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Central Idaho Travel Region

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Central Idaho There's no place on earth quite like it -- an endless source of enchantment, a palette of incalculable wonder whose reflections and patterns are ever-changing. There are streams like white strings of beads. There are unearthly flows of lava frozen in time. There are alpine lakes, each cool and fragrant and perfect, and vast rolling acres of high meadows. There are massive, serrated mountains as grand and majestic as any in the world.

With 80 recognized ranges, Idaho is the most mountainous of all the Rocky Mountain States. Most observers agree that the most spectacular are in Central Idaho. The peaks of the Boulder, White Cloud and Sawtooth mountains dominate the skies for 60 miles in any direction. You'll see for yourself why the Sawtooths are called "America's Alps."

Even to Idahoans, Sun Valley seems like another world. There is a magic here, a magic rooted in destiny. In the 1930's, railroad executive and world traveler Averell Harriman asked Austrian Count Felix Schaffgotsch to find a site in America "of the same character as the Swiss and Austrian Alps." When the Count discovered Sun Valley, America's first destination ski resort was on its way. In no time, Sun Valley was pioneering the world's first chairlift and attracting skiers, photographers, movie makers and celebrities yearning for old world charm.

On the edge of a lush wilderness, Sun Valley glistens with cosmopolitan sophistication. It has the ambiance of a cozy European alpine village, but what village offers all this: not only 78 ski runs but also 85 tennis courts, miles of scenic trails for biking, in-line skating, walking and jogging, aerobic and weight-lifting gyms with massage, saunas, steam rooms and hot tubs, indoor and outdoor ice rinks and world-class ice shows.

Stanley is the only town in Idaho where three scenic byways meet. They are in fact the only three routes into town. The 116-mile Sawtooth Scenic Byway begins to the south in Shoshone and rolls through the resort towns of Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley, then carves through the rocks and woodlands of the rugged Sawtooth National Recreation Area, a region packed with rivers, streams and 300 alpine lakes.

There are more than 300 alpine lakes here. The five lower lakes of the Sawtooth Wilderness -- Alturas, Pettit, Little Redfish, Redfish and Stanley -- offer excellent trout fishing, sailing and boating. Nearby are 36 campgrounds and 850 campsites. Snowmobiling and cross-country skiing are superb. Hundreds of high alpine lakes attract backpackers, hikers and horseback riders hungry for a genuine wilderness experience. In the extraordinary high country of the Sawtooth, Boulder and White Cloud mountains, visitors experience sensations and insights otherwise inaccessible. Amidst the weave of lodgepole pine, the streamy gray ribbon of smoke from your campfire may well be the only sign of man.

The 131-mile Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway begins west of Stanley in Boise, passes through historic Idaho City and Lowman, then squeezes between two of Idaho's wilder parts -- the Sawtooth Wilderness Area and the Challis National Forest. The 162-mile Salmon River Scenic Byway begins near the Montana border at 6,995-foot high Lost Trail Pass. Lewis and Clark were forced to come this way in 1805 when their native guide lost the trail. The spectacular view has changed little in the years since. Elk, deer and moose often graze among the hills and meadows along the road. Each of these three picturesque byways is a unique experience.

North of Challis on Highway 93 is the "Whitewater Capital of the World." Once the winter campsite of Jim Bridger and Kit Carson, the town of Salmon sits at the forks of the Salmon and Lemhi Rivers near the edge of the Salmon Valley, a land of cattle ranches and timber. Dubbed by Lewis and Clark "The River of No Return," the Salmon River is one of the few undammed waterways left in America. The river and its forks serve as the only pathways into the River of No Return Wilderness Area, the largest single wilderness in the lower 48 states.

Near Challis are numerous attractions including the Yankee Fork Historic Loop that takes you to gold mines and ghost towns such as Bonanza. In August and September, don't miss the Indian Riffles Salmon Spawning Grounds below Sunbeam.

Craters of the Moon National Monument lives up to its name. Part of a 60-mile long crack in the earth's crust where eruptions occurred as recently as 2,100 years ago, the monument seems frozen in time. As you drive the seven-mile loop road, you'll notice sudden changes in color as the lava moves from coal black to rusty red and back again. By hiking short distances, you can peer into the vent of a cinder cone, walk over the surface of a lava flow or descend into the cool, dark interior of a lava tube.

North of Arco towers imposing Mt. Borah, the highest peak in Idaho. Inexplicable in its calm, Mt. Borah rises 12,662 feet above the steep, sweeping plains around it. At the base of the peak is a fault created by a large earthquake in 1983 which shook the city of Boise and the mountains of Montana. The quake raised Mt. Borah two feet while lowering the valley below it by five feet.

The Camas Prairie with its alfalfa, wheat and barley fields are irresistible to visiting geese, ducks and people. Mormon Reservoir, west of Fairfield on Highway 20, is especially good for hunting and fishing. Rainbow trout weighing up to five pounds are regularly caught at the south end where springs bubble up from the bottom of the reservoir. Brown trout as large as 12 pounds can be found in Magic Reservoir.

Call our central reservation service to book your trip:
Toll-free 1-888-84-IDAHO (1-888-844-3246)

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