GRISWOLDDAD
Parenting, Entertainment, and Travel Tips
Things to Do in Idaho
* For Idaho's top yearly events, click here. *
Can you imagine travelling from the moon to hell? Well, it's not just imaginary in Idaho! Idaho has Craters of the Moon National Monument and Hells Canyon.
Arco
Craters of the Moon National Monument is a "vast ocean of lava flows with scattered islands of cinder cones and sagebrush" according to the park website.
Boise
The Old Idaho State Penitentiary is a prison that can be toured which started way back in 1872 and housed some of the Old West's most desperate criminals...and reputedly still is haunted by them.
Cottonwood
This town has one of the coolest, most adorable places to stay you've ever seen, the Dog Bark Inn...an inn that looks like a giant beagle! Actually, this is one of the many great American kitsch landmarks, truly worthy of Clark Griswold. This is the world's biggest beagle! Looking for something nearby to justify the drive? There's horseback riding in neighboring Whitebird.
Grangeville
Tolo Lake was the site of the 1994 discovery where over 200 mammoth skeletons were found during a project to deepen the lake for improved fishing.
Hells Canyon
This canyon is the deepest river gorge, formed by Snake River, in North America at 7993 feet deep! At the risk of being redundant, that's deeper than the Grand Canyon. You can boat by raft or jet boat down Snake River, hike the many trails in the area, or go camping. Rafting trips through this area have up to class V rapids, but the shortest trips are 3 days.
Near Riggins, ID, turn onto Road 517 to begin the mostly dirt road drive 18 miles to Heaven's Gate, the highest and best view of Hells Canyon and the Seven Devils mountains. Two miles before the end of the road, you can camp at Seven Devils campground. The problem with the road, though, isn't just that 14 miles of it is dirt. No. It's narrow, too narrow for two cars to comfortably pass by one another. So, when you meet someone on your way, you OR they have to hug the bank side of the road to let them pass. You don't want to hug the other side, of course, because...deepest gorge in North America, remember? The final two miles past the campground are even worse, steep, loose rock and gravel, washed out... I was white knuckling it the whole way!
Boating Tours and Rental Companies in Hells Canyon: Hell's Canyon Adventures, Killgore Adventures, Snake River Adventures, Hell's Canyon Tours
Idaho City
First, you get to follow the scenic Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway going to and from this town (the section of Hwy 21 running from Boise to Stanley), which is considered one of the most beautiful drives in the country.
The big pull for the town, though, is that much of it is straight out of the 1800's. Nestled in the Sawtooth Mountain area, Idaho City used to be a mining town during the gold rush of the old west, and the town and its history can still be seen today. Many of the old buildings are still in use as antique stores, restaurants (like the wonderful Diamond Lil's Steakhouse and Saloon), and inns & hotels (such as the Idaho City Hotel). Other buildings are included in an open air museum, the Boise Basin Museum, showing how they'd have looked back then. Speaking of antique stores you can visit while in town, the Sluice Box is a fun, weird, and different antique store unlike any other you've seen.
Lake Couer d’Alene
Relax, sail, swim, hike, look around at the beautiful scenery, or get a spa treatment at a resort. Lake Coeur d’Alene has all that. It also has boat cruises and a beach, Independence Point Park. Just beware, the water is chilly!
Lapwai
From Cottonwood to Lapwai runs the Camas Prairie Railroad. Created back in the early 1900's and not still operating today, railroad lovers still love this stretch for its numerous tunnels and high wooden trestles. Any fans of the 1976 movie, Breakheart Pass, will remember the track being prominently displayed on the Charles Bronson western. The favorite of the bunch is Half-moon Trestle which has a curve to it, shown below on the right.
Lowman
Between Idaho City and Stanley, you'll find a number of natural hot springs in which to relax. One of the bigger and most easily accessible springs can be found in Lowman, Kirkham Hot Springs. $5 parking and no changing rooms...so, bring cash and the ability to quickly change in your car.
Silver City
Silver City, Idaho was once a prosperous silver mining town back in the 1800's. Today, it is supposed to be a ghost town. However, it has made me reconsider my definition of "ghost town" because some people actually live there. There are even a few businesses, including the Idaho Hotel.
Over the years, most other "Old West" towns either revamped and remodeled over the years to look nothing like they used to. If they didn't adapt to the changing times, there was usually a reason. Either they burned down, or they became tourist traps, keeping their history as a shtick to entice tourists looking to step into the days of cowboys and outlaws.
Silver City has done none of that. Stepping into town today is much like the way it would've been back in the mining days of the 1800's. Lots of old wooden buildings, "Old West" architecture, and streets of dirt.
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Though people still live there, you get the feeling that they're people that live off the grid. There aren't a lot of amenities in the town, and you're not getting to and from an actual town from Silver City very easily either. Getting to the town requires you to drive a long, not-well kept up, narrow dirt road full of pot holes.
The travel is very slow going, switchback after switchback. The road is so narrow, two cars do not fit easily past each other. so I recommend honking your car horn at each switchback to avoid a head on collision. Once you leave pavement on Silver City Road on your way in, you still have about 20 miles left to go on this rough road. It may be slow going, but the weirdness of the road and its surroundings and "off the beaten path" feel adds to the adventure.
So, leave quite a bit of time to get through that final stretch. Also, remember you're visiting a town that hasn't changed much in over a 100 years, so the trek is worth it. While there isn't a lot to do there, how often can you say you've stepped into an authentic town from cowboy days that has barely changed. It's a window to another time.
Stanley
Idaho is known for its great rafting as Snake River and Salmon River are two of the best rafting rivers in the world with Class I - IV. Stanley is a good place to find rafting excursions on the Salmon. Nearby rafting companies: The River Company, White Cloud Rafting, Middle Fork River Expeditions
Sun Valley
Sun Valley is a famous skiing area beside neighboring Ketchum. Known for its beauty and seclusion, it attracts the rich and famous, including Tom Hanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis. When the skiing is done, the area also has plenty of other things to do including golf, concerts, and festivals.
Twin Falls
Shoshone Falls is among the many spectacular natural beauties along the Snake River. At 212 feet, the falls are higher than even Niagara Falls.
Wallace
Wallace is a cool, country town with a small town feel where you assume everyone knows each other. It also happens to be the Center of the Universe! How? After a 2002 study in the town involved the EPA saying if something can't be disproven, it must be true, the mayor stated that Wallace is the center of the universe. Can't be disproven, so it must be true! Now, there's celebrations of that "fact" and a Center of the Universe Monument at the intersection of Bank and 6th Street.
Not enough to draw you to the town? There's also a fun, kitschy UFO you can pose with. The town was also the town that was demolished in the movie Dante's Peak.
Nearby Kellogg has a cool site as well, a building that looks like a large mining hat! With much of Idaho's history tied to mining, the building honors the state's past. In the present, it's a realty company, Miner's Hat Realty.
