Hiking in Idaho
Idaho is a hiker’s dream.
We have more than 19,000 miles of trails, big wilderness areas with hiking trails galore in the Sawtooth Wildernessor the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, the 900-mile Idaho Centennial Trail, and much more.
In the desert region of Idaho, there are nifty trails in the Owyhee Mountains, accessed from the Owyhee Uplands Backcountry Byway in the Big Jacks Creek and Little Jacks Creek areas, Reynolds Creek and Leslie Gulch, just across the Oregon border.
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Bruneau Sand Dunes, featuring some of the tallest
single-strucutre dunes in the West, is a great place to hike or play
in the sand - courtesy, Steve Stuebner
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Craters of the Moon National Monument, City of Rocks and Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument all have hiking trails to explore with educational aspects.
Idaho’s 25 state parks have many neat hiking trails, particularly at Harriman State Park near Ashton, Ponderosa State Park near McCall, Bruneau Dunes State Park near Bruneau, Priest Lake State Park near Sandpoint, and Farragut State Park near Coeur d’Alene.
Idaho’s 10 national forests are chock-full of thousands of miles of trails. Popular destinations include trails in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, including the Sawtooth Wilderness (most popular in Idaho) and White Clouds Primitive Area, and Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.
Hiking opportunities in the Frank Church Wilderness and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness are nearly endless. These are two of the largest wilderness areas in the lower 48 states; there are many loop trails or long-distance trails to explore. The nearby Clearwater National Forest is home to one of the most primitive sections of the Lewis & Clark Trail, where you can still camp along the trail and travel by vehicle, mountain bike or foot and learn about Lewis & Clark’s challenges crossing Lolo Pass from interpretive signs along the way.
Most people prefer to go on self-guided hiking trips. So the next best thing to a human guide is a trail guidebook. Check out this list of Idaho hiking guides to search for a book that provides information for the areas you wish to explore.
Here are some other links to check out for Idaho hiking opportunities:
Web sites for each of Idaho’s National Forests may have online information about individual hiking trails: