Day Trippin' › Idaho › From Boise › City of Rocks National Reserve
The drive from Boise to City of Rocks National Reserve takes about 3 hr 21 min (southeast of Boise), by real roads from ZIP 83702. Along the way we found 10 stops within a short detour: 1 coffee shops, 1 ice cream and treats, 5 places to eat and 2 viewpoints.
The list below is the best few of each kind, in driving order, with how far into the drive you reach each one (counted from Boise) and the detour it adds. Stops marked Our pick are chosen by us; the rest come from OpenStreetMap listings, so confirm hours before you count on them.
Photo: wilson44691, CC0
National park
Granite spires and domes up to 60 stories tall, world-class climbing, and names California Trail emigrants wrote on the rocks in wagon grease.
Heads-up: Roads inside are gravel or dirt and get muddy. The Oakley approach is washboarded; the Almo approach is paved.
First third Middle third Last third City of Rocks National Reserve
About 3 hr 21 min by road, heading southeast from the middle of ZIP 83702. Traffic and weather change that.
Good ones to start with: viewpoint 1 (Hagerman), Java Express (Jerome), Taco Bell (Jerome), Subway (Jerome) and Travelers Oasis (Hansen). The page lists 10 in all, in driving order.
Java Express in Jerome. Check hours first; they come from OpenStreetMap listings.
Taco Bell in Jerome, Subway in Jerome, Travelers Oasis in Hansen and Travelers Oasis in Hansen.
viewpoint 1 in Hagerman, Hansen Bridge Lookout in Hansen and Cassia County Historical Society in Burley.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Stops come from our own picks and OpenStreetMap listings; hours and detours change, so check before you go. We do not store anyone's location.