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Places to go in Idaho.

Springs, beaches, parks and gardens worth the drive. Save the ones you want to visit and tick off the ones you’ve been to.

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2 places

Sawtooth National Recreation Area Mountains

Sawtooth National Recreation Area

Stanley, ID · Sawtooth Mountains

More than 700,000 acres of central Idaho high country fan out around the old mining town of Stanley, where the Sawtooth, White Cloud, Boulder, and Smoky ranges throw up some 40 peaks above 10,000 feet. The serrated granite spires give the range its name, and they stand reflected in Redfish Lake, a glacier-carved sheet of cold blue water that fills with boats and swimmers all summer. Over 300 alpine lakes and the headwaters of the Salmon River, the River of No Return, hide along 700 miles of trail, with the Sawtooth Scenic Byway threading the whole basin past the dock at Redfish.

Shoshone Falls Lakes & rivers

Shoshone Falls

Twin Falls, ID · Snake River Canyon, southern Idaho

Shoshone Falls earns its nickname honestly. At 212 feet, the Snake River drops 45 feet farther than Niagara, spilling across a roughly 900 foot wide horseshoe cut through black basalt. The catch is that the river is spoken for. Flow is set 20 miles upstream at Milner Dam, where irrigation diversions can shrink the Snake to a trickle by late summer, so timing matters more here than at most falls. Come in spring, ideally April into May, when snowmelt pushes 10,000 CFS or more over the rim and mist rises through the canyon. By August it can slow to a bare scenic flow. The main overlook sits a short walk from the parking lot (no hiking required) and faces the falls head on. The City of Twin Falls runs the park, sunrise to sunset, and charges about $5 per car from late March through September. Bring a layer for the spray.