Upcoming trip to Idaho

[NM Mike]

Next month, I have a sturgeon fishing trip booked. After fishing, I’ll have a day or two to sight see and play tourist.
I’ve been googling other sightseeing and other things to do in the Idaho area. Not looking to do yellowstone park this time of year.
I’m hoping you guys can throw out some ideas. Shoshone falls and the Hell’s Canyon scenic byway look interesting.
If you are from that area, or have visited and saw something cool on a previous trip, care to share some ideas?

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[John E Davies]

Idaho can be a little hard to get around in, especially going north to south in the Panhandle, there are no freeways mostly, and the travel is often slow and very twisty. Where is your fishing trip based, and what do you like to do other than fish?

Do you like gravel roads and ghost towns? Mountain biking?

Give us a little more info on what you like to do….. I have to say as a long time Spokane resident, I don’t have a lot of interest in Idaho scenery, I mainly drive through there to get further away like Montana or Wyoming..

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[NM Mike]

The fishing trip will be on the snake river, about 30 miles south of Lewiston. Starting point will be in NW New Mexico, up to Moab, Salt Lake city, Boise and then up to Lewiston. I anticipate the return trip being the same, but not necessarily so.
on this trip, there probably won’t be much hiking or bike riding as one of the guys in my group had a hip replacement 5 months ago.
For this trip, scenic places, photography, big game observation, maybe a museum or historic site would be cool. A bluegrass or country music festival would be cool, but haven’t found any going on in the area yet.
I lived in Montana for a few years, so probably won’t go that way even though I’d love to go to Glacier National Park again.

 

[John E Davies]

Lewiston/ Clarkston are mill towns and can be very hot. The Old Spiral Highway north of town is worth a drive or detour if you are headed that way, if the weather is clear. It can be very smoky from wildfires around the NW.

Climbing The Old Spiral Highway - Lewiston Idaho

Do you like raptors, the birds? This is due south of the Boise Airport and I-84 and is most excellent, and you can venture further west to the gorge overlooks and see a lot of raptors in the wild. You need a long lens.

The World Center for Birds of Prey

You will be deep into Hells Canyon, but access is VERY difficult except by boat. You could take a jet boat tourist ride and get soaked.

https://ssriveroutfitters.com/hells...J9-RaBLXCT145j9sZMlgUbfcUD0RfzvxoCO7oQAvD_BwE

But all of south Idaho is basalt (vertical miles of lava flows) and it gets old really fast, black cliffs everywhere. After coming through Utah it is most likely going to be depressing. Turn around after your fishing trip is over and linger in Moab a few days

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[NM Mike]

I saw the craters of the moon area in my searches. I live a half mile from a 40 mile long lava flow, so that srea didn’t really excite me too much. The eagle observatory sounded interesting. Binoculars and a spotting scope are already on the list of gear to take along. A rafting trip sounds fun, Thanks for the input.

 

[John E Davies]

This is on my bucket list, I just haven’t made it there yet. It is located SW of the Boise metro area in Oregon, it is very wild and remote, no services except for some pit toilets, the Owyhee Reservoir is at the end, where you can fish or just cool off.

https://www.wanderinraw.com/post/leslie-gulch

Twenty odd miles to the north on that same lake is a State Park, it has a paved access road and is crazy insanely busy in summer.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[Jasonkflo]

Tons of mountains here.
Definitely some nice scenery near Ketchum.
Sawtooth , boulder , white cloud , Pioneer and Smokey Mountains all right there.
South of Boise is the Owyhees. Leslie Gulch area or Silver CIty.

 

[pablo94sc]

If not Grand Tetons, then might I suggest Craters of the Moon MM. It was pretty cool.

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