Jump Creek Falls is a quick and pleasant hike near Marsing, Idaho, a city about an hour away from Boise. At a distance of 0.25 miles, the trail is relatively easy but leads to a beautiful, humble waterfall.
A friend who lives in Boise added this to our itinerary during my recent trip there after doing a quick search for “waterfalls in Idaho.” We decided to drive out to Marsing on a Sunday morning to do the hike.
Without traffic, commuting to the falls is an easy and relaxing cruise. The tricky part comes close to the actual trailhead, especially because cell reception can get spotty making GPS navigation flaky. My friends and I started losing signal when we got to this sign:
Once you get close to the trail, there will be a sign telling you to keep right. Follow that path and eventually you’ll hit a turnout where you’ll see two forks. Take the right path on the concrete, which will take you to a dirt parking lot near the trailhead. The left fork leads to the exit.
Upon arriving, there will be two trails. The right path is a more difficult trail that leads to an overlook, which we did not take. Instead, we took the easier one that we were able to navigate effortlessly.
There’s some stream crossing involved along the way, including one right before the falls, but there are a bunch of rocks that are easy to step on so you won’t get wet.
Jump Creek Falls is a thin waterfall but it’s still pretty captivating. We saw a couple doing some sort of shoot in the water and the falls made for a nice background.
You can view the waterfall right when you get past the last stream at the end of the trail, but you can also cross the little pool of water surrounding the falls to see it from the other side. Another way to get to the viewpoint without getting wet is to crawl through a hole in a nearby rock. (It’s not too hard to find once you’re there). I’d say it’s worth checking out that side, especially if you’re taking photos, because of the different view.
On that note, here are a few tips:
- It’s good to go there early because there will be less people and it’s not as hot. The trail isn’t shaded all the way.
- Watch out for poison ivy!
- After posting a photo of Instagram shortly after doing the hike, I received a comment from an Idaho local who advised to also watch out for ticks.
- As far as directions go, my friends and I just popped in “Jump Creek Falls” into our map app and started driving so that should work. But for more information and more specific directions, click here.
Jump Creek Falls is a fun hike that’s suitable for a wide range of fitness levels. You can probably even take kids and your dog on the trail.
I’d recommend this hike to people already living in Boise who may not have been yet, as well as people visiting the area.