Day Trippin' › Idaho
95 places worth the drive, from the panhandle lakes to the Sawtooths and the Snake River Canyon, region by region. Want to know what's within 2 hours of home?
Enter your ZIPTown · Kootenai County
A resort town with a lakefront park, a long floating boardwalk, lake cruises and a busy downtown for food and shopping.
State park · Kootenai County
A big park on the south tip of Lake Pend Oreille with over 40 miles of trails, five disc golf courses, a swim beach and a museum of the WWII naval training station.
State park · Benewah County
The Pacific Northwest's oldest park (1908) spread over three lakes, with 1930s stone and log buildings, a marsh boardwalk and the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes trestle.
Wildlife · Boundary County
Wetlands and fields in the Kootenai River valley near Bonners Ferry for waterfowl, eagles, moose and deer, with a gravel loop road and short trails.
Scenic drive · Kootenai County
A winding lakeside highway of about 35 miles from I-90 to Harrison, with bays, marshes and winter stops for bald eagles.
Trail · Kootenai County
A 3.3-mile loop climbing about 700 feet to views over Beauty and Wolf Lodge bays, the first BLM recreation site built in Idaho.
Waterfall · Boundary County
A two-step falls in a deep gorge below the 464-foot-high US 2 bridge at Moyie Springs, one of the tallest bridges in Idaho.
Historic site · Kootenai County
Idaho's oldest standing building, a hilltop mission church built in the 1850s by Coeur d'Alene Tribe members and Jesuit missionaries, with exhibits telling the tribe's story.
State park · Bonner County
A clear, deep mountain lake near the Canadian border for camping, paddling and wildlife, with a 2-mile thoroughfare to wild Upper Priest Lake.
Trail · Shoshone County
A 2-mile creekside trail with bridges and history signs to an overlook of the mine tunnel where ranger Ed Pulaski sheltered his crew in the Big Burn of 1910.
State park · Bonner County
A quiet small forest lake south of Sandpoint with a shoreline trail, a swim area and paddling with no gas motors.
Trail
A mostly downhill bike ride of about 15 miles on an old rail line through 10 tunnels and over high trestles, including the 1.66-mile St. Paul Pass Tunnel.
Town · Bonner County
A lively lake town on Lake Pend Oreille with a walkable downtown, galleries, the Long Bridge path and a big city beach park.
Ski area · Bonner County
In summer a scenic chairlift rises to Lake Pend Oreille views, short walking loops, disc golf and lunch at the top; in winter it's a full ski hill.
Trail · Kootenai County
A paved, nearly flat rail trail of 73 miles from Mullan to Plummer, past lakes, marshes and old mining towns; easy to ride or walk any short piece.
Trail · Kootenai County
A wooded hill right beside downtown Coeur d'Alene, with a loop path along the shoreline past small coves and rocky lookouts over the lake.
Town · Shoshone County
An old silver-mining town in a narrow canyon, with a brick downtown on the National Register, a mining museum and a railroad depot museum.
State park · Clearwater County
A park on long, forested Dworshak Reservoir for boating, swimming, kokanee and bass fishing, and disc golf.
Waterfall · Clearwater County
Three waterfalls totaling over 140 feet in a mossy canyon near the old logging town of Elk River, on a national recreation trail.
Historic site · Idaho County
The basalt mound where, in Nez Perce tradition, Coyote defeated a monster and created the people, with audio stations in English and Nez Perce.
State park · Nez Perce County
A riverside park on the Snake River at Lewiston with a Lewis and Clark discovery center and the main Idaho dock for jet boat trips into Hells Canyon.
Hot spring · Idaho County
Natural pools along a forested creek, reached on foot from US 12 across the Lochsa, a favorite soak in snowy months.
Town · Latah County
A friendly college town on the rolling Palouse with a well-known Saturday farmers market and a free arboretum at the University of Idaho.
Historic site · Nez Perce County
The park's main visitor center and museum on the Clearwater River, the best place to start learning the Nez Perce story.
Scenic drive · Idaho County
An All-American Road through the Clearwater and Lochsa canyons from Lewiston to Lolo Pass, following Lewis and Clark and Nez Perce history.
Scenic drive · Nez Perce County
The original 1917 road up Lewiston Hill, with dozens of hairpins in about 7 miles and big views over the meeting of the Snake and Clearwater rivers.
Waterfall · Idaho County
A rough, roaring cascade on a wild river at the end of a scenic canyon road from Lowell, best in spring snowmelt.
Historic site · Idaho County
The site of the first battle of the Nez Perce War in 1877, seen from an overlook on the old grade or on a walking loop of about 1.5 miles.
State park · Lewis County
A small forested lake on the Camas Prairie with a loop trail, canoes, yurts and winter ice fishing, near the Wolf Education Center.
Trail · Custer County
Idaho's highest summit, a brutal 5,262-foot climb across the exposed knife edge called Chicken Out Ridge.
Ghost town · Custer County
An 1870s mining camp up the Yankee Fork with a schoolhouse museum, a saloon, free walking tours and the huge Yankee Fork Gold Dredge nearby.
Viewpoint · Blaine County
From the overlook just below the 8,701-foot pass you look down on the headwaters of the Salmon River and the whole Sawtooth Valley.
Hot spring · Lemhi County
A string of hot pools and small waterfalls up a desert canyon, worth a steady hike from Highway 93.
Town · Blaine County
Sun Valley's walkable home base, with galleries, cafes, bike paths, the Hemingway Memorial and a free town bus.
State park · Valley County
A huge reservoir with shoreline units for boating, swimming and perch and trout fishing; ospreys and eagles are common.
State park · Custer County
An interpretive center telling Idaho's gold-mining story, near the Bayhorse ghost town and the soaking pools at Challis Hot Springs.
Historic site
Stand on the Continental Divide where Lewis and Clark first crossed into Idaho in 1805, with wide views both ways.
Town · Valley County
A lake town on Payette Lake for a waterfront stroll, paddling and ice cream, with a Winter Carnival of snow sculptures in late January.
State park · Valley County
A forested peninsula in Payette Lake with beaches, bike trails and the Osprey Point view, plus groomed ski trails in winter.
Lake · Custer County
Mount Heyburn and the jagged Sawtooths rise straight out of the far shore, with sandy swim beaches, boat rentals and easy shoreline walks.
Museum · Lemhi County
A center in Sacajawea's home valley telling her story, the Lemhi Shoshone's and Lewis and Clark's, with walking trails along the river.
Wildlife · Custer County
See how the hatchery helps Chinook salmon and steelhead finish a 900-mile return from the Pacific, and walk past the fish ponds.
Trail · Custer County
The classic Sawtooth day hike: a long climb past Alpine Lake to a big granite-ringed lake below Mount Regan.
Town · Custer County
A tiny log-cabin town with the Sawtooths filling the skyline, where three scenic byways meet, with summer Thursday night street dances.
Lake · Custer County
McGown Peak towers over this calm, easy-to-reach lake, good for paddling, fishing and a picnic, with a roadside overlook on the way in.
Hot spring · Custer County
A roadside soak on the Salmon River beside a 1930s stone bathhouse, where you move rocks to mix hot and cold water.
Park · Ada County
A paved riverside path of about 29 miles linking parks, the zoo, downtown and the university, great for bikes and strollers.
State park · Owyhee County
North America's tallest single dune, about 470 feet, over small lakes, with sandboarding by day and a public observatory on weekend nights.
Historic site · Canyon County
Idaho's only archaeological park, with petroglyphs on lava boulders and a walk across the 1897 Guffey railroad bridge over the Snake River.
Wildlife · Canyon County
A big lake refuge near Nampa where grebes nest in summer and huge flocks of ducks and geese gather from fall into winter.
Town · Boise County
An 1860s gold-rush town with boardwalks, the Boise Basin Museum in the 1867 post office and an old Boot Hill cemetery.
Landmark · Ada County
A sandstone capitol heated by geothermal water, with a marble rotunda and exhibits on how Idaho works.
Waterfall · Owyhee County
A short walk up a narrow rhyolite canyon ends at a 60-foot waterfall with a pool, with a second path to an overlook.
Hot spring · Boise County
Hot water pours off the cliffs into riverside pools along the South Fork Payette.
State park · Ada County
A Boise-close reservoir park with a sandy swim beach below the dam, a marina and Greenbelt access.
Historic site · Ada County
Walk the cell blocks, solitary cells and gallows of a prison that ran for 101 years in the Boise foothills.
Scenic drive · Boise County
Highway 55 follows whitewater north from Eagle past Horseshoe Bend, Banks and Cascade to McCall.
Ghost town · Owyhee County
A mining town high in the Owyhee Mountains with dozens of 1860s buildings still standing, including the Idaho Hotel.
Wildlife · Ada County
About 800 pairs of hawks, eagles, falcons and owls nest in these canyon cliffs; Dedication Point looks 400 feet down to the Snake River.
Winery · Canyon County
A cluster of small family wineries above the Snake River near Caldwell, about 30 minutes from Boise.
Viewpoint · Ada County
A short, steep foothills climb to a cross-topped mesa looking over all of Boise, best at sunset.
State park · Elmore County
See where Oregon Trail wagons forded the Snake River, and learn the story at the trail history center.
Wildlife · Ada County
See live condors, eagles and falcons up close at The Peregrine Fund's center, with daily bird programs.
Landmark · Twin Falls County
A 48-foot mushroom-shaped rock balanced on a tiny base above Salmon Falls Creek canyon, with a short, steep path up to it.
Canyon · Gooding County
A short rim walk looks down on a blue-green spring pouring out of the canyon wall, one of the largest springs in North America.
Wildlife · Camas County
Each spring this high prairie wetland near Fairfield turns blue with camas lilies and fills with waterbirds.
State park · Cassia County
A quieter neighbor to City of Rocks, with granite towers, a historic ranch, and trails for hiking, climbing and riding.
National park · Cassia County
Granite spires and domes up to 60 stories tall, world-class climbing, and names California Trail emigrants wrote on the rocks in wagon grease.
National monument · Butte County
A huge, strange lava field with a 7-mile loop road past cinder cones, spatter cones and lava tubes you can walk into with a flashlight.
Museum · Butte County
In 1951 this reactor became the first in the world to make usable electricity; walk through the control room and see the reactor hardware in the open desert.
National monument · Twin Falls County
A visitor center shows fossils of the Hagerman horse and other Ice Age animals; nine miles away, overlooks and a 3-mile trail follow the Snake River bluffs and Oregon Trail ruts.
Lake · Minidoka County
A shady lawn on a Snake River reservoir next to Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge, for birding, fishing, paddling and disc golf.
Canyon · Gooding County
A 250-foot-deep slot gorge right off I-84, with a footbridge over the Devil's Washbowl falls and rim paths along the canyon.
Historic site · Jerome County
A sobering walk through the WWII camp where more than 13,000 Japanese Americans were held, with restored barracks, a guard tower and trailside exhibits.
Waterfall · Gooding County
Springwater pours out of the canyon wall in white cascades into a clear pool at the bottom of the Snake River Canyon, a peaceful picnic spot.
Landmark · Twin Falls County
A 1,500-foot steel bridge almost 500 feet above the Snake River, one of the few places in the US where BASE jumpers leap legally, with canyon overlooks by the visitor center.
Historic site · Gooding County
A historic dairy farm on a river island, with springs pouring off the canyon wall across the water, lawns, old barns and good birding.
Waterfall · Twin Falls County
The Snake River drops 212 feet over a rim wider than Niagara, seen from viewing decks a short walk from the car, with Dierkes Lake for swimming and fishing in the same park.
Trail · Twin Falls County
A paved path of about 7.6 miles along the canyon rim with views of the Perrine Bridge, Pillar Falls and Shoshone Falls; easy to walk just a piece of it.
Beach · Bear Lake County
Bear Lake's turquoise water and broad sandy beaches are made for swimming and paddling.
Historic site · Franklin County
Where US troops killed hundreds of Shoshone in 1863, a National Historic Landmark the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone is restoring as Wuda Ogwa.
River · Fremont County
A huge spring that wells up as the source of the Henrys Fork, with fat trout under the footbridge and an easy riverside trail past the historic Johnny Sack Cabin.
Wildlife · Jefferson County
Ponds and marshes in the sagebrush draw sandhill cranes, trumpeter swans, waterfowl, moose and pronghorn, on a 3.5- or 7-mile auto tour.
Town · Teton County
A laid-back mountain town on the quiet west side of the Tetons, with a classic drive-in, the Teton Valley museum and Grand Targhee up the road.
Historic site · Bannock County
A full-size rebuild of the 1834 fur-trade and Oregon Trail fort in Pocatello's Ross Park, with period rooms and frontier displays.
State park · Fremont County
A wildlife refuge on the Henrys Fork with moose, elk and trumpeter swans, a historic ranch, trails, famous fly fishing and groomed ski trails in winter.
Lake · Fremont County
A high mountain lake near the Montana line known for big trout, with wide views of the Centennial Mountains and a short trail.
Park · Bonneville County
A 5-mile paved loop on both banks of the Snake River beside the wide, terraced falls the city is named for.
Hot spring · Bannock County
A small canyon town built around public hot mineral pools (about 102 to 112°F), with tubing on the Portneuf River in summer.
Waterfall · Fremont County
A roadside overlook on the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway where the Henrys Fork crashes through a canyon of volcanic rock.
State park · Power County
Lava bluffs above the Snake River with trails, Oregon Trail exhibits, and Register Rock, a boulder covered with emigrant signatures, two miles away.
Trail · Madison County
A steep climb up North Menan Butte, one of the world's largest tuff cones, to a rim with views over the Snake River plain to the Tetons.
Cave · Bear Lake County
An 80-minute ranger-led walk through nine rooms of stalactites, stalagmites and banded travertine in a limestone cave above St. Charles.
Landmark · Caribou County
A captive geyser downtown that the city sets off on a timer, sending carbonated water high into the air every hour on the hour.
Landmark · Fremont County
White quartz dunes up to 400 feet tall in the middle of farm country, for ATVs, sandboarding and sunset hikes.
Facts checked against official sites; each spot shows when. Passes and hours change, so check before you go.