Driving through Idaho and Montana

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peterk1234

peterk1234

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My wife and are visiting my daughter in Utah. The three of us are going to hop in the car and drive north to Glacier National Park. Anything you would recommend we check out on the way up through Idaho? I am going to visit the waterfalls outside of Twin Falls and then hit Thousand Springs Creek. We will go through Yellowstone and the Tetons on our way back.

We have about six days to do it all. No plans, no reservations, just some tents, dehydrated food, sandwiches and the occasional motel if the weather does not cooperate. My wife may divorce me after this one...she has not been in a tent in over thirty years..... I will keep you guys posted :)

My daughter and I did a similar trip last year. We started in Massachusetts and ended in Utah. No plans. Just a car and a bunch of gear. Best trip ever. Saw so many great places and awesome people.
 
Stop by the Custer battlefield (SE of Billings), I've been there many times and it never fails to stir emotions. Another interesting stop is the old state prison in Deer Lodge, it reminds me of my younger days.
 
Shoshone Falls is what you are referring to near twin falls. Stop by the Perrine bridge to watch some base jumpers jump off, if the weathers nice there is lots of them to watch.

In Twin Falls: Visit Reds Trading Post if you have time (not a huge attraction, but this is a gun forum right), it's Idahos oldest gun shop. Eat at Jakers and order the Cap Steak, my favorite steak of all time.

Redfish Lake, Sawtooths near Stanley, Stanley Lake, Yankee fork mining dredge, Custer ghost town. These would be north of twin falls about 2 hours.

Sun valley and Ketchum are along the way if one wants to hob knob with the celebrities.
 
If you like to hike and to run into grizzlies I can tell you the most beautiful hike in Glacier Park IMHO. The Two Medicine campground to Cobolt Lake. Or some others in Mini Glacier. I'll be working there in a coupla weeks.
 
On your way over to Twin Falls, be sure to stop by this place - . Naturally, being a 3rd generation Idahoan, and spending most of my life in southern Idaho, I've been over to Shoshone Falls quite a few times. Cauldron Lynn is less known, and in my opinion, a lot more spectacular. My wife and I saw it for the first time just 3 or 4 years ago. The whole Snake River flows through a very narrow slot, goes over a falls, and dumps into a bowl with so much force you can feel it in your feet and legs. Don't fall in. You'd have very little chance of surviving it, and unlike Shoshone Falls, there are no guardrails, tourist platforms, watchful guides and warning signs.
You can find directions to Cauldron Lynn by doing a simple Google search. It's near Murtaugh, easy to find, and hardly out of your way if you're driving from Burley to Twin Falls.
Also in my opinion, the Sawtooths in central Idaho, up out of Sun Valley, are more spectacular than the Tetons. And in our younger days, my wife and I did a lot of climbing in the Tetons, so it's not just my "Idaho Snob" attitude talking. Besides, one side of the Tetons is in Idaho anyway.:D
Just to keep this gun related though - if you have the time, you can stop by our place (we're not far off I-15) on your way back to Utah. We'll have coffee, talk guns, and maybe even get out and shoot my new Freedom Arms .357.:)
 
Bush Pilot said:
Stop by the Custer battlefield (SE of Billings), I've been there many times and it never fails to stir emotions. Another interesting stop is the old state prison in Deer Lodge, it reminds me of my younger days.
Click to expand...

Both suggestions are good ones.
Stayed in Deer Lodge a few times way back when- Stayed at Scharfs Motor Lodge and ate at the attached restaurant, one of the best steaks I can remember- before the economy turned on the good folks there. Randomly went to the high school football game there one night. We did the prison tour during the day and went to dinner and the gentleman who gave us the detailed tour was there with his wife, he called us over and we sat a while with them. It was a great example to our young kids. Seriously almost bought a house there in 1992- $23,000!

Whitefish Lake lodge- Fantastic place to stay if you are looking for indoor accommodations.
 
I was lucky enough to have lived in kalispellI. If youre going thru kalispell hit Mooses Saloon for great pizza.
If heading into gnp from that side then trail of the cedars and avalanche lake...get there early cuz parkings limited.
Then just meander your way up going to the sun road. Pullouts are obvious and have great views.
Polebridge Mercantile for some famous huckleberry bear claws then down the road to bowman lake. 4X4 or suv is recommended. Its a dirt road that at times can get rutted up but still easily drivable.

Enjoy yourselves and take pictures at every chance. Most will never see such beauty in their entire life.

Learn the difference between black bear and brown bear droppings.
Black bear has berrys and nuts in it.
Brown bear has bear bells and smells like pepper spray ;)
 
peterk1234 said:
Thousand Springs Creek.
Click to expand...
You're probably thinking about "Thousand Springs" the area, peterk 1234, not "Thousand Springs Creek." Thousand Springs is an area in the Snake River Canyon, not far below Twin Falls, where waterfalls flow out of the canyon's sidewalls and dump into the river. It's pretty. While "Thousand Springs Creek" is just a creek that merges with the Big Lost River, which in turn merges with the Little Lost River, and sinks into the ground over near Howe, Idaho - a hundred mile or so NE of Twin Falls. The Lost Rivers are thought to be the source of Thousand Springs.:)
 
.308 Norma said:
You're probably thinking about "Thousand Springs" the area, peterk 1234, not "Thousand Springs Creek." Thousand Springs is an area in the Snake River Canyon, not far below Twin Falls, where waterfalls flow out of the canyon's sidewalls and dump into the river. It's pretty. While "Thousand Springs Creek" is just a creek that merges with the Big Lost River, which in turn merges with the Little Lost River, and sinks into the ground over near Howe, Idaho - a hundred mile or so NE of Twin Falls. The Lost Rivers are thought to be the source of Thousand Springs.:)
Click to expand...

I had an uncle who had a house on the Little Lost. My cousin Mel and I spent hours fishing that river.
 
I see mentions of gun carry and of visiting national parks. You should understand how those two things go together. I have not gone back to check the rules just now, but my recollection is that you can carry in a national park only if you have a permit for the state that the park is in.
 
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