or bushwhacking! The remainder of the ascent route is mostly visible here as it follows the ridge crest all the way to the summit (right).

Still lots of steep climbing ahead...

With the entire mountain under full sunlight, the summit can be identified as the bump above Zosia.

 

Reminiscent of Lake Mead near Vegas. Here is another view of Lucky Peak Lake from the ridge.  Note the low water level.
Ugh. Most of the ascent is simply a steep grunt.
This will suck more on the way back! Zosia pauses before a big dip in the ridge.
Busy trail! Another hiker follows Zosia up the final steps before the summit.
We were hoping to ski there but were worried about marginal snow conditions. About twenty kilometres away to the northwest is snowy Shafer Butte, the high point of Bogus Basin Ski Resort.
Someone needs to come and chop down all these bushes! Zosia stands on the summit of Cervidae Peak (1511 metres).

It's crazy that we were able to drive all the way to the top of that mountain over 8 years ago!

In this view to the southwest, the tallest mountain on the distant right horizon is Hayden Peak which is nearly 90 kilometres away.

 

Amazing landscape!

Part of Lucky Peak Lake can be seen in the foreground while the sliver of water further east is part of Arrowrock Reservoir.  Both bodies of water are parts of Boise River.

 

More people are on their way up! Zosia descends the same route she came up.

Kepros Mountain wasn't on our peak-bagging radar at this time...

Here is a final comprehensive view of Lucky Peak Lake with Kepros Mountain dominating the left horizon.

 

Our first Boise Grand Slam Peak! Total Distance:  7.5 kilometres
Round-Trip Time:  3 hours 50 minutes
Cumulative Elevation Gain:  547 metres

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