Exploring Idaho

[ejfranz]

I have never spent time exploring Idaho, so my daughter and I are going on a 9 day trip to do some exploring. We are planing to go as far south as the "Craters of the Moon" National monument. We will be heading in to Idaho along Hwy 20 from Washington State. Any must see spots would be greatly appreciated.

PS My Alaska trip this summer had to be canceled (family emergency) so I have not had much time to research this small trip.


Thanks

[_DJ_1]

Beamers

[the_tc_life]

ejfranz wrote:
Ok,
We have had a chance to check out the loop on the map and it looks great.
Any suggestions on which route to take from Newport down to Lewiston?

Thanks

if you are looking to pretty much breeze through that section then hwy 41 out of newport to post falls then jump onto hwy 95. both are 2 lane highways.

be sure to use the pull out above Lewiston/Clarkston on highway 95 north of town to gaze at the view.

[Camp__Forrest__]

ejfranz wrote:
Idaho_camper by daughter just turned 19 and the loop you suggested sounds great.
We will be bringing a canoe along so the Payette Lake and river sound like a great idea, thanks DianneOK.
I know 9 days is not a lot of time, but that is all by daughter can get off.
DJ the jet boat ride sounds intriguing.
Thanks for all the great ideas. Now I just needs to look at the map and get a handle on the trip.

if you are bringing bikes, riding the Route of the Hiawatha rail-to-trail conversion near Wallace, ID is fantastic. It is a very easy trail. You can also rent bikes and a shuttle if you don't want to ride round trip. It may be out of your way for this trip, but if you get time in the future, that area is beautiful and a short trip from your place I think.

[idaho_camper]

Camp, Forrest, Camp! wrote:
OMG I need to get my camper out this weekend!!! I love living in Boise. There is so much to see, so close by. I went on a field trip to the Lost River Range this spring (this is on the HWY 93 section from Challis to Arco (first city in the world lit by atomic power). It was the first time I'd been there and I was floored. Mountains that rise a mile (literally) into the air, huge alluvial fans, towering glacial moraines, erratic stones the size of a van, and the last permanent ice fields in Idaho, all in one place.

Oh yeah, I love that part of the state. If you can, hike to the summit of Mt. Borah. I think you can see 9 distinct mountain ranges from the top.

[idaho_camper]

PM me your email and let's take this offline. I'll give you some great hiking ideas for you and your daughter. I'd rather not give some of my favorites on an open forum!

[ejfranz]

idaho_camper wrote:
A daughter at 19 and a canoe opens up a lot of possibilities. My kids are all under 7 so I'm a bit more confined right now than you! Are you both interested at all in getting off the pavement (hiking), or more interested in just seeing it from the road?

Yes, hiking and canoeing would be great. When she was 10 we hiked the Cape Scott Trail and when she was 12 we canoed the Bowron lakes. We were going to hike the West Coast Trail, but never got the chance ( Maybe this summer???)
I am also planning to bring along my motorbike, but maybe mountain bikes would be a better plan?

[idaho_camper]

A daughter at 19 and a canoe opens up a lot of possibilities. My kids are all under 7 so I'm a bit more confined right now than you! Are you both interested at all in getting off the pavement (hiking), or more interested in just seeing it from the road?

[ejfranz]

Ok,
We have had a chance to check out the loop on the map and it looks great.
Any suggestions on which route to take from Newport down to Lewiston?

Thanks

[ejfranz]

Idaho_camper by daughter just turned 19 and the loop you suggested sounds great.
We will be bringing a canoe along so the Payette Lake and river sound like a great idea, thanks DianneOK.
I know 9 days is not a lot of time, but that is all by daughter can get off.
DJ the jet boat ride sounds intriguing.
Thanks for all the great ideas. Now I just needs to look at the map and get a handle on the trip.

[Camp__Forrest__]

OMG I need to get my camper out this weekend!!! I love living in Boise. There is so much to see, so close by. I went on a field trip to the Lost River Range this spring (this is on the HWY 93 section from Challis to Arco (first city in the world lit by atomic power). It was the first time I'd been there and I was floored. Mountains that rise a mile (literally) into the air, huge alluvial fans, towering glacial moraines, erratic stones the size of a van, and the last permanent ice fields in Idaho, all in one place.

[idaho_camper]

RCMAN46: I could not agree more, although I would add a good 4-5 day backpack trip to that list. I've walked into some areas where not even a horse would've been able to trek. I look forward to the day when I'm retired and am able to hike the ENTIRE Idaho Centennial Trail in one shot. Some 600-700 miles, will take me 3-4 months. Hopefully my knees are still in good working condition at that time!

ejfranz: How old is your daughter?

A few more locations came to mind this afternoon...

Lots of places to pull off US12 and watch the river and just generally take it all in. Don't be in too much of a rush to drive thru this 50mph corridor. Maybe consider a drive up the Selway Road.

Yankee Fork, only about 20 miles from Stanley: a very cool area, and touring the old dredge is a must if you make it. It is humbling, even depressing to see how that single machine literally turned the valley upside down in its search for gold. And while you're in the area, a walk thru the old ghost town of Custer is pretty neat.

EBR nuclear reactor, about 20 miles from Arco: the world's first nuclear reactor that generated electricity.

In addition to Redfish Lake, there are a few more lakes on the west side of the Stanley basin worth checking out if you have time: Alturas, Pettit, Yellow Belly.

Hell's Canyon, if you can swing it. I normally drive into the canyon from Cambridge and drive the road all the way down to Hell's Canyon Dam where it dead-end's. But I've heard that seeing the canyon via jet boat traveling upstream from Lewiston (as was mentioned above) is also very cool.

[RCMAN46]

idaho_camper wrote:
I was born and raised in Idaho, been here my whole life. Grew up in the Idaho Falls area. Went to school up north in Moscow for 5 years. Settled with my family in Boise. I've been ALL over the state. 9 days isn't much time to try to take it all in. But, here's what I would offer for suggestions.

US12 from Lewiston to Lolo is probably my favorite 2-lane road in the state. Around 200 miles of pristine forest running alongside the Clearwater and Lochsa rivers.

From Lolo, turn south and take US93 to Salmon continuing to Challis. Again, beautiful country.

From Challis, continue on US93 to Arco which is not far from Craters of the Moon, which you listed as one of the areas you'd like to see.

From Craters, head west toward Carey, then turn toward Picabo and onto the junction of US75. Head north to Sun Valley, continue up and over Galena Summit and drop down into the Stanley basin. Sawtooths will be on your left, White Clouds on the right. Seriously, this is a stunning view. Stop by Redfish Lake on your way up to Stanley.

From there, head west on US21 to Lowman, and turn in Lowman toward Banks. From Banks, turn north on US55 toward McCall. Spend some time in McCall, maybe drive up Warren Wagon road to Upper Payette Lake (and beyond if you have the time -- Burgdorf Hot Springs is an awesome little rustic establishment). Stop and do some canoeing on the inlet to Payette Lake (already mentioned above). From McCall, drive north up US55 to New Meadows, then US95 that will take you back to Lewiston and you're headed home.

That loop with give you a good taste of Idaho. Feel free to PM me if you'd like some additional details.

I will 3rd the plan from another Idaho Native. But I will add you can not see the real Idaho from an automobile. That requires a horse or a bush back country airplane. The primitive areas of Idaho have no equal.

[_DJ_1]

idaho_camper wrote:
I was born and raised in Idaho, been here my whole life. Grew up in the Idaho Falls area. Went to school up north in Moscow for 5 years. Settled with my family in Boise. I've been ALL over the state. 9 days isn't much time to try to take it all in. But, here's what I would offer for suggestions.

US12 from Lewiston to Lolo is probably my favorite 2-lane road in the state. Around 200 miles of pristine forest running alongside the Clearwater and Lochsa rivers.

From Lolo, turn south and take US93 to Salmon continuing to Challis. Again, beautiful country.

From Challis, continue on US93 to Arco which is not far from Craters of the Moon, which you listed as one of the areas you'd like to see.

From Craters, head west toward Carey, then turn toward Picabo and onto the junction of US75. Head north to Sun Valley, continue up and over Galena Summit and drop down into the Stanley basin. Sawtooths will be on your left, White Clouds on the right. Seriously, this is a stunning view. Stop by Redfish Lake on your way up to Stanley.

From there, head west on US21 to Lowman, and turn in Lowman toward Banks. From Banks, turn north on US55 toward McCall. Spend some time in McCall, maybe drive up Warren Wagon road to Upper Payette Lake (and beyond if you have the time -- Burgdorf Hot Springs is an awesome little rustic establishment). Stop and do some canoeing on the inlet to Payette Lake (already mentioned above). From McCall, drive north up US55 to New Meadows, then US95 that will take you back to Lewiston and you're headed home.

That loop with give you a good taste of Idaho. Feel free to PM me if you'd like some additional details.

From another native I 2ND this plan!!!!

[idaho_camper]

I was born and raised in Idaho, been here my whole life. Grew up in the Idaho Falls area. Went to school up north in Moscow for 5 years. Settled with my family in Boise. I've been ALL over the state. 9 days isn't much time to try to take it all in. But, here's what I would offer for suggestions.

US12 from Lewiston to Lolo is probably my favorite 2-lane road in the state. Around 200 miles of pristine forest running alongside the Clearwater and Lochsa rivers.

From Lolo, turn south and take US93 to Salmon continuing to Challis. Again, beautiful country.

From Challis, continue on US93 to Arco which is not far from Craters of the Moon, which you listed as one of the areas you'd like to see.

From Craters, head west toward Carey, then turn toward Picabo and onto the junction of US75. Head north to Sun Valley, continue up and over Galena Summit and drop down into the Stanley basin. Sawtooths will be on your left, White Clouds on the right. Seriously, this is a stunning view. Stop by Redfish Lake on your way up to Stanley.

From there, head west on US21 to Lowman, and turn in Lowman toward Banks. From Banks, turn north on US55 toward McCall. Spend some time in McCall, maybe drive up Warren Wagon road to Upper Payette Lake (and beyond if you have the time -- Burgdorf Hot Springs is an awesome little rustic establishment). Stop and do some canoeing on the inlet to Payette Lake (already mentioned above). From McCall, drive north up US55 to New Meadows, then US95 that will take you back to Lewiston and you're headed home.

That loop with give you a good taste of Idaho. Feel free to PM me if you'd like some additional details.