Does this area exist? (Boise, Idaho Falls: best, trees, areas)

[redwhiteblue]

Any small towns an hour outside of Boise that are pretty with lots of trees?

I'm really trying to find an area with similar beauty to the CDA area but with more sun any suggestions?

Thanks!

[truckingbronco]

Originally Posted by redwhiteblue

Any small towns an hour outside of Boise that are pretty with lots of trees?

I'm really trying to find an area with similar beauty to the CDA area but with more sun any suggestions?

Thanks!

The climate is just too different to have CDA beauty with Boise weather. The wet climate and long winters are part of what makes that area so beautiful. Bend, OR might be a decent compramise if you want more trees than Boise but without CDA weather, but it will still be more of a high-desert climate. Within an hour of Boise, not sure. There's Idaho City but it's a really small town. You could also look into the Sun Valley or McCall area, but they will be much more expensive and still they are more arid than CDA. Everywhere is a tradeoff.

[zedd]

I would consider the areas around McCall, Cascade, Donnelly, Lake Fork, and New Meadows to be the closest thing. Without looking it up, I'm guessing the area is sunnier than Northern Idaho but not as sunny as the Boise area. It's not as forested as northern Idaho either but much more so than Boise.

[ejay]

Sun Valley is nice....

[redwhiteblue]

Thank you both for the info. I will check into those areas mentioned.

I guess there is no such thing as best of both worlds.

[ejay]

If this place had it all everyone would be here. California used to have it all. Look what happened to it....

[CMartel2]

Originally Posted by redwhiteblue

Thank you both for the info. I will check into those areas mentioned.

I guess there is no such thing as best of both worlds.

Might want to check-out Colorado. There you'll get sun, trees, and mountains.

[banjomike]

There is a huge amount of Idaho south of Boise, and it has lots of sun and trees, lakes and rivers, the highest mountains in the state, and all that stuff. Widen your focus and be amazed.

[zedd]

The highest mountains in the state are near Mackay which is north of Boise. You do bring up a good point that southeast Idaho might be of interest to the OP...

[banjomike]

Hi, Zedd...
True enough, if you look at a map. In reality, you can't get to Mackay from Boise in anything resembling a straight line; there are too many impassible mountains in the way. Mackay is not simply north of Boise. It's also far eastward.

Idaho Falls and Boise are almost on the same straight line drawn on a map, but there is no road from one to the other in a direct route, either. They are even farther apart east-west.

Too many mountains lie between them. This is the reason why there are the east-west Interstates in Idaho are so far apart and why a trip on the Interstate from Boise to Idaho Falls requires such a long loop south before heading east.

Besides the mountain barrier, once a person is south of them the Arco desert is encountered. While most of the desert is passable, there are major lava flows that interrupt all routes, as they are as impassible as the mountains.

The shortest route east-west is through the desert, but there are no 4-lane roads along it- the terrain is simply too rough to build a high speed wide road through it.

for these reasons, Mackay has always been considered a part of S.E. Idaho, even though, in fact, it is actually in South Central Idaho. North Central Idaho is just as mountainous as the southern half.

A quick look at a map tells the tale. There are very few communities large enough to qualify as a dot on the map in the middle of the state. For all practical purposes, Idaho is 2 different states and always has been. The mountains stopped Oregon and Washington and Montana from adding parts of Idaho those territories 120 years ago.