Category: Site-Seeing

Historic Thomas Mercantile in Swan Lake Idaho has been restored and is now open. They have a convenience store, deli, game tables, souvenirs, fresh bakery items and much more! Located on Highway 91 between Preston and Downey. Visit their Facebook page for daily specials and restoration stories and photos.

Octagon Spring was a popular gathering place for local residents and for visitors to the famous Idanha Hotel,built in 1887,which was just across the street to the south of the spring.

This preserve north of Soda Springs provides habitat for migrating waterfowl such as Sandhill cranes, Franklin's gulls, geese, ducks and hawks.

Jesse Cariboo" Jack Fairchild discovered gold high on this mountain in 1870 and a mining rush from Utah followed. Millions of dollars worth of gold were mined before it ran out."

Celebrate Welsh Culture and History in Samaria Idaho. Malad Valley Heritage Square is a wonderful collection of Pioneer era cabins, an old fashioned Ice Cream store, covered wagons and farm machinery. It includes the Osmond Family Homestead. Visit their Facebook page for news and events. View a poster of Malad Valley…

This district is architecturally and historically significant and is one of the regions most diverse and well-preserved urban street scapes. A variety of architectural styles are represented in the district, including Gothic Revival, Romanesque Revival, Sullivanesque and Art Deco, as well as many adaptations of early 20th-century commercial styles with…

Part of Massacre Rocks State Park, was an emigrant campground where travelers inscribed their names on basalt boulders. As travelers on the Oregon Trail paused at Register Rock, they succumbed to the all too human desire to leave word of their passage.  They inscribed their names and often the date…

The Bear River Heritage Area straddles the Idaho-Utah border where the Great Basin and the Rocky Mountains meet. Come and experience its unique and varied cultural heritage. www.bearriverheritage.com

This cabin, one of the first built on the Nine Mile Creek in Marsh Valley, was erected by William Jason and Cyrus Coffin before 1866. Later it was purchased by Abigail Coffin, who with her sons, Nathan, Cyrus, and William were among the first settlers. They used the cabin for the first school and store.

The January 29, 1863 Bear River Massacre of 250 or more Native Americans, by Colonel Patrick Connor and his troops, occurred here. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990. The battle became one of the worst disasters for Native Americans in the west.

This sparkling turquoise lake spanning the Idaho-Utah border offers swimming, boating, water skiing, sailing and fishing.

47,000 acres of sagebrush and grasses comprise the only National Grassland in the intermountain west that provides habitat for a diversity of wildlife including upland game birds and waterfowl.

The Blackfoot River Canyon is a smaller version of the Snake River Birds of Prey Area and makes for an excellent backcountry scenic drive.

China Hat and China Cap are rhyolite domes that formed around older volcano lava flows. There are many faults located in the area which have had a part in forming these land forms as well as multiple "grabens". This is also a great Bird Watching area. The best bird viewing…

Over 300,000 emigrants used the Oregon-California Trail between 1840 and 1869. Three ruts are visible at the bottom of the hill, indicating that the wagons and oxen spread out to reduce the dust.

Free, clear sparkling soda water still is available in a beautiful Soda Springs city park located two miles north from the center of town. A prime attraction for more than 160 years, soda water from these springs was known nationally after rail service reached this resort area in 1882. W.H….

Soda Springs boasts having the world's only captive geyser. On November 30, 1937 in an attempt to find a hot water source for a local swimming pool, a well driller set free the natural geyser at a depth of 317 feet. It is located on Pyramid Spring, a travertine mound described by Fremont in his 1840s expeditions, along with other area springs.

Visit Idaho’s largest butterfly house where you can enjoy the beauty of many different species of butterflies, plants and birds. Showcasing many different species found here in Idaho.  Walk through the indoor botanical garden and watch the butterflies flutter around you.

In 1989, 160-acres surrounding Formation Springs was turned into a preserve established by the Nature Conservancy to protect the crystal clear pools and unique wetland complex.  The water feeding these terraced pools is very high in travertine (calcium carbonate), which has created a unique geology for the area, the most impressive…

The site is a 7 mile segment of "The Lander Cut-off of the Oregon Trail", the first road commissioned by Congress with funding for location and construction. F.W. Lander supervised the project.

Open summer only. The oldest continually settled town in Idaho, Franklin was founded in 1860 by Mormon pioneers. Several original buildings stand in the historic district: the Relic Hall, the old ZCMI store, the Hatch House, and others. The Old Yellowstone Route is just outside of Franklin where stagecoaches full…

The first department store in Idaho, the Evans Co-op, which was part of the Mormon cooperative movement, ZCMI, of the 1860s, in which local production and purchasing was encouraged through cooperatives.  The co-op has been used as a bank, a True Value Hardware Store, and others. Visit the Idaho History…

The Cave was formed when basalt lava flowed out of a vent 500 thousand years ago forming a lava tube typical to this type of volcanic activity on the Snake River Plains. It was important to early settlers and native Americans for food storage. John A. Dalton, the original homesteader,…

This location along US 30 provides a spectacular view of the Bear River. Sherman Peak, at an elevation of 9,682 feet, can be seen in the distance. The 300-mile river is one of the most circuitous in the United States.

This beautiful gem of the byway could be easily passed or overlooked if travelers aren't already aware of it. The Black Canyon Gorge is just one mile west of Grace and offers display of a basalt lava flow combined with the effects of nature over time. The Bear River formed…

Red Rock Pass was cut through a sill of resistant Paleozoic shale, limestone, and dolomite, and forms a narrow gap two miles long. At one time the pass was at the shoreline of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, 300 feet higher. Lava flows in the vicinity of Pocatello diverted the Bear River through Lake Thatcher into Lake Bonneville.

In 1878, Ben Waldron lost his leg in a threshing accident. The leg was buried on the east side of the cemetery and was given a headstone with a leg carved on it, along with the initials “B.W.” and the date. Ben himself did not die until 1914, and he…

Sheep Rock was the location of the first split of the Oregon-California Trail. The Bidwell-Bartleson Party and the Hudspeth Cutoff diverged from the main trail here. Oregon Trail Public Park and Marina – This park, on the shore of Alexander Reservoir, features a marina, picnic area and playground, and a remnant of the Oregon Trail.

Built in 1892 by Isaac Evans, the Blue Goose was originally a furniture store and Post Office. Clarence Hughes runs this charming store, which was moved to the town park in Samaria to keep it from being torn down. He sells local crafts, cookbooks, candy and sodas, and has video rentals.

This site offers wildlife viewing, fishing, and (further up the river) kayaking and canoeing.

Open year round. The theme, purpose, and value of the museum is to sell the public on the value of clean. Cleaning efforts over the centuries will be chronicled through displays, demonstrations, and even dramatized in a cleaning melodrama. Items dating back more than 2000 years, along with an amazing…

This small remote lake is located at the top of the mountain in a spectacular setting. Enjoy beautiful scenery of wildflowers, huge cliffs and 2 lakes. Bloomington Lake is a high elevation glacial lake with great trout fishing! The last one-quarter mile is limited to foot travel only.  Trailhead opens…

Open year round. Visitors will discover dinosaurs, ice-age mammals, how to live off the land, and more. They can also experience science hands-on in the Discovery Room! See fossils of animals that used to live right here in Idaho, including whorl tooth sharks and dinosaurs! Children will get excited about…

Corrigan Park or City Park as it is commonly referred to is located in downtown Soda springs right alongside Highway 30. At 11 1/2 acres it is the city's second largest park. View Historical trains on site. Look for the Byway historic maps on the south end of the park….

Tour through a wondrous half-mile of stalactites and stalagmites in the largest limestone cave in Idaho.

A Shoshone Indian Chief who gained national notoriety during the struggle between white emigrants and Native Americans. When he died in 1884, he was buried in a deep spring in Idaho along with his clothing, guns, knives and hunting equipment. The city of Pocatello is named in his honor and erected his statue at the Pocatello Visitor's Center.

This store was built in 1908 and is a last remnant of a small but important livestock community in that time. The once famous Henry Stampede Rodeo and Stockman's Reunion began here in 1918. This mercantile store played an important role in the history of this place, and today, the…