Looking for the perfect vacation to Idaho that could lead to more... (Boise: car rental, ski resorts)
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Hi, all! Long time lurker, first time poster. I've been reading the Idaho boards pretty consistently for the last six months, and I really appreciate the varied personalities, perspectives, and information you provide. I always attempt to find the answers to my questions from old threads, but I've decided that I'll finally be a little selfish and ask my personal questions.
So I'm coming to Idaho for essentially seven days to tour the southern half of the state. I'm driving from Missouri, so there will be approximately four days of just travel (two there, two back). The purpose of this trip is to confirm my suspicion that Idaho is exactly where I want to live, so this isn't just a vacation, but also a scouting trip.
My background: single, 40ish white male, straight, two dogs, Jeep, no political or religious affiliations, well educated, bringing a moderately well-paying job with me. Of all my varied hobbies, hiking and photography seem apt to mention here. I've lived in Missouri my whole life with the exception of two (recent) years in Colorado, and it is those two years that have inspired me to relocate back west, to a cooler, less humid environment where outdoor recreational activities abound and the natural aesthetic is awe-inspiring. I've thought pretty sincerely that I ought to just move back to Littleton (Denver), but something about Idaho really appeals to me, and I think I ought to take a chance on it. The image I've painted in my head about Idaho based on Internet sources is "Colorado without all the people and expense." Please let me know how close or completely off base that naive assessment is.
Anyway, to the point: the hotels and AirBnBs are booked and I'll be there mid to late June. Here is my itenerary: Idaho Falls (1 day), Twin Falls (1 day), Sun Valley (1 day), Boise (2 days)...and here's where my plan went off course. I was originally going to head to McCall for one day, then Coeur d'Alene for one day, then Sandpoint for one day, then go home. For a multitude of reasons, I've decided to cut Northern Idaho out of this trip (travel time, gas, etc.). I'm going to save that part of the state for a three-day weekend later this summer when I can just fly into Spokane and rent a car. So, rather than all that, after Boise I'm headed to Salmon for one day, and then I have 1-2 days left that I have no idea what I'm going to do with.
Here are the questions I'd like answers to, if possible:
1) For each of the places I'm going, what is at least one place I should definitely go/see? For example, Idaho Falls has their Greenbelt...what else should I not miss? Twin Falls has Shoshone Falls...anything else I should see? Two days in Boise...what to do? As natives/residents, what are your best suggestions for an "old friend" who's visiting Idaho for the first time?
2) Are there enough activities around Salmon to justify two full days there? This is the part that concerns me the most. I feel like I'm moving super fast around the state for four days, barely having enough time at each place, and then I spend two days in Salmon. I'd really like some local input on this! Would you spend another day in Boise? Is McCall worth a day? Is there someplace just absolutely missing of my radar and I definitely need to burn a day there? Or is hiking around Frank Church and Salmon for two days the perfect ending to an Idaho vacation?
3) The day that I go from Boise to Salmon, I'd like to go through Stanley and see Redfish Lake (or anything else you suggest around there). Are 21/75 roads closed or open at this point? Google Maps swears up and down that they're closed and won't give me any kind of directions through there; constantly points me towards 84/20. Another poster mentioned last week that he/she drove from Stanley to Boise on 21, so I have hope!
I suspect there are many other questions I'd like to ask, but I already feel like I've indulged too much. I really, really just want to enjoy this trip and I feel like I've exhausted all online resources, so I'm appealing to your Idahoan kindness to let me know if you think I'm on track or off. Thank you for your time and responses! My hope is that one person in the future can benefit from any kind of dialogue that happens in this thread and plan their own perfect vacation; that will make all my jibber-jabbering worth it!
You won't need a full day to check out Sun Valley/Ketchum. You can use part of that day to go up to Stanley from there; the drive is over a pass, but it isn't a long one.
From Stanley, the route to Salmon over US93 is a swell drive. I recommend a most excellent B&B that's uphill from the highway between Clayton and Challis if you want a stop, but there are quite a few motels along the route. Redfish Lake is in the area, very close to Stanley. Bring fresh batteries and make sure you can take pictures.
If you find you don't want 2 full days in Salmon, you can cross over into Montana over the Lost Trail Pass, go east on 43 to Wisdom, Mt. then 278 will take you to Dillon, where you can pick up I-15 and come south, back into Idaho. I-15 will take you over the MonIda pass down into the upper Snake River Valley.
If you get off at the Terreton/Rexburg exit and head east to Rexburg, you can make a cruise through Yellowstone Park from West Yellowstone, down to the Teton Park in Jackson Hole, and then back to I.F. That's a one-day trip.
Or using the same exit, you can go East out of Rexburg and check out the Idaho side of the Tetons, and look over Tetonia, Driggs, and Victor, and then return to I.F. through Swan Valley.
All of this goes through some pretty cool country, and it's all semi-adventure driving. A back-east friend once commented "It's all Zane Grey out here!"
Thanks, banjomike! I was hoping you'd chime in at some point, and I'm glad you did. First even!
So on my day allotted for Sun Valley, my itinerary is to see Ketchum, Sun Valley, and indeed drive on up to Stanley, so I appreciate you confirming that Sun Valley itself might be a stretch for a full day. If things go as currently planned, I will see Stanley twice on my trip: once that day, and once again the day I travel from Boise to Salmon. That second visit depends on if 21 is open or closed; Google Maps swears it's closed currently. I'm a bit skeptical.
Your last comment made me chuckle, and kinda reminded me that I wanted to clarify something I said in my initial post. When I said Idaho appears to me to be "Colorado...," I don't mean anything related to politics or religion or culture. I just mean that in Colorado, at any given moment, you can walk out your front door and find yourself in the midst of an adventure in the natural world. I believe Idaho to be the same, and your comment about "semi-adventure driving" is exactly what I'm looking/hoping for. Just wanted to clarify what I meant; I wouldn't assume anyone would get offended by being compared to Colorado, but you never know!
You're in Idaho Falls, right? Is there anything you think a stranger in a strange land should definitely see there?
For a multitude of reasons, I've decided to cut Northern Idaho out of this trip (travel time, gas, etc.). I'm going to save that part of the state for a three-day weekend later this summer when I can just fly into Spokane and rent a car. ...
Welcome to the Idaho forum and C-D, SabreRyan! I'll let others weigh in about your travel plans. They all sound carefully researched to me. I do want to let you know that I think your decision to postpone the North Idaho trip to later in the summer makes much sense. The weather is most likely going to be better (June is still a rainy month in NID), and flying into Spokane and renting a car is what we do, those of us who have to make a quick trip from elsewhere to the home of our heart in North Idaho . Car rental companies in Spokane (WA) let you travel as far as Western Montana without any special permit or disclosure.
Thanks, banjomike! I was hoping you'd chime in at some point, and I'm glad you did. First even!
So on my day allotted for Sun Valley, my itinerary is to see Ketchum, Sun Valley, and indeed drive on up to Stanley, so I appreciate you confirming that Sun Valley itself might be a stretch for a full day. If things go as currently planned, I will see Stanley twice on my trip: once that day, and once again the day I travel from Boise to Salmon. That second visit depends on if 21 is open or closed; Google Maps swears it's closed currently. I'm a bit skeptical.
Your last comment made me chuckle, and kinda reminded me that I wanted to clarify something I said in my initial post. When I said Idaho appears to me to be "Colorado...," I don't mean anything related to politics or religion or culture. I just mean that in Colorado, at any given moment, you can walk out your front door and find yourself in the midst of an adventure in the natural world. I believe Idaho to be the same, and your comment about "semi-adventure driving" is exactly what I'm looking/hoping for. Just wanted to clarify what I meant; I wouldn't assume anyone would get offended by being compared to Colorado, but you never know!
You're in Idaho Falls, right? Is there anything you think a stranger in a strange land should definitely see there?
I agree with CFF- Splitting the area was wise.
It's very hard for folks who have never been here to understand just how much time it takes to travel on our twisty roads, and how much distance there is out here between our towns.
North and South can be done in one trip, for sure, but without generous time limits and/or flying over part of our state, it's impossible to see it all well.
And, as I've often mentioned, so much of the good stuff is just out of sight here. It's almost all accessible, but some not readily accessible, but it all has to be sought out, by and large.
Then, there are always the practical decisions that have to be made about moving here to live. There are many valid reasons why are cities are located where they are. Many of those reasons may be historic, based on the needs of the past, but those old needs were on a much more basic survival level than those Americans have today.
It's a lot easier today to move and be able to live prosperously than it was 100 years ago. Even if a modern person isn't thinking of living off the land like the old-timers, the locactions of a town's reasons still apply today, just as much as it did then.
Remember that not everyone moved to farm, ranch, log or mine. In fact, depending on the city, most pioneers did not. They moved to do the same sort of work we do today- marketing, sales, representative work, repair work, construction, legal and medical work, financial work, communications, and other common trades, even including military work.
It was just as true in the past as it is today:
You can't eat the scenery.
Anywhere you go around the world, this applies exactly the same as it does here. The prettiest places are the wildest, and life in the wilderness is very, very hard.
All the places in the world where it is both very pretty and very easy to live filled up long ago with people, and will be filled to the brim forever.
OK- rant over.
Sun Valley and Ketchum are one and the same. The resort lies very close to the Ketchum city limits, and has no housing on it. Think of Disneyland and Anaheim, and you have it, except with fewer rides and more ski mountains. There are other ski resorts there as well, bumping up against Sun Valley, but all the same.
If you want to live /work there, you will be living in Ketchum, Bellevue, Hailey, or one of the nearby towns like Picabo(not really a town), Carey, or the towns circling Twin Falls.
The closer you are, the more expensive housing is, and like any ski resort town, the jobs that exist are always filled. Those that pay the least are always filled by the young, often ski bums. Ketchum is a great party town, but it's exactly like Aspen, Vail, Telluride, or any other ski town in the west.
So if you don't plan to shop, only see the sights of nature mostly, you won't be there long. It is a great stop, for sure, especially if you want a fine, spendy lunch or breakfast, and if you want a night of party, it's the best.
Don't worry about Hwy. 21. it's only closed in the winters, and only when it's snowed shut then. I've driven it in all seasons.
That does not mean that you won't get snowed on; you may, because it can snow here at any time, but the snow won't stick, and it's no worse than driving during and after a rainstorm if it does, except in the dead of winter. Caution and a full tank is really all you will need.
I think the best way to maximize your time here is to avoid driving any route both ways. There's always a loop that will let you see new country, even if it takes you outside the state boundaries. Those loops all offer new sights, but as importantly, they also show you where you would be mostly traveling to if you were to live in the area, as there's always a hub city surrounded by small satellites out here.
I took your Colorado comments just the way you intended them. I've spent time there, and what's most true about your comment is doubly true here. None of Idaho's pretties places have filled up yet like they have in Colorado yet.
Yup- I live in I.F.
I just learned this week that one of our fave tourist spots in town is our zoo. It's a really good one, and has some exotic animals that only I.F. has in the state, and it's both old and new. Our zoo committee finds animals that fit to our environment here from around the world, so we have Bactrian camels from Mongolia alongside a few huge elk, alongside some farm animals in a petting zoo, and it's all an interesting mix a visitor seldom sees in a town this size. It's also located in the middle of our largest and most popular city park, Tautphaus Park (named for a pioneer).
The greenbelt in the downtown area stretches for miles on both banks of the Snake River, and our falls, which is actually a steep cascade, lies just off Broadway to the north. You can catch a big trout right out of them, and locals go fish downtown all the time. But you can also catch a fish anywhere along the river at almost any spot in town.
The falls leads to a very narrow canyon that lies just south of Broadway. It's the narrowest spot in the upper Snake, and the reason for I.F.'s existence, as it's so narrow it made constructing a bridge across the river possible.
There's a replica bridge now in the same spot, resting on the same pilings that were made in 1868. It's a foot bridge that leads to an island, which is actually the other side of the canyon.
While the canyon isn't deep, it's walls are still vertical rock on both sides for quite a stretch southward, so its hard to fish along that area. But northward of Broadway, the river is very accessible, and there are other islands. If you want to see bald eagles, pelicans, and all the other river birds and critters, they can be seen on the greenbelt headed northward. The islands aren't accessible except by boat, and there is nothing on them but some willows and sagebrush.
Exploring the Snake close to town is fun and easy. Driving US 26 northeast to Ririe is only about 11 miles, and Ririe will lead you to the canyon there; just get off at the Heise Hot Springs exit and it will take you to a bridge that spans the river.
This is a magnificent spot to hike around in, go fishing, or drive tour. Heise is a very nice natural hot pool swim resort open year round. The big pool is open 3 seasons, while the hot pools all year. The hot pools include a small swimming pool. It's an old and well-loved local resort.
If you want to tour some more country, stay on 26. it will take you to Jackson Hole eventually, through some killer country that includes a really great lake, and, depending on the route, a trip over the Jackson Pass.
You won't see the Tetons, though, unless you turn north at Victor, and not then until you are either on top of Targhee mountain, another ski resort, or until you go over the pass and around Jackson Hole.
You reach Victor from a junction at Swan Valley. Hang a left on Idaho 33, and it will take your to Bear Gulch, Victor, and then the Jackson Pass to Jackson Hole through Wilson, a tiny spot at the bottom of the Wyoming side of the pass.
If you do that, the Tetons will slap you in the face, especially in the late afternoon. The highway runs parallel to them and they look deceptively close, and just like every glamor girl shot of them you have ever seen. The difference is looking at the real deal. No photograph ever prepares you for the real deal.
Going back the way you came is just as fun as going out, but there's a loop. If you go over the pass, you can return to I.F. by following the Snake River back into Idaho on US 26. The pass is on Idaho 33.
This can be done in a few hours one way. When I was a kid and climbed in the Tetons, I would leave in the early morning, climb in the best daylight hours, and be back in Idaho Falls by sunset or early evening.
There's more traffic now, of course, but mostly around Jackson Hole. The river road on US 26 has more than the pass. The pass is a real twister with some crazy steep parts, but safe to travel at sane speeds. 33 is essentially all a pass road, interrupted by only a few relatively flat spots, all inside the Targhee national forest.
I second the Wyoming route through Swan Valley. Some of the most prettiest Idaho country there. The palisades are worth it alone.
Though Stanley and Red fish lake and Ketchum/Hailey/Sun Valley and Salmon are right up there.
There's a big loop to Sun Valley from Boise you can take to Stanely and McCall and back and go over Galena's Summit. It won't be so dangerous in the summer time and the views up there are spectacular.
Of course once you get to Stanely via Sun Valley you may decide to detour up to Salmon from there instead and then back track. Some of the best hot springs are along the stretch between Stanley and Banks-Lowman.
Or you could keep going from Salmon and do the loop through Montana and come back down through Northern Idaho.
If not then McCall is worth a trip if you can get it in. I wish you could do the trek from Salmon to Riggins. It's long but gorgeous but then you'd have a good idea of the route the river rafters take through the frank church wilderness along the Salmon river depending on which folk they put in at. There are some in Salmon on the old silver mining roads where the Indian burial mounds are along the north fork. Then some in Stanley along the middle fork. They let out in Riggins and there are long dirt roads in the mountains to get to it that have spellbinding stops with 100 year old bridges, old French cottages on French creek and towards the end a busted out rusted old car that's been there since my Dad was a teenager.
In Riggins is the Seven Devils, Heaven's Gate and Hells Canyon. The heaven's gate camp grounds really reminds me of heaven with all the mist around it up there. Hells Canyon is the deepest in the world. In Riggins is the time zone bridge where when you cross it you go from mountain time to pacific time. From there it's a trip into the pan handle so you may save that trip for another time as well. Between there and Lewiston there's not much. However up the hill to Moscow you get on the Palouse where U of I is and WSU 7 miles away. From there Idaho just gets prettier the furth north you go.
You could scour every canyon, meadow, and mountainside in the lower 48 and you may never find a more jaw-droppingly stunning view than on the Sawtooth Scenic Byway. Here, rugged rocks, 300 alpine lakes, and endless rivers and streams combine to make an adventurer’s utopia.
If you do the Stanley trip; as Mike noted, the road is open even during the middle of winter and the views are fantastic.
Make sure to go a few miles NW out of Stanley and stop in at the photo location at the Stanley Lake Campground....(according to rec.gov, it is open so the mountain viewing area will also be open). Just get on Hwy 21 (East/west road) in Stanley and take it till you see the sign for Stanley Lake Campground. Stop in at the grocery store and take a lunch, the view is great.
Tetons and Swan valley is a great trip and the loop as noted by Mike is a great way to see the area.
Only thing I will note is if you have time to spare in IF the Greenbelt is an ok walk. However, I sure would not do the Greenbelts in place of places like the road up to and including Stanley, or the loop through Swan valley. It is just a walk along the side of a river. And I have done it a few times with my little dogs, and it can get very busy at times. Too many bike riders that do not care about those walking. Best time from my experience is Sunday AM, less foot and bike traffic.
North of IF off Hwy 20 is Mesa Falls, more impressive than the falls in IF; at least that is my opinion and a couple different viewing areas and nice short walks.
Too bad we can't make this into another sticky thread!
One thing about 21 in late summer: if there is a fire in the mountains, it's subject to closures, so it's wise to check if one is making travel plans in August. It happened once for us, forcing us to postpone our Stanley visit. But that is not a likely scenario in June.
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and it can get very busy at times. Too many bike riders that do not care about those walking. Best time from my experience is Sunday AM, less foot and bike traffic.
