| Mineral Mountain Mountain/Rock |
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| Mineral Mountain   | 
| Page Type: Mountain/Rock Location: Idaho, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 44.00053°N / 115.89286°W County: Boise Activities: Hiking, Skiing Season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter Elevation: 5970 ft / 1820 m | Page By: SawtoothSean Created/Edited: Jun 8, 2006 / Jun 8, 2006 Object ID: 198946 Hits: 776 Loading... Page Score: 89.3% - 16 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Overview Mineral Mountain sits at the north end of the Boise Basin, separating one of the largest historic mining regions in the West, from the scenic South Fork of the Payette River just to the north. The Boise Basin is actually an area north and separate from the city of Boise, which is located in the Treasure Valley.
The Boise Basin once contained a thriving network of mining towns and contained the Pacific Northwest’s largest city in Idaho City. Idaho City has several hundred residents with a wide scattering of rural homes near Centerville, Placerville, and Pioneerville.
Mineral Mountain is one of the more gentle peaks in the region, even by
Boise Mountain standards. A jeep road winds it way
from the Alder Creek Summit past Mineral Mountain and ends near Grimes Pass. The last 100 feet of the peak must be hiked, but most of the outing can be trail run, hiked, biked, or skied. The summit is covered with large Ponderosa Pines, and is one of the few summits in the area of this fully tree covered nature. At one time, the largest Yellow Pine (Ponderosa) in
Idaho was found just south of this area.
The summit offers limited views of nearby Hawley Peak, Mt.
Heinen, Shafer Butte, Pilot Peak, and Thorn Creek Butte. This peak will certainly be overlooked by some of the more interesting peaks nearby, but it offers a good early season / very late season excursion with a relatively short
approach drive. Often seen in this vicinity are tons of Elk and Deer along with the occasional Black Bear. Coyotes and Red Foxes are also quite common. If exploring this area, you'll most likely be alone, with the occasional off road enthusiast nearby.Getting There
West Approach: From
Alder Creek Summit, follow a jeep road east for approximately 5 miles until your
just south of the summit.
East Approach: From
Grimes Pass, follow a jeep road west for approximately 4.75 miles until your
just south of the summit. It is not obvious when your near the base.
Drive Approach:
Mineral
Mountain
sits between Alder Creek on the west side and
Grimes
Pass
on the east side. If approaching
from the ID-21 / Grimes Creek direction, the drive in is on dirt roads of
gradual steepness and mostly improved. If
approaching from the
Garden
Valley
area, the drive is mostly on pavement and then the last few miles are on steep
dirt roads.
From ID-21, turn left onto the
Grimes Creek Road at approximately MP 29.5. Follow the road as it turns to
dirt and meanders along Grimes Creek to New Centerville. Turn left and then make
a quick right and follow signs to Centerville and Pioneerville. From
Pioneerville, it's 4.75 miles to Grimes Pass. OR From the New Centerville
area, follow the road west and north to Placerville. From Placerville,
it's approximately 3.2 miles to Alder Creek Summit.
ClimateNearby Idaho City Climate Data
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Annual |
| Average Max. Temperature (F) |
35.4 |
41.3 |
42.5 |
48.6 |
59.0 |
68.7 |
77.0 |
88.1 |
77.4 |
64.4 |
45.9 |
36.5 |
60.8 |
| Average Min. Temperature (F) |
12.7 |
15.4 |
21.2 |
27.7 |
34.4 |
40.1 |
44.7 |
43.0 |
35.6 |
28.5 |
22.0 |
15.1 |
28.4 |
| Average Total Precipitation (in.) |
3.63 |
2.75 |
2.38 |
1.76 |
1.79 |
1.39 |
0.44 |
0.49 |
0.88 |
1.46 |
2.90 |
3.62 |
23.50 |
| Average Total SnowFall (in.) |
24.3 |
16.4 |
7.0 |
0.9 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.7 |
9.2 |
22.3 |
81.0 |
| Average Snow Depth (in.) |
17 |
19 |
11 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
5 |
National Weather Service-Boise
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