Coeur d'Alene · $$$$$ — Iconic floating green
Road trips · Idaho
Idaho road trips & hidden gems.
Idaho is wilder than people expect — Sawtooth peaks over alpine lakes, the deepest river canyon in North America, and hot springs in the snow. Summer opens the high country; spring runs the whitewater. Big, empty, beautiful.
Best time to visitSummer (high country)
Don’t missRedfish Lake under the Sawtooths
Gem Hunt nominees10 candidates
Hikes12 curated
Scenic drives1
Gem Hunt nominees
What locals say you shouldn’t miss.
Community-nominated candidates. Add yours and vote to help choose the first published finalists.
Silver City
A near-intact 1860s mining boomtown at 6,200 feet in the Owyhee Mountains of southwest Idaho, with around 70 weathered original buildings and the dirt road in open roughly May to October.
City of Rocks National ReserveA surreal field of billion-year-old granite spires near Almo in south-central Idaho, where climbers share trails with California Trail ruts and pioneer names written in axle grease.
Mesa Falls Scenic BywayTwo of the last undammed major waterfalls in the West thunder past an ancient super-eruption near Ashton in eastern Idaho, with a boardwalk right up to Upper Mesa Falls' 110-foot drop.
Lava Hot SpringsA laid-back southeast Idaho town built around mineral pools that bubble up around 102 to 112 degrees, just 11 miles off I-15 — soak year-round and tube the Portneuf River in summer.
Idaho Potato MuseumA cheerfully self-aware shrine to the spud in Blackfoot, with the world's largest potato crisp and a gift shop that leans all the way into the joke — a quick, fun pull-off near I-15.
Little City of RocksNorth of Gooding off Highway 46, a hidden BLM canyon of volcanic-ash hoodoos, mushroom rocks, arches, and ancient petroglyphs along a quiet 4-mile loop — far less crowded than its famous namesake.
The big ones
National parks in Idaho.
The bucket-list landscapes — when to go and what not to miss.
Explore by interest
Everything else worth a stop in Idaho.
Start with a few highlights, choose one interest, or explicitly open the full state guide.
Showing General guide and Scenic routes highlights. Choose a category or Show all for the full state guide.
Scenic drives
Scenic routes through Idaho.
More worth the detour
The general guide to Idaho.
Museums, monuments, historic sites, and local-only stops from Roamward's shared place map.
Boots on
Best hikes in Idaho.
From family-easy to bucket-list — trails worth the detour, great for the RV & camping crew.
Alice Lake
a postcard alpine basin in the Sawtooths
Broken Top Loopa compact volcanic sampler through lava flows, pressure ridges, and the split remains of a cinder cone
Bruneau Dunes Summitthe tallest single-structure sand dune in North America
Fishhook Creekan easy meadow walk with Sawtooth views
Geological Interpretive Traila gentle, self-guided geology walk among City of Rocks' granite towers, with twelve interpretive stops and huge basin views
Goldbug Hot Springsa canyon hike to riverside soaking pools
Beyond the parks
Wild lands in Idaho.
National forests, wilderness, and monuments — the big scenic public land between the parks and the gems.
Where to wake up
Camping in Idaho.
The most scenic places to pitch a tent or park the rig — each with how to reserve and how RV-friendly it is.
Raise a glass
Breweries, distilleries & wineries in Idaho.
The trip-worthy taprooms, distilleries, and wine country.
Where to eat
Road-trip dining in Idaho.
Restaurants, diners, and food halls that fit the drive — curated by town, not scraped from a phone book.
ALAVITA
Cozy brick-walled trattoria making fresh pasta daily with Northwest flour and local farm eggs, a downtown favorite for rustic Italian.
Ansots Basque ChorizosDan Ansotegui's family spot in the historic Pioneer Building, built around house-made Basque chorizos and small plates like marinated solomo.
Bar GernikaLongtime Basque Block pub serving hearty Basque comfort food and croquetas, a Boise institution anchoring the city's Basque heritage.
Barbacoa GrillUpscale steakhouse known for bold Latin-inspired flavors and tableside theater, including a signature hot rock steak cooked at your table.
Chandlers Prime Steaks & Fine SeafoodThe Treasure Valley's only Forbes Travel Guide recommended restaurant, pairing prime steaks and fresh seafood with nightly live jazz.
Epi's A Basque RestaurantFamily-run Basque restaurant honoring Grandma Epi with traditional recipes, welcoming hospitality, and generous plates of croquetas and solomo.
Snow season
Best ski resorts in Idaho.
Big-mountain steeps, all-mountain variety, and family hills.
On two wheels (road)
Best cycling in Idaho.
Scenic road rides, iconic climbs, and car-free rail-trails.
Knobby tires
Best mountain biking in Idaho.
Trail systems, bike parks, and gravel routes.
Soak it in
Best hot springs in Idaho.
Resorts, historic bathhouses, and wild primitive soaks.
Goldbug Hot Springs
a 2-mile climb to a string of cascading creekside pools.
Kirkham Hot Springsroadside pools and hot waterfalls on the South Fork Payette.
Lava Hot Springsodorless mineral pools in a classic small soaking town.
Burgdorf Hot Springsa historic sand-bottom pool at a remote ghost-town resort.
Boat Box Hot Springa one-person iron cauldron on the Salmon River under the Sawtooths.
Jerry Johnson Hot Springsforest pools off the Lochsa River on the Lewis and Clark route.
Chasing water
Best waterfalls in Idaho.
From roadside stops to bucket-list hikes — easy ones flagged for the RV & family crew.
Shoshone Falls
the "Niagara of the West," taller than Niagara on the Snake River.
Elk Creek Fallsa chain of falls in the forests of north-central Idaho.
Upper Mesa Fallsa thundering Henrys Fork fall with a boardwalk right at the brink.
Lower Mesa Fallsa Henrys Fork fall seen from a scenic overlook.
Fall Creek Falls (ID)a wide fall pouring into the Snake River below Palisades Reservoir.
Jump Creek Fallsa desert-canyon fall in the Owyhees near the Oregon line.
Tee it up
Public golf you can book in Idaho.
Worley · $$$$
Sun Valley · $$$$
Donnelly · $$$
Eagle · $$
Lewiston · $$
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