5 minute read
Summer Adventure
PHOTO COURTESY OF IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
A Southern Idaho State Park Road Trip
BY CHELSEA CHAMBERS
It’s a mid-summer day. The subtle chill of the morning air has quickly disappeared, and the promise of August heat settles over my coffee, the ice cubes already beginning to melt. My phone lights up from the table beside me with a text from a friend that just says, “Road trip?” followed by a series of car and sunshine emojis. That sounds like a perfect way to spend the day! I respond, “Let’s go find some water! Camp?” Tent emoji, splash emoji, heart.
After making impressively fast work at packing my bags and grabbing everything salty and crunchy in my cabinet, I head out the door, my friend already waiting in the driveway. She honks twice and turns up the music. It’s time to leave Boise behind for a little while and see what we could see in the southern Idaho sunshine.
We hit I-84 towards Mountain Home with an early plan in mind: ascending the Bruneau Sand Dunes before 10 a.m. The sand gets pretty hot in the summer afternoons, and there are sandboards with our names on them.
Bruneau Dunes State Park
Towering more than 470 feet in the air, Bruneau Dunes State Park is home to the tallest single-structure sand dune in the U.S. and two of the largest public telescopes in Idaho. Bruneau was also recently designated as an official Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association. This designation will prevent future development from encroaching on the park and will help to protect the stunning night sky.
After a challenging hike up the small dune, we have a few snacks by the pond and stop by the visitor center to refill our water bottles. The front desk staff tells us that Three Island Crossing State Park was just 40 minutes down the highway and a must-stop on our road trip.
Three Island Crossing State Park
Three Island Crossing, located in Glenns Ferry, was an important stop on the Oregon Trail where emigrants would brave the raging Snake River or be forced to travel more than 80 miles to the next crossing point.
We explore the park’s education center for a while and spend some time bird watching by the river before packing up and heading to our next destination: Thousand Springs State Park. We want to see the falls at Ritter Island, one of the six units of Thousand Springs.
Thousand Springs State Park - Ritter Island Unit
Just 39 miles from Three Island Crossing is the Ritter Island unit of Thousand Springs in Hagerman. Ritter Island’s impressive history showcases the tale of Minnie Miller and her prize-winning Guernsey cows.
We explore Miller’s old barn and farmlands and are inspired by her entrepreneurship and dedication. Amid the backdrop of breathtaking views and waterfalls bursting from the rocks, we have a late lunch next to the crystal blue spring water and watch two river otters play under the bridge. A belted kingfisher plunges into the water and returns unsuccessfully. We wish him well and carry on to our destination of the day: Lake Walcott State Park, where we have a campsite and look forward to taking our inflatable kayaks onto the lake.
Lake Walcott State Park
Just over an hour outside Ritter Island is Lake Walcott State Park, located in Rupert on the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge. This grassy park is nestled along the shorelines of the beautiful Lake Walcott and is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Reports have shown more than 230 different species of birds spotted in this area.
We arrive at Lake Walcott in the late afternoon, surprised to find that we had traveled less than three hours from Boise but had seen so much. We’d climbed massive dunes, learned about Idaho history, ate lunch near a waterfall, and kayaked while bird-watching. We grab our kayaks and hit the lake with our binoculars to see what birds we can find. We plan to grill up some burgers for dinner and watch the sun set on a perfect, sunny August day. Who knows, maybe tomorrow we’ll stop by Castle Rocks State Park before we head home. Afterall, it’s only another hour down the highway.
