The Ultimate Idaho Roadtrip Guide

DAY 1&2:(Starting June 12th)

• Fly in to Denver, spend 2 nights

DAY 3:(June 14th)

• Drive from  Denver to Grand Junction, about 4 hours
• Stop in Golden
• Stop in Glenwood Springs
• Check out a winery (or 2) in Grand Junction – our favorites are Carlson Vineyards and Colorado Cellars
• Catch a sunset from the Colorado National Monument 
• Stay at Hampton Inn Grand Junction

DAY 4:

• Drive from Grand Junction to Salt Lake City on 191  
• Hike Rabbit Valley in McDonald Canyon outside of GJ (4.1m, 173ft. elev. gain)
• Explore SLC
• Watch the sunset from Ensign point (get there early for parking!)
• Dinner at Gracie’s
• Drinks at London Belle
• Stay at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Salt Lake City

DAY5:

• Drive SLC to Jackson Hole, 5 hours
• Stop in Ogden, you can see the pool from The Sandlot
• Stop in Preston, a must for Napoleon Dynamite fans
• Stop in Blackfoot, cool small town. Have a beverage at The Bridge Street Saloon and check out Marilyn Monroe in a potato sack
• Blackfoot is also home to the Idaho Potato Museum (when in Rome) 
• Stop in Idaho Falls for lunch
• Detour to find Fall Creek Falls
• Stay 2 nights at the Hampton Inn Jackson Hole

DAY 6:

• Hike in Grand Teton National Park!
• Taggart Lake and Bradley Lake Loop (6m, 761 ft. elev. gain)
• Phelps Lake Overlook (2m, 413 ft. elev. gain)
• Dinner at Roadhouse Brewing Co.

DAY 7:

• Take the Jenny Lake Ferry from East to West dock, from Jenny Lake Visitor Center
• Hike Cascade Canyon (9.1m, 1,102 ft. elev. gain) *next time would like to continue to Lake Solitude 
• Stay 2 nights at the Signal Mountain Lodge – loved it,  highly recommend! We grabbed dinner from the attached general store and had dinner outside of our room while enjoying the incredible sunset view. 

DAY 8: 

• Hike Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes Trail (10.1m, 3,001 ft. elev. gain) *On June 19th this trail was still packed with snow after switchbacks, but it was well worth the effort, the view at the lake is incredible
• Drove around the Counter Bay area, very scenic tons of wildflowers

DAY 9:

• Drive from Grand Teton to Coeur d’Alene Idaho (we chose to do this entire 9 hours in a day with quick stops)
• Route takes you through Yellowstone (make sure to have NP pass!)
• Idaho 87, then 287N (scenic)
• Quick stops in Ennis and Phillipsburg
• Grab lunch in Missoula
• Stop in Wallace
• Stay 2 nights at the Hampton Inn & Suites

DAY 10: (june21)-

• Explore CDA
• Check out Sandpoint
• Quick hike Viewski loop trail (1.5m, 223ft)
• Hike in Farragut State Park – Evans Landing (4.0m, 1,135ft)
• Dinner at Collective Kitchen

DAY 11: 

• Drive CDA to Lewiston (2hr 15min)
• Stop in Steptoe Butte State Park, beautiful, unusual landscape
• Spend some time at the wineries in Lewiston/Clarkston area
  • *This area is covered with vineyards. Just be sure to check their hours as many of them are closed on Mondays (which, of course, is when we were there). Thankful that Basalt Cellars and Merry Cellars were open! 
• Lunch at Roosters and it was one of our favorite food stops on the trip (possibly influenced by post-vineyard hunger) 
• Stay at Hampton Inn Lewiston

DAY 12: 

• Jet boat tour of Hells Canyon via Snake River
  • *We got incredibly lucky here. Our plan was to hike in Hells Canyon, but we had a lot of trouble finding trails. We met a local at Rooster who told us the best way to see the canyon is by jet boat, and he just happened to know someone who would be willing to take us out last minute. We didn’t have to go through a tour company, but there are multiple options available here, here and here. 
• Drive Lewiston/Clarkson to Boise (5 hr, 15 min)
• Stop in McCall
• Stay 3 nights at Hilton Garden Inn

DAY 13:

• Explore Boise – Rose Garden, Feak alley for murals, Albertsons Stadium, Boise River Greenbelt
• Stopped for a few cocktails at Juniper and Hyde Park Pub because it was SO hot out
• Lunch at 13th Street
• Dinner at Solid

DAY14:

• Get up early to hike Table Rock Trail (3.7m, 879 ft. elev. gain)
• Drinks at Fork
• River float!
  • We bought a few floats at Meyer and put them in at Barber Park
• Dinner at Taphouse

DAY15:

• Drive Boise to Stanley (3 hr)
• Stop in Idaho City
• Start late hike Hell Roaring Canyon Trail (10.7m, 728 ft. elev. gain) It was awful, boring, hot, and buggy until the lake at the end
• Dinner at Sawtooth Luce’s
• Stay 2 nights at Redfish Riverside Inn – loved it so much highly recommend!

DAY16:

• Hike Sawtooth Lake (10m., 1,873 ft. elev. gain) Amazing the whole way
• Tried to check out Redfish Lake area, it was so crowded we couldn’t find anywhere to park

DAY17:

• Drive Stanley to Ketchum via Sawtooth Scenic Byway (1 hr, 10 min)
• Hike Pioneer Cabin (8 m., 2,572 ft. elev. gain) One of my most favorite hikes ever, worth the work it takes to get to the end
• Drinks at Warfield
• Lunch/drinks at the Cellar Pub
• Try the loaded potato at the Pioneer Saloon
• Stay at Best Western Plus 

DAY18:

• Drive Ketchum to SLC (4 hr 30 min)
• Stop in Shoshone
• Stop at Perrine Memorial Bridge
• Stop in Twin Falls – to see Shoshone Falls
• We used to love visiting SLC, but it’s changed a lot in the last few years – Still enjoyed our drinks at Beerhive Pub and dinner at the Green Pig
• Stay 2 nights at the Hilton Garden Inn 

DAY19:

• No trip to SLC is complete without hiking the Living Room
• Wander around Sugar House Park
• Dinner at Cafe Molise

DAY20: 

• Hike Brighton Lakes
• Stay at the Tru by Hilton