Idaho: Sawtooths, Sun Valley and the Snake River

Idaho is not a shorter version of Montana or Wyoming. It’s three different vacations stacked north to south: glacier-carved Sawtooth granite above Stanley, a Sun Valley lodge town that invented the destination ski resort in 1936, and a Snake River canyon country where Shoshone Falls drops 212 feet and Hells Canyon cuts the deepest river gorge on the continent. Most road trips start in Boise and pick one spine - Highway 75 north toward the Sawtooths, or I-84 east toward Twin Falls - because trying to do everything in a straight line wastes a day you don’t have.

You’ll need a rental car. Distances are honest western miles, and the scenic payoff sits off the interstates.

Boise: collect the car, then leave

Boise is the practical airport for most visitors (BOI). It’s a real city with food and a walkable downtown, which makes it a sensible first night if you flew in late. It’s not why people cross the country.

Don’t camp in Boise if the Sawtooths are the point. Pick up the rental, sleep once if jet lag demands it, and drive north on Highway 55 or 21 toward the mountains, or east on I-84 toward the canyon. Friedman Memorial Airport near Hailey serves Sun Valley with seasonal nonstops, but most visitors still stage from Boise and accept the 2.5- to 3-hour drive to Ketchum on Highway 75.

Idaho charges 6% state sales tax - unlike tax-free Oregon next door. This isn’t a bargain state for gear and groceries; plan accordingly at the Boise Costco run.

Sawtooth country: 756,000 acres of Forest Service alpine

The Sawtooth National Recreation Area isn’t a national park. The Forest Service manages 756,000 acres with three wilderness areas inside it: the Sawtooth, Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds, and Hemingway-Boulders wildernesses. There is no single gate fee like Yellowstone. You will pay for parking at busy trailheads, campgrounds, and the occasional Northwest Forest pass site, but the big views are public land.

The numbers USDA publishes are almost absurd: 700-plus miles of trails, 40 peaks above 10,000 feet, and 300-plus alpine lakes. The Salmon River - the “River of No Return” - starts here and runs north through the Sawtooth Valley before it bends toward the Salmon River Mountains. Stanley (population tiny in winter, busy in July) is the northern hub; the SNRA headquarters sit a few miles north of Ketchum on Highway 75.

Redfish Lake is the postcard everyone recognizes: jagged peaks reflected in cold water, day hikes and boat rentals in summer, snow blocking the road for much of the year. Alice Lake and the Sawtooth Lake trail are the classic overnight backpacks - permit rules vary by zone, so you’ll want to check the wilderness regs before you pack a bear canister.

The season is short. Most visitors aim for late June through September, when the Galena and Banner passes are clear and mosquitoes are merely annoying instead of biblical. Early July wildflowers reward the drive from Ketchum over Galena Summit into Stanley.

Sun Valley and Ketchum: lifts, lodges, and Hemingway’s barstool

Twenty minutes south of the SNRA headquarters, Ketchum and Sun Valley are the same valley with different price tags. Union Pacific chairman Averell Harriman picked this former mining town in 1935 to build what Sun Valley’s own history page calls North America’s first destination ski resort. Sun Valley Lodge opened in December 1936; engineer Jim Curran adapted banana-conveyor designs into chairlifts on Dollar Mountain and Proctor Mountain that summer.

Bald Mountain - “Baldy” - opened for skiing in December 1939 with a 9,150-foot summit and 3,400-foot vertical drop. Summer is hiking, mountain biking, and patio dining; winter is still the economic engine.

You don’t need to ski to justify a night here. The valley is the scenic link between Boise and Stanley, with better restaurants than either endpoint. Ernest Hemingway’s grave sits in the Ketchum cemetery; the Pioneer Saloon still pours whiskey under mounted antlers. If you’re combining Sawtooths and Sun Valley, sleep in Ketchum and day-trip north rather than hauling luggage through Galena twice.

Shoshone Falls and the Snake River Plain

Drop south on I-84 and Idaho changes shape. The alpine granite gives way to basalt canyons and irrigated agriculture. Twin Falls is the gateway to Shoshone Falls, which the state’s own financial reports describe as 212 feet on the Snake - taller than Niagara by height, though spring runoff determines whether it feels like it.

The City of Twin Falls charges $5 per vehicle for Shoshone Falls Park and Dierkes Lake when the booth is staffed. In 2026 the booth reopened April 1, operating 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; a $25 season pass sells at the booth or Parks and Recreation at 136 Maxwell Avenue. Winter visits are often free when roads stay open, but the falls can be a trickle by August.

The Perrine Bridge carries US-93 across the canyon. It’s also, as far as anyone can tell, the only man-made structure in the United States where BASE jumping is legal year-round with no permit at all - if the weather is decent, someone is stepping off it. Centennial Waterfront Park downstream rents kayaks when construction isn’t closing the ramps - check city alerts before you plan a paddle.

Hells Canyon and the Oregon line

Farther north on the Snake, Hells Canyon forms the Idaho-Oregon border. The National Park Service, on the Nez Perce National Historical Park rivers page, puts the gorge at about 7,900 feet (2,400 meters) deep - the deepest river gorge in North America, deeper than the Grand Canyon by that measure.

Most visitors see it from a jet boat or a long dirt road on the Idaho side, not from a single paved overlook. Hells Gate State Park near Lewiston - a premium park, so non-residents pay $14 rather than the usual $7 - is the mainstream access point with camping and a Lewis and Clark interpretive center. Rafting trips run multi-day permits on the Snake through the canyon; that’s a separate vacation from a Sawtooth hike.

If you’re looping from Wyoming or Yellowstone, Hells Canyon is a detour, not a through road. Treat it as an add-on only when you already have nights to spare in the state’s southwest corner.

Idaho state park fees (and what the SNRA is not)

Idaho’s state parks charge a $7 motor vehicle entrance fee per car (raised from $5 in the 2021 season). Residents buy a $10 Parks Passport for unlimited entry. Out-of-state visitors pay per visit unless they buy the annual out-of-state permit the department lists on its fee page.

That’s separate from Shoshone Falls’ city fee and separate from the Sawtooth NRA, which is national forest. Don’t show up at Redfish Lake expecting one sticker to cover every jurisdiction in the state.

A seven-day Idaho loop

This is one honest week, not an optimized race:

1. Day 1 - Fly into Boise, pick up the rental, sleep downtown.
2. Day 2 - Drive Highway 75 to Ketchum / Sun Valley; afternoon on Bald Mountain trails or the lodge lawn.
3. Day 3 - Cross Galena Summit to Stanley; short hike at Redfish Lake.
4. Day 4 - Full day in the Sawtooths (Sawtooth Lake or Alice Lake) or a lazy Stanley morning if weather turned.
5. Day 5 - Drive south to Twin Falls; Shoshone Falls at golden hour if flow cooperates.
6. Day 6 - Snake River Canyon morning; optional drive west toward Hells Canyon if you booked a boat.
7. Day 7 - Return to Boise for the flight, or continue east into Wyoming if Yellowstone is the next chapter.

Idaho rewards slow routing. Rush it and you’ll remember the interstate. Give Stanley a night and the Sawtooths stay with you longer than any single waterfall photo suggests.