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Hi, Volosong…
You can definitely see mountains from anywhere in Idaho Falls. Taylor mountain, the closest, dominates, but depending on where you are, you can also see the Sawtooths to the west and the Tetons to the east, and there are mountains between both of those ranges.
It's also very easy and fun to go biking in our foothills. In fact, there's are several annual bike races that wind into the area where some of the foothills become mountains.
But you don't have to wait for a race. Riding a bike eastward on Sunnyside any day you want will give you an awesome view of the great plain to the west, with I.F. lying at it's edge, and several of the foothills are steep and daunting challenges on the way up. And will let you get very zoomy all the way down to the outskirts of town, too. You can go just as far as you want if you're up for a multi-day trip, or you can turn around and come home again at any time. Lots of folks do a one or two hour cruise several times a week and be home by dinnertime.
Sunnyside connects with the Bone road, and the Bone road will take you all the way down to Soda Springs going southward. You will ride through the Blackfoot mountains and come out the other side. If you go north, you can ride a loop that can put you back in I.F. or down to the Blacktail reservoir. Or you can continue to go northeast and end up in some other outstanding spots for as long as you want to ride.
pw exaggerated the distance. Those foothills are only about 7 miles away from the city limits on Sunnyside. But if you want to go mountain biking, Taylor mountain is only slightly closer than pw estimated. The foothills themselves aren't all round and smooth by any means. If you want to try biking over hard trails and rocks, there is plenty of that in them. once you get up in them, you'll see.
The great thing for bike riders is how much diversity there is, all very close at hand. A short drive will put you into the bottom of the Snake River canyon, where biking can either be as challenging a climb or as easy a tour as you want, and a little more will put you into some incredible buttes where a mountain biker can find any degree of challenge possible. You get it all here, not just mountains.
The only problem is a person simply doesn't see any of this in town much. But I guarantee you'll find any number of good rides here in any direction you want to steer. And you will find a lot of folks here who can give you directions. Biking here is very popular and is growing.
But don't expect to see pine trees until you go higher. Like Wyoming, most of it is sagebrush, but most of the roads are paved, too.
Last edited by banjomike; 11-17-2013 at 09:21 PM..
Yes, I am still weighing options and very much appreciate your comparison and thoughts. Especially since Cody is one of the possibilities.
I need to learn more about eastern Idaho. I would very much like to be within about 10-15 miles of the mountains...within cycling distance. The closer, the better. At the moment, the thought of living in the middle of the Snake River floodplain doesn't excite me very much. Not because of possible flooding, but because of the distance from the hills. If I can't look out my bedroom window or front room window and see the hills, I feel lost.
Thanks again, everyone.
The cost of our home was so cheap because we moved to a tiny little community in the middle of nowhere, that nobody wanted. Who the heck wants to live in Atomic City, Idaho?? Not many people apparently. We had started looking in Arco (30 miles to the north of Atomic City) and then moved up the Big Lost River Valley to look at Moore, Mackay and Challis. Purely by accident we found this home in the middle of the Snake River Plain. The location was NOTHING that we had pictured in our minds when we started looking for a home, but we went to see the house since we were heading back to Cody in that direction anyway.
Two months later we kept coming back to that same house. The house was very big, but had alternated between being empty and being occupied but neglected for twenty years. It was sturdy as a rock, but needed all kinds of updating, all kinds of tearing apart and repairing some shoddy work that was done, and all kinds of cosmetic work. I've had a paintbrush in my hand for the past three months now. Hammers and screw drivers and drills have become semi-permanent fixtures in my husbands hands. But eventually that'll stop and we'll have the house the way we want it.
For all the homes we looked at, it was absolutely the most house we found for the money.
We are thirty miles from Arco and the base of the mountains (and we can see mountains in every direction, have buttes all around us - including Big Southern Butte that we hiked to the top of a couple of weeks ago, and that is like a solitary mountain in the desert. And yes.......it has pine trees. I posted pictures in the picture thread). Deer are daily visitors and they bed down often in our back yard. About six weeks ago we drove over Arco Pass (which is just behind Arco). Mountains mountains mountains. We were up there for a few hours, but explored only one small section of Challis National Forest. AWESOME place. We have barely scratched the surface of what is back there.
My long winded way of making a couple of points:
1. There are very few places in Idaho (including south east Idaho) where the mountains are not visible.
2. Expand your horizons beyond the obvious, and see what you see. It's beautiful up the valley - it's beautiful down towards Soda Springs - there's all kinds of little and sweet communities on back highways between here and Boise (damned if I can remember their names though because we've only made one trip that way and it was a quick turn-around trip to pick up a dog). There is much more to this state than all the cities people immediately look to. Keep us posted.
...There is much more to this state than all the cities people immediately look to. Keep us posted.
I will. I'm taking a two-week vacation the second and third week of next month. Primary purpose to to visit some cities in the Bighorn Basin, and probably Sheridan in the Powder River Basin. Then head up to Bozeman to visit a lady friend for a few days. Only my way back down south, I'll go through eastern Idaho. Been through a bunch, on the 15, but never spent any amount of time looking at the cities with the thought of them being a possible retirement home. This time, I'll look with that in mind.
I will. I'm taking a two-week vacation the second and third week of next month. Primary purpose to to visit some cities in the Bighorn Basin, and probably Sheridan in the Powder River Basin. Then head up to Bozeman to visit a lady friend for a few days. Only my way back down south, I'll go through eastern Idaho. Been through a bunch, on the 15, but never spent any amount of time looking at the cities with the thought of them being a possible retirement home. This time, I'll look with that in mind.
If you find yourself down this way, have a day to spare and want to bike let me know. I was up on Cedar Butte behind Atomic City this morning, walking with my dog. It's a huge, multi-hill, multi-trail butte (with trees) about 4 miles outside of town, out on the plain. I'm still in the middle of exploring it but so far it's a pretty cool place. Either way, have an outstanding trip.
If you find yourself down this way, have a day to spare and want to bike let me know. I was up on Cedar Butte behind Atomic City this morning, walking with my dog. It's a huge, multi-hill, multi-trail butte (with trees) about 4 miles outside of town, out on the plain. I'm still in the middle of exploring it but so far it's a pretty cool place. Either way, have an outstanding trip.
Thanks for the invite. However, I'm a road biker. You know. One of those who cars and trucks curse because they think we are blocking the roadway, (I try not to), and blow through stop signs and red lights, (not me, never!).
I'm expecting the road conditions next month will be more conducive to cross-country skiing, so I'm bringing those. Looking forward to at least a day in Rendezvous at West Yellowstone. Might bring the bike, if there is room. I'm bringing a wheelchair to donate to the church in Three Forks for the little ol' ladies to use. So, there might not be enough room for everything.
banjo, I guess I was referring to the main range, the Tetons, which are 40-50 miles away or more. The foothills, to what the poster was referring to, are much closer. Thanks for clarifying.
Thanks for the invite. However, I'm a road biker. You know. One of those who cars and trucks curse because they think we are blocking the roadway, (I try not to), and blow through stop signs and red lights, (not me, never!).
I'm expecting the road conditions next month will be more conducive to cross-country skiing, so I'm bringing those. Looking forward to at least a day in Rendezvous at West Yellowstone. Might bring the bike, if there is room. I'm bringing a wheelchair to donate to the church in Three Forks for the little ol' ladies to use. So, there might not be enough room for everything.
I used to do a lot of road riding a few years ago, on winding country roads with no shoulder (back in Tennessee). The guys always gave me a wide berth when they passed by me, but the women always used to cut it close (like "Let's see how close I can get to her without hitting my side view mirror" close).
Do you remember back during WW2 when our combat pilots would paint German or Japanese symbols on the side of their planes when they shot down one of the enemy planes? When these chicks would pass me in their big trucks, I always imagined that one day one would pass me and have little bicycle symbols painted on the side of her vehicle.
Hope you have a great, productive trip and find some of the answers that you're looking for.
I actually used the search function and read where you were inquiring about Island Park. What did you decide about the place? Other than lack of local medical care/facilities, local shopping, and that it seems to be more of a seasonal home than year-round, what do you think of the place?
Seems almost perfect for someone who enjoys Yellowstone and the mountains. Google maps show that the 20 has wide enough shoulders for safe cycling.
I actually used the search function and read where you were inquiring about Island Park. What did you decide about the place? Other than lack of local medical care/facilities, local shopping, and that it seems to be more of a seasonal home than year-round, what do you think of the place?
Seems almost perfect for someone who enjoys Yellowstone and the mountains. Google maps show that the 20 has wide enough shoulders for safe cycling.
Hi, Volo…
Island Park is seasonal for good reason. The winters start early and end late up there, and are always much colder and snowier than down in the valley.
While the region has year-round residents, living there year-round is a real hassle in the winters. Even though the highway is steadily maintained, the roads are often closed for hours during a storm, and winds often cause heavy drifting after snowfalls. The driving can be very slick from the Montana line to Ashton, the closest community in the valley.
The closest town of any size is Rexburg, and depending on where you are in I.P., it can be a 40-50 mile drive one way.
There are no groceries of any size, no other stores, no schools, and no services to speak of. Medical facilities are miles away. And there is not much to do during the winters either, except for snowmobiling and/or skiing. The only entertainment to be found is in the many bars located in the lodges, so there's a lot of drinking and cabin fever that goes on every winter.
The area also has a shaky electrical supply. While failures are rare, the voltage up there often drops enough to mess with computers and other digital devices.
West Yellowstone is about as far away as Ashton, (again depending on the location), and while it does have some stores, the prices there are higher. The only other town northward that's fairly close is Ennis, Montana, and it's a small town that's about the same size as W. Yellowstone. The drive to Ennis can also be a bearcat as it crosses the Divide at the state line. W. Yellowstone is almost exactly in the middle between Bozeman to the north and Idaho Falls to the south, but driving to Bozeman during the winters is a slick and treacherous 100 miles, as the road follows the narrow, deep and twisty Gallatin canyon.
Once down in the upper Snake River valley, the road conditions are always better than in Island Park, even in the worst winter weather.
The Ashton grade is notorious for it's steepness and treacherousness. The road has been improved about as much as it can be, and is sanded, but it's a real snake and always ready to bite anyone who isn't very cautious. Parts of the highway north of the grade are just as bad, as there are many areas that are shaded and develop black ice patches.
The snowfall is major. It's very common to see 10 to 12 foot banks on either side of the highway all winter, and the Buffalo Flats usually have 5-7 feet of snow on them, even in a dry winter.
And, the worst is the cold. When it's cold in the valley- twenty below zero cold, Island Park can be as much as 20 degrees colder. The coldest day I have ever experienced here was in Island Park on New Year's Day, ca. 1983- during the early morning, it dipped to minus 60º, and by 1:00 p.m. it was 50º below zero. The cold isn't sporadic. It lasts for weeks up there, and gets cold at least a month before any other place. It is higher than some of the places in Yellowstone Park.
A year ago, during the first week of December, I left Idaho Falls for a needed trip to Bozeman. The weather in I.F. was cloudy and about 48º, and the highway was bone dry to the Ashton grade. There was 4 feet of snow in I.P. and it was still snowing. When I returned the next day, there was another couple of feet, and still snowing. When I reached the valley, there was less than 3 inches on the ground and the temps were 15 degrees warmer. That is very typical.
That cold is extreme, but 10º below zero is common up there, and when a person is stuck on the road due to an accident up ahead, a vehicle waiting in the line can get darned cold. Been there, done that more than once. The longest time I was stuck in the traffic line was 3 1/2 hours. Even though Hwy. 20 is dangerous up there, it remains the only major route north & south for the entire area.
While there is a community named Island Park, in reality the entire 40 mile stretch of Hwy. 20 was incorporated as a 'town' only in order to allow alcohol sales in the lodges. There was a law passed in 1947 that made non-incorporated liquor sales illegal, so the lodges all got together and incorporated. There are only about 200 residents in the town of Island Park.
Even so, there are folks who do live up there all year. Most of them are employed as wood cutters, snow shovelers, lodge personnel and caretakers. A person really has to love solitude and isolation to simply be a resident year round, and has to love winters like an Inuit, but it's always a great place to go play in for a week or two any time of the year.
Thanks for the info, BM. This is pretty much what you related in that other thread.
I was watching the temps in the Snake River valley all summer, (this past one), and thought to myself, "Sheech, if I wanted 100 degree temperatures every day, I'd stay where I am now". I'd bet that I.P. was quite comfortable, temperature wise, this past summer.
Small plots of vacant land are quite affordable up there. And, except for water table issues, (high, interferes with leach lines), one can put a small cabin on their land for not much. Sounds like a wonderful place to spend from late spring to early autumn. Then, come down off the hill for winters.
I've driven on the 20 several times when it was snowing, and didn't have any issues. Thankfully, my car is AWD and I carry chains just in case. Durnded if I know how to install them. Should probably do a dry run before I head up in a couple of weeks.
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