I have to admit something. I have been completely taken by surprise at the diversity of landscapes within the State of Idaho. We have been to Caribbean type waters and rock cliffs, mountains, lava fields, forests, open fields, reservoirs and canyons. A week ago we found two new landscapes: dunes and water falls.
Each time I think I have seen all of the landscapes that Idaho has to offer, another one pops up. I expected to find fields because they are famous for potatoes and need to grow them somewhere. I figured it had mountains and forests due to the Rockies going through the state. I was somewhat surprised by the lava fields at Craters of the Moon. But it was believable to me. However, when I learned that there were sand dunes in Idaho. That really blew my mind. I expect to find sand dunes in the Southwest, where the deserts are. But not in Central Idaho.
Just a few miles outside of the town of St. Anthony, Idaho, you will find the St. Anthony Sand Dunes. This is a 10,600 acre State Park that is made up of white quartz sand with some of the dunes hitting 400 feet high. It is truly unbelievable. We do not travel with ATVs or dirt bikes (motorcycles), so we ventured out there just to check it out. We found a place for free public parking just across the road from an area called Sand Mountain. We parked and hiked on over to the dunes.
Immediately when we arrived, the Nomadic Sons challenged each other to being able to run up the dunes. This continued on one dune after another. And, when they found some cardboard, the challenges extended into trying to ride the cardboard down the dunes, like a sled. I am not sure if it the type of sand or the quality of cardboard that we found, but the sledding challenges and dreams did not go as expected. One thing we decided, if we ever go to sand dunes again (which is likely when we journey to the Southwest) we are going to pick up some of those thin, plastic snow sleds. We saw some little kids on them and they were zipping along.
After we got our fill of the sand dunes and getting sand in all types of uncomfortable areas, we headed on down the road about 20 to 30 minutes to a scenic byway that took us to Mesa Falls. The scenic byway is near Ashton, Idaho. There are signs, so it is hard to miss. The Mesa Falls Scenic Byway will take you across the Warm River and through the mountains. You will eventually, if traveling from the south, come to the Lower Mesa Falls.
The Lower Mesa Falls are located on the Henry’s Fork River about 15 miles from Ashton. There is a nicely kept parking lot that you can pull into. It has porta potty type facilities and a nice walking path. If you venture down the paved path, you will come to an overlook that will allow you to see a great view of the river gorge and the Lower Mesa Falls, which is a multi-step set of falls with an overall height of 65 feet or so. Even though most of the leaves have fallen from the deciduous trees, there were so many evergreens that the entire valley still looked beautiful.
After taking in the view for a bit, we jumped into Ebony and headed on up the road, north, towards the Upper Mesa Falls, which is about 2 miles away. There is a turnoff road that will take you to a parking lot. This one is larger than the Lower Falls. It has porta potty type facilities and a parking area for large vehicles. There are paved walkways here as well. Unlike the Lower Falls, which had one paved walkway that went to the overlook and back, this one has a looped walkway. So, you can walk in either direction.
As you walk down the walkway, there are stairs for most and a wheelchair accessible ramp for those who need the ramp. Along the way, there are signs that tell you unique information about the falls, the wildlife, plants, the area and how things were formed. For instance, at its peak, over 2.5 billion gallons of water flows over the falls per day. And, the walls of the canyon were formed from none other than volcanic explosions, lava and volcanic dust; all very interesting. The walkway takes you within feet of the falls. The Upper Mesa Falls are around 114 feet tall. To get that close to them and see the falls and the surrounding area was a truly a wonderful sight to see.
We spent the day going from one extreme (Sand Dunes) to another (Water Falls) and it was all within an hour of each other. Idaho has proven to be a very diverse place as far as landscapes are concerned. No matter what you enjoy in the outdoors (short of surfing), I would venture to say that Idaho probably has the environment for you to play in. Safe Travels.
