Idaho road trip: highlights + one week itinerary

Welcome to this complete Idaho road trip guide! Idaho is probably the most underrated state in the western United States. Let me be honest, until recently I had only driven through it on my way to Yellowstone and other sights. However, last September I made a road trip in Idaho for just over a week and I was pleasantly surprised. Not just because of the large variety in nature, but also because of the peace and space. In Idaho I did not encounter a single foreign tourist (I’m from Europe myself), such a good thing compared to the crowds in other places. In this article I will tell you everything about my road trip through Idaho including my route, the sights, walking trails and more. Enjoy reading!

Idaho is located in the northwest of America. In the west, Idaho borders the states of Washington and Oregon, in the south Utah and Nevada and in the east Wyoming and Montana. In the north, Idaho borders Canada for a small part. With just over 2 million inhabitants, Idaho is one of the least populated states in America, but in terms of surface area it is the 14th largest state in America. Idaho is nicknamed The Potato State. The capital of Idaho is Boise.

Idaho is a state that receives few foreign tourists. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that there are no national parks, or simply because it does not seem interesting enough. During my tour through the West of America in 2013, I had already driven through Idaho, but from the highway it did not seem very interesting. I could not have been more wrong.

I’m a big lover of nature and variety. My ideal trip consists of being in nature as much as possible, preferably with all kinds of different landscapes. Occasionally to the city and then back into nature. That worked in Idaho.

The idea of my trip, which I made as part of a road trip from Salt Lake City to Seattle, was exploring the various Scenic Byways in combination with hiking and being in nature. There are no fewer than 31 Scenic Byways in Idaho, so there’s plenty to see. Below I will share the highlights of Idaho with you and of course also the exact route I took.

I started my road trip in Idaho from the village of Victor on the western side of the Grand Tetons. I arrived here from Grand Teton National Park and spent the night at the Cobblestone Hotel. Via the Teton Scenic Byway and the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway I drive to the Mesa Falls. My expectations were not too high but WOW! I started at the Lower Mesa Falls where you can look into a deep canyon from a viewpoint. The Upper Mesa Falls are the most beautiful, they are as high as a 10-story apartment building and you can get very close from a boardwalk. It’s also possible to walk the Nature Trail here.

Another special place is Harriman State Park. The turnoff to this park is on the route between Salt Lake City and Yellowstone, so I had already driven past it a few times. Harriman State Park is part of the Greater Yellowstone System and has 22 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. There are also a number of old buildings. The park was owned by investors from Union Pacific Railroad between 1902 and 1977 and served as a cattle ranch and private retreat for the Harriman and Guggenheim families. Today, Harriman State Park offers visitors a perfect setting to enjoy the unique history and natural beauty of the area. There’s also a lot of horseback riding. The park is relatively flat but wonderfully quiet; I didn’t encounter another hiker during my time.

The city of Idaho Falls is the largest city in eastern Idaho and is located on the Snake River, one of the longest rivers in America. You can walk along the river on the Greenbelt, a five-mile country hiking and biking trail through the city. The main attraction of Idaho Falls is of course the waterfalls, which were built after the Teton Dam disaster in 1976, when the dam broke and countless lives were lost. There are several hotels in Idaho Falls, I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, located right on the river.

The Sacajawea Scenic Byway is dedicated to the Native American woman who helped explorers Lewis and Clark map this part of America. The vastness of Idaho’s landscape is very present on this road. The byway is very straight onward in places, there is no cell phone reception and you will hardly see any traces of human activity. This must be the landscape as Lewis and Clark encountered it back then.

I visit a few sights along the route. First, the Charcoal Kilns, a series of ovens that were built to process charcoal. In the 19th century, 16 of these ovens were built from local clay and the charcoal produced in them was used in the Viola Mine, 10 miles away in the Lemhi Valley.

The Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural & Educational Center is located in Salmon but was closed at the time of my visit. You can find the statue of Sacajawea there as well as several exhibits.

The Sacajawea Scenic Byway ends in Salmon, one of Idaho’s mountain villages where outdoor meets western style. Salmon is surrounded by mountains, in the summer you can hike and mountain bike here, in the winter there’s plenty of skiing. In the afternoon I hike the trail to the Goldbug Hot Springs. It’s a beautiful route, not too hard technically (though rocky and steep towards the end), but sometimes tough because of the heat. After about an hour and a half of hiking you arrive to a series of waterfalls, where you can bathe in the warm water. The higher you go up the mountain, the warmer the water gets. In the evening I eat at a local saloon where the staff tells me they have never had a Dutch visitor before, which felt truly amazing!

The next day, a drive over a section of the Salmon Scenic Byway is planned. The road takes you through deep gorges and along beautiful views. It looks like Utah, but less the other tourists. The first stop I make is at Land of the Yankee Fork State Park just outside Challis. At the visitor center I hear that Bayhorse Ghost Town is especially worth it. The route there is unpaved and you need a 4WD for it, but it’s very special to be standing in the middle of an abandoned village. Via the Peaks to Craters Scenic Byway you drive right past the highest mountain in Idaho (Borah Peak, 3,861m) and eventually arrive at Craters of the Moon National Monument.

Idaho has no national parks but it does have a national monument. The main difference between the two is the reason why the area is protected. In addition, a national park is chosen by the American Congress and a national monument by the president.

Craters of the Moon is a relatively small nature park that you can easily visit in an afternoon. It’s a volcanic landscape where ancient lava flows dominate the landscape. From the visitor center you can drive a route into the park and you can see all the main sights. In many places there are short hiking trails and you can even climb volcanoes. This was really one of the highlights of my road trip in Idaho.

The mountain village of Ketchum is my next destination. Like Salmon, this is a charming outdoor village, but different. This is where the rich and famous of Idaho have a (second) home and therefore it breathes much more wealth and elite. I spend the night in the beautiful Limelight Hotel, which I can truly recommend. In the village, the main attraction is the grave of Ernest Hemingway.

The area around Ketchum is beautiful. The autumn colours are starting to appear and we drive to Stanley via the Sawtooth Scenic Byway. This small village, at the foot of the Sawtooth Mountains, was evacuated until last week because of the forest fires, but the roads around the village are open again. Part of the nature has been affected by the forest fires, but Redfish Lake and the surrounding mountains have been spared. It apparently gets quite busy here in the summer, now in September there is little to do. However, the area is beautiful, just like the famous Canadian Rockies but without the tourists. I certainly hope to come back here again to go hiking!

McCall is a beautifully situated village on the shores of Payette Lake, you reach the village via the Payette Scenic Byway. Around McCall there are endless nature reserves and hiking trails. I visited two of them.

First of all Ponderosa State Park, just outside McCall. Here you can make beautiful walks and head to a viewpoint over Payette Lake. The immense Ponderosa Pines dominate the landscape here and chipmunks run all around me. What a cute place this is. However, the walk is not very challenging and so I’m really looking forward to the afternoon, which I spent to visit Boulder Lake. The road to the trailhead cannot be driven with a normal car but luckily I have a 4WD. The trail to Boulder Lake takes about two hours and the lake is a great place for a (late) picnic. The descent goes back over the same route.

The special Bruneau Dunes State Park is located a good hour’s drive outside Boise and consists of a number of immense sand dunes. You can walk or sandboard here. I park the car at the visitor center and hope to be able to do the big walking round from here. However, it is poorly marked (I lose the route twice) and it is too hot to walk in the full sun all day. After two hours I return, a wise choice. You can also visit the dunes by car.

Although Boise initially seems like just another American city, I find it surprisingly nice. There are countless sights in the city, including the Green Belt, the Anne Frank Memorial and the State Capitol. You will also find many nice boutiques and shops, you can eat delicious food and even visit a small-scale food truck festival.

I’m staying here in the trendy Modern Hotel. This former motel has been converted into one of the nicest hotels in the city and most sights are within walking distance of the hotel. Highly recommended!

I made this trip at the end of September. The fall colors were already in full swing and most places were relatively quiet. The only other tourists I encountered were Americans, I didn’t see any foreign tourists.

The weather in Idaho is generally sunny and warm. During the trip I made it was between 20-25º Celsius almost every day and sometimes even peak up to 30º, which according to the locals was an exception. But in general you can assume that September is a great time for an Idaho road trip.

If you want to travel in the summer months, keep in mind that it is a lot busier in many places because most Americans have their summer vacation then.

I made a one week road trip through Idaho, but of course you can also take longer and make more stops along the way. My itinerary looked like this:

Day 1. Arrival in Victor from Grand Teton NP, overnacht at the Cobblestone Hotel
Day 2 Mesa Falls, Harriman State Park, overnight at Hilton Garden Inn, Idaho Falls
Day 3. Sacajawea Scenic Byway and Goldbug Hot Springs, overnight at Sacajawea Inn
Day 4. Via Craters of the Moon to Ketchum, overnight at Limelight Hotel
Day 5. Via Sawtooth Mountains and Redfish Lake to McCall, overnight at Hotel McCall
Day 6. Ponderosa State Park and Boulder Lake, overnight at The Modern Hotel, Boise
Day 7. Free day in Boise and Bruneau Sand Dunes, overnight at The Modern Hotel
Day 8. Departure from Idaho to Oregon

How to book this trip?

There are no travel organizations that have this route in their program. It is really a unique route that combines known and unknown places. So it comes down to your own creativity if you want to make this trip.

• We flew directly with Delta Air Lines to Salt Lake City and back from Seattle. Delta is an airline that has sustainability high on its agenda and is the most awarded airline in America. My review of Delta Air Lines can be found here. Tickets can be compared via Skyscanner.
• We booked our rental car with Alamo, in my opinion one of the better companies in America. I have rented a car through them every time I have traveled in America and I am very happy with it. Check the rates and availability here. For the route and sights that we have done I would recommend a 4WD.
• As mentioned, during high season (July and August) most campsites and hotels are fully booked well in advance. Nowadays I arrange my overnight stays well in advance via Booking.com so that I don’t have to search for a place to stay on the spot.

What pleasantly surprised me most during my Idaho road trip was the massive diversity of landscapes. One moment I was driving along the highest mountain in Idaho with eternal snow, to be standing in a dry and volcanic landscape an hour and a half later. The fact that you hardly see any foreign tourists also made this a special destination for me, how often can you say that in a world where traveling is becoming more and more for just anyone?

I really enjoyed my Idaho trip and certainly hope to return there in the future, especially to make long hikes in the beautiful nature.

I hope that after reading my blog you have become enthusiastic about Idaho. If you want to read more about America and my travels, you will also like the following articles:

• Road trip from Salt Lake to Seattle: my complete route with all the highlights
• Grand Teton in September: how to make the most of your trip
• How to plan for Yellowstone National Park

Alternatively, visit my America page with more than 30 articles about my active travels in the United States.

I made this trip in collaboration with Delta Airlines, Great American West and Visit Idaho. All given opinions are of course entirely my own.

_{This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase and/or reservation via such a link, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for considering!}