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07 – War Eagle Mountain

War Eagle Mountain is an 8,051-foot mountain in Idaho’s Owyhee Mountains. It’s located in the Silver City Mining District, 70 miles southwest of Boise, Idaho.

The mountain is a historic resource for gold and silver. In 1862, the Oro Fino Vein was discovered, and by 1875, it had produced around 415,000 ounces of gold. In 1863, prospectors from Boise Basin towns found rich gold-silver quartz veins on the mountain. 

War Eagle Mountain has a prominence of 853 feet and an elevation of 8,213 feet. The most common access route is Linehan Flat Road.

More Information

Idaho Magazine – War Eagle Mountain


Coordinates: 43.00684, -116.70459
Elevation: 8025 ft
Difficulty: 3
What to Expect: Rocky trails, stairsteps, steep sections

Check In

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22 Check Ins
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AndyC

Awesome and fun stop!

What bike did you take?
Husky 901
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
P3
Robert

Well worth the trip up there. I went up the short direct way it was a little steep and rough to the peak probably a 3. I came down a way that was slightly longer but easier. But either way is worth the view.

What bike did you take?
KTM890R
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
20241002_War-Eagle-Mountain
Boltupright

Nice capper to a Silver City day. Last 1\2 mile is the true 3.

What bike did you take?
BMW 1250 ADV
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
War-Eagle
Dougiethenoo

Thanks to Alec for persuading me this was within my capabilities. The last few hundred yards are a little rocky and steep – but the exceptional view is worth the climb.

What bike did you take?
KLR
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
War-eagle
BobbyRay208

This has always been a cool spot both temp and stuff to look at. Side note I had 5G service but could not make a call. AT&T. I also found evidence that Special Ed had made it here before me 🙂

What bike did you take?
Tiger 800
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
20240908_170735
Ed Torrey

I took the back way to War Eagle, nice cool day for a ride

What bike did you take?
KTM890
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
PXL_20240828_174230493
Trent01

Big storm blowing over, rain, high winds. It’s been so hot and dry lately. Picked the only day of the month with bad weather.

What bike did you take?
1200GS
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
2
240824-07
Tumbleweed208

Incredible view. Awesome to get above 8k elevation. There are two ways up at the top to access the actual peak. Well worth the ride up there. It was a warm day and the breeze up there felt great. Visibility in the distance was hindered by smokey haze in the valleys but you could still see forever all around.

What bike did you take?
KTM 500 EXCF
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
IAMC-WarEagle
Dusty1

Thus was my favorite spot near Silver city. I took the harder entrance and it was fun. Spectacular views!

What bike did you take?
CRF450L
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
Resized_20240817_121008_1723939298969
jsk83687

Great place to stop and take in the views. Took the harder way up, and the way way down, still not to difficult.

What bike did you take?
Husky 901e
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
2
20240717_090715
Justin Wilke

Nice and easy ride up to War Eagle this morning. Snow is all gone.

What bike did you take?
DR650
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
07-–-War-Eagle-Mountain
Idabiker

The challenge sites around Silver City were not too bad. Make sure you take the second road to get to the top of War Eagle, the first one is a really rough shortcut. Time Ahrens and I thought we could come back on Reynolds Creek road, not knowing that the upper portion is closed because it passes through private land. We wound up making our way down a really rough rutted and rocky road (5) but were fortunate to run into a skilled dirt biker in a RZR who helped us get through the last big hurdle.

What bike did you take?
KLR 650 2008
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
1
20240627_104712
Frankie

I followed the grader up at about 0900 yesterday. It made for some very soft moon dust. I came back down at about 1700 and the dirt had already started to set up. No snow on the road all the way up.

What bike did you take?
KLR 650
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
20240625_151521
BB445

Finally. Was thwarted by snow a couple of weeks ago, but the road is clear now. They have recently graded the road since my last attempt. Watch for hidden ruts, runnels, and rocks under the moon dust and sandy sections. Spun a complete 180 around a mellow corner due to major hidden rut under the loam and dust. Fun times!

What bike did you take?
8980R
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
IMG_3558
JRATZ

First time up to War Eagle, Wow what a view!

What bike did you take?
KTM 500
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
War-Eagle-Mountain
Peyton Crane

I went to this checkpoint with my dad right after we went to miners cabin. We had to go through some snow but other than the ride was pretty smooth. The view from up there is crazy, you can see for miles. there is a huge T-Mobile tower up there that is really cool.

What bike did you take?
TTR 125
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
IMG_20240615_133327_252
IMG_20240615_133332_936
FW190Pilot

So took the first right up to the peak after Miner’s Cabin and it was a bit spicy but both made it fine (my friend was on a Kawi Z125…Grom-like…with street tires!). The easiest way up was the way we came down (Alex Crane’s post has a good depiction of it). Once at the top SPECTACULAR VIEWS all around. It was a bit hazy off in the distance but man are the Owyhees a really beautiful place….I’ve overlooked the whole area and am finding out there’s a lot to explore out there. I gave this a 3 only because of the straight-up approach we took from due south…..had we taken the loop-around to the west, then up past the little repeater site on the west slope I may have said 2.

What bike did you take?
KTM 350 EXCF
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
IMG_2944
englund

Nice view

What bike did you take?
dr650
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
2
07-War-Eagle-Mountain
chatty03

had to get through some snow but worth it for the view

What bike did you take?
TE310
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
2
cwe1
Alex Crane

This was a fantastic ride. After Miners Cabin we ran into some snow, but folks before us had cut us a decent trail so it wasn’t too much trouble getting through. The ride all the way to this point was a 2 to 2.5. From this point on it’s a solid 3, maybe a 3.5 in sections. For the last little bit the easiest way is the section marked in Red. You can see from our GPX file we took the first left which is a very small shortcut, but quite a bit more difficult. But it was really fun as well. Take the red path if you are unsure about the difficulty. We also followed the trail around to approach from the West, and it get’s a bit hairy around the spot we turned around. Probably about the same as coming up from the South, perhaps a bit worse.

The view from here is spectacular, and the ride is probably one of my favorites all the way up.

What bike did you take?
DRZ400
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
wareagle1
wareagle3
warealge4
eagle5
Jason

I made it through the snow drift! What a cool ride and an amazing view.

What bike did you take?
KTM 790
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
IMG_3618
chatty

finally able to get to war eagle. A couple of small snow banks and a final slightly rocky section

What bike did you take?
beta 390 RRS
Ride Difficulty (1 to 5)
3
we1
we2
we3