Why Idaho?
Everyone has asked me, “Why Idaho?”. Idaho has some street cred as a winter skiing paradise, but is not renowned as a summer vacation destination. TLC be dammed, I am a waterfall chaser, and Idaho is home to Shoshone Falls. Taller than Niagara Falls, the 212 foot drop in the Snake River at Shoshone Falls is breathtaking. With minimal hiking you can see the falls, learn about the history of the area, and peer into the past through millions of years of geological history written on the canyon walls.
For the bird-nerds, the Snake River Canyon is home to North America’s highest concentration of nesting birds of prey, so late spring is the ideal time to visit to catch fledglings. The desert bursts to life on the borders of the Snake River, although you will encounter an abundance of invasive cheatgrass as you hike between watermelon boulders and native wildflowers.
Lake Lowell offers another desert oasis with abundant wildlife. Near the Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center a relaxing garden bench overlooks nesting osprey. Several trails run along the lake for a peaceful day of hiking and birding.
In an alternate life, I would have studied geology instead of neuroscience. Craters of the Moon National Preserve has a captivating (recent!) geological history with 410,000 acres of lava fields and cinder cones. The park has many ADA accessible boardwalk trails for all guests to use to avoid walking directly on the delicate lava flows. The entire Snake River Valley has intriguing geological displays, so much so that I felt compelled to buy a book about the geology of Southern Idaho to learn more!
Sun Valley is best known for its ski resort towns, but spring and summer bring perfect hiking conditions. You can escape the heat of the desert and wind through the fresh air on cool and breezy trails in the shadow of snow capped mountains. Driving to Stanley was one of the most beautiful drives of my life with new frosted peaks around every corner. Thankfully there are numerous pull-outs along ID-75 to pause and absorb the beauty.
Getting There and Around
Flights
Idaho is quite the drive from Pittsburgh, so I opted to fly from Pittsburgh to Boise. I’ve been racking up lots of travel reward points with my Chase Sapphire Preferred card and was able to book my flights to and from Boise using Southwest Rapid Reward points. The roundtrip fare cost me a trivial $11.20 in fees. Pittsburgh is not the most well-connected hub so I did have a layover on each leg of the trip, necessitating nearly a whole day of travel each way. Although I had 9 vacation days of activities, I needed to add an extra day at each end of the trip just for traveling, resulting in 11 days of travel overall.
Rental Car
I visited 3 different regions in Idaho – Boise, Sun Valley, and Twin Falls – and picked up a rental car to get around. Avis is my go-to rental car company because I love the rapid pickup option for preferred members. Unfortunately, Boise airport did not offer “skip the line” and I had to wait a few minutes in line at the rental counter to verify my details and pick up the keys to my Chevy Malibu.
Hiking Road Trip
All the main roads I encountered were in excellent condition, a stark contrast to what I’m used to in Pennsylvania. However, when pursuing more remote hiking trailheads I faced quite a few rough roads my Chevy Malibu was not up to tackling. Twice I attempted to get to trailheads on dirt roads ravaged with huge ruts. I kept hoping conditions would improve, but of course they only deteriorated further. Eventually the car started bottoming out and I had to perform delicate, 7-point turns to turn around, clenching both the steering wheel and my cheeks in the process. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of the treacherous roads because I was too frazzled and panicked about destroying yet another rental car.
If you plan to do any more remote trails I’d recommend upgrading to an all-wheel drive vehicle. The two hikes I had to abandon because I couldn’t make it to the trailhead were Little City of Rocks Loop in Gooding and Initial Point trail in Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area.
My Itinerary
Overview
This trip to Idaho was mostly hiking during the day and exploring the local city during the evening before an early bedtime. It was the perfect blend of getting my steps in during outdoor adventures and unwinding at the end of the day at local breweries. Over these 9 days I explored 3 main regions of south/central Idaho:
- The deserts along the Snake River around Boise and Twin Falls
- The snowcapped mountains in the ski resort towns of the Sawtooth National Wilderness
- Lava fields of Craters of the Moon
I designed the trip to have several days in each area so I could stay at the same accommodation multiple nights and cut down on AirBnB’s ridiculous cleaning costs. I started in Boise, then Hailey (Sun Valley area), then Twin Falls, and finally back to Boise the night before my early morning flight home. The distance between the major cities was very reasonable for a road trip, only 1-2 hours for each leg. This made it really easy to combine the driving days with activities along the way to stretch my legs and make the most of the day.
Daily Hiking Agenda
Day 1 – Fly to Boise, pick up my rental car, and drive to AirBnB in Boise
Day 2 – Take a driving tour through Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey and get an up close view of the Snake River and petroglyphs at Celebration Park.
Day 3 – Hike and bird around Lake Lowell and Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge
Day 4 – Explore Boise including the 8th Street Promenade, ice cream from Stella’s, smell the roses at the free Boise Rose Garden in Julia Davis Park, look for giant sturgeon at the pond in the free MK Nature Center (also look for the dramatic example of edaphoecotropism), and walk or bike the Boise Green Belt.
Day 5 – See amazing birds of prey up close at the The Peregrine Funds World Center
Day 6 – Drive to Sun Valley and visit Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management Area on the way
Day 7 – Hike across cinder cones and solidified lava fields at Craters of the Moon
Day 8 – Hike around snowcapped mountains at Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area
Day 9– Stop by the Mammoth Cave and Shoshone Bird Museum to tour a volcanic lava tube on the way to Twin Falls, visit iconic Shoshone Falls, and kayak around Dierkes Lake,
Day 10 – Inspect dinosaur bones and hike along the historic Oregon Trail at Hagerman Fossil Beds, then chase waterfalls at Thousand Springs State Park on your way back to Boise
Day 11 – Stuff everything back in the suit case and fly home!
Final Costs
Expense (1 person) | Amount ($USD) |
Roundtrip flights Pittsburgh- Boise – Pittsburgh (bought in points, valued at $0.015/point. Actual out of pocket expense for me was only $11.20) | $471.73 |
Avis Rental Car ~ 11 Days | $546.55 |
Gas | $118.67 |
Food and Drinks | $647.50 |
AirBnB in Boise for 5 Nights | $438.56 |
AirBnB in Hailey (Sun Valley) for 3 Nights | $456.55 |
AirBnB in Twin Falls for 1 Night | $103.80 |
AirBnB in Boise for 1 Night | $68.64 |
Activities | $50.10 |
Total Cost | $2902.10 |
Since I bought my flights in points instead of cash, the actual out of pocket expense was $2441.57. This trip came in about 20% over my initial budget of $2000. I indulged in several restaurants and breweries in the evenings, and underestimated how expensive everything in the Sun Valley resort towns would be. All of my AirBnBs had reasonable kitchen set ups so I could have cooked at home more often to save money, but this is vacation baby! In Boise I did find a small, local taco chain I’d never heard of with cheap tacos, fresh ingredients, numerous vegetarian options, and draft beers. Check out Tin Roof Tacos if you are looking for budget-friendly quick dinners in Boise.
Final Thoughts
I am certainly not a “city girl”, but people are sleeping on Boise. It was ridiculously cute, surprisingly hip, and surrounded by alluring vistas. Ample rental bikes and scooters line the highly walkable streets. There is even a pedestrian-only promenade lined with shops and restaurants. I could have spent all 9 days in Boise and not run out of things to do.
Despite loving Boise, I wish I had spent another day in the Sun Valley region to do another hike through the mountains, or even a horseback ride. I’m planning to read up the local geology in my new book and scout out some Idaho follow up trips in the future!
From deserts to mountains to rivers to ancient lava flows, Idaho has something for everyone. Also, potatoes 💖 Do you have any recommendations for must-see locations in Idaho?
This looks like a fun road trip. I’ve explored all of the states around Idaho, but unfortunately have only been to Boise for work. I’d like to give this itinerary a try.
It happens. You often spend more on holiday than intended, but as you say, it is a holiday baby!
Thank you for sharing the cost breakdown, that’s really helpful to help with budgeting. I’d love to visit Idaho someday.