The capital city of Idaho offers unique mix of big city amenities and small town charms, with all sorts of shopping, dining and attractions. It’s also a fantastic starting point for outdoor activities and a wide range of day trips. These excursions, all within a few hours’ drive, and many much shorter, are especially unforgettable.
Shoshone Falls
Located just northeast of the town of Twin Falls, Shoshone Falls is Idaho’s largest waterfall. Sometimes called the “Niagara of the West,” this magnificent natural wonder lies along the Snake River and is even higher than its more famous counterpart, Niagara Falls, at 212 feet. The powerful waterfall is located in Shoshone Falls Park, and on a sunny day you’ll often see rainbows develop in its mists. The park also hosts a wide range of facilities, including picturesque hiking trails, a swimming area, boat ramp, playgrounds and a scenic overlook. The lush and shaded grassy areas are ideal for a picnic as well as being an ideal vantage point for viewing the falls.
Hells Canyon
Located about three hours north of Boise, along the Idaho and Oregon border, Hells Canyon is worth the drive. The deepest water gorge in North America, the Snake River flows through, affording outstanding fishing and whitewater rafting opportunities. Hikers and backpackers will find a wealth of trails to choose from, and along the way, the chance to spot mountain goats, bighorn sheep or even black bears. A number of jet boat and helicopter tours are available in the region as well for a bird’s-eye view of the impressive landscape.
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
A little over 100 miles southeast of Boise, Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument is home to a significant concentration of Hagerman Horse fossils. The Hagerman Horse, an Ice Age mammal, lived in the grasslands of North America before going extinct roughly 10,000 years ago. These famous fossil horses have only been found in the northern portion of the site, known as the Hagerman Horse Quarry. It’s significant as it protects the richest known fossil deposits from the late Pliocene age, 3.5 million years ago, providing a glimpse into a time before the Ice Age. Start your explorations of the monument with a stop at the visitor center, located in the town of Hagerman. At the adjacent Lower Salmon Falls Reservoir, you can enjoy boating, fishing, hiking and horseback riding.
Idaho City
Idaho City is a historic town and gateway to the Sawtooth Mountains. During the gold rush it was the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, but today the rugged western town that’s rich in both mining and logging history is home to a population of around 500 residents. During its heyday, it hosted fancy theaters, dozens of saloons, the state’s first Catholic Church, and a county jail that locked up some of the most notorious criminals in the Old West. Enjoy your visit by taking a stroll on traditional wooden sidewalks, exploring artifacts in the Boise Basin Museum, and sampling sarsaparilla in the local saloon.
Ketchum and Sun Valley
Sun Valley and Ketchum are neighbors in south-central Idaho and can be reached in about an hour and 45 minutes. Sun Valley is known primarily as a ski resort, though you’ll find something to do here in every season. When the snow has melted, you can hike some of the trails that crisscross the area, while more challenging trails await by riding the ski lift up Baldy and hike or mountain bike there. The spring and summer months are popular for fly fishing for trout in the area’s pristine rivers, as well as horseback riding and hiking in the mountains. Both Ketchum and Sun Valley have streets lined with beautiful turn-of-the-century architecture, and in the summertime, there are themed Wagon Festivals hosted, taking visitors back in time to the Old West. Ketchum’s main street is filled with eateries and bars, including spots that serve traditional regional fare like elk and bison. Ernest Hemingway fans will appreciate walking the famed halls of the Sun Valley Lodge where he worked on For Whom the Bell Tolls or visiting his final resting place at the Ketchum Cemetery.
Thousand Springs State Park
Just an hour and a half’s drive from Boise, Thousand Springs State Park hosts one of the largest spring areas in the world, which are the terminus of a massive underground aquifer that flows underneath the Snake River Plain from the Pioneer Mountains. The water is crystal clear and pure, creating some of the most stunning springs and pools on Earth. The park is made up of multiple separate areas, with a total of nine that feature volcanic landscapes, historic sites and amazing water displays, from Malad Gorge and the Kelton Trail near Interstate 84 to Billingsley Creek and Vardis Fisher near Hagerman and Ritter Island, Bonnieview, Box Canyon, and Niagara and Crystal Springs along the Snake River. On a hot day, head to Niagara Springs for relief in the 350-foot-deep Snake River Canyon. There, you can stand in front of the springs and let the spray of the waterfall cool you off.
Bruneau Dunes State Park
Bruneau Dunes State Park is home to the tallest freestanding sand dunes in North America. The highest dune towers at astounding 470 feet, with the mountains of sand providing one of the hottest spots in the country for sandboarding. Visitors slide down them on a board, available for rent at the park, and the dunes can also be climbed, providing a challenging workout. There are also lots of hiking trails as well as outstanding star gazing at Idaho’s only public observatory, lake fishing and swimming, bird watching and camping. The park is home to a variety of wildlife too, including coyotes, sage grouse and birds of prey.
Craters of the Moon
Craters of the Moon is one of only a few places in the nation where you can walk over what was once lava, and explore an underground lava tube crafted by molten rock. This massive ocean of lava flows with cinder cones and sagebrush scattered about, is a unique landscape that formed during eight major eruptive periods, between 15,000 and 2,000 years ago. Although there is no fiery lava flows here now, the gnarled, crusty terrain that was frozen in time traces the tale of rivers of lava which gushed from fissures across the Snake River Plain known as the Great Rift. It’s popular for hiking and caving, and in the winter, it’s a great place for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
