Deer Flat Kingfisher Trail

The Kingfisher Trail hugs the southeastern shore of Lake Lowell in Idaho’s Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge for about three miles, then adds another mile alongside the New York Canal. The refuge, created more than 100 years ago, includes over 10,000 acres and provides crucial habitat for wildlife, especially birds. We saw lots of mallards and geese and a little bunny.

Deer Flat Loop

The Deer Flat Reservoir near Boise (aka Lake Lowell) was built from 1906 to 1909 to irrigate the surrounding countryside. Lacking any local water sources, it is fed by the 40-mile New York canal (so-named because New York investors financed it), which draws water from the Boise River. The trail leads to an observation hill above the lake with good views across the reservoir, and then crosses the dam to Lake Lowell Park.