It’s incredibly difficult to choose the best-of-the-best when the Boise National Forest has such plentiful scenic beauty. With all the hot springs, alpine peaks, wooded trails, and small towns, you could spend a lifetime in this forest alone and never get bored. But where to begin? These five experiences offer a little of everything, from music to wildflowers and whitewater.
Keep in mind when visiting popular areas especially, that these are shared and sometimes sensitive spaces. Practice responsible recreation by following leave no trace principles, as well as abiding by leash laws, trail etiquette, and any other posted Forest Service notices.
Deadwood Lookout Cabin
This cabin is a pinnacle of the Boise National Forest. Literally, the Deadwood Lookout is up on a peak with incredible views in all directions, and it’s located almost in the exact center of the Boise National Forest. You can watch the sun rise from your bed in this historic Forest Service cabin and venture over to Deadwood Reservoir for fishing or swimming in the heat of an afternoon.
It’s one of the most popular rental cabins in Idaho for good reason. Reservations open six months in advance and it may take luck and persistence to book your stay—but the views of the stars at night and peaks rolling away in every direction are worth it.
Yellow Pine Harmonica Festival
Yellow Pine is a small community located in the backcountry of the Boise National Forest northeast of Cascade. While it’s always worth checking out this community to camp or access the surrounding wilderness, the Yellow Pine Harmonica Festival is an extra fun time to visit. The family-friendly event held mid-summer includes lots of live music, harmonica lessons, and live demonstrations for wood carving and fly casting.
Cabarton Run of the Payette River
Idaho is famous for its whitewater, but the intensity of rafting can often be intimidating. Luckily there’s the Cabarton Run. If it’s the only river rafting you experience, you’ll find a variety of trusted guides that can see you safely down this stretch of the Payette River from May through September.
Intermediate whitewater with class II-III rapids flows through ten miles of the Boise National Forest—including under the Rainbow Bridge. The Cabarton is also touted as a family-friendly rafting option, with several calm sections perfect for swimming, and great picnic beaches along the way.
Rainbow Basin Trail
While the Boise National Forest may not have as many alpine lakes as other parts of Idaho, the Rainbow Basin boasts nine(!) of them, along with abundant wildflowers and the wooded alpine feel of hiking near dramatic peaks in the Trinity Mountains.
Accessible from Mountain Home via the Big Trinity Lake Trailhead, the Rainbow Basin Trail is a 4-mile out-and-back trail, where you can choose-your-own-adventure of which lakes to visit. Melting snow can block road access through June, so plan your day hike or overnight backpacking trip for July or later. The Trinities are also special in the fact that they have the highest elevation vehicle access in Idaho (therefore fewer hiking miles to reach backcountry when you can park at 8,000 feet) but the roads can be challenging and slow to travel. Four-wheel drive and good clearance are helpful.
Bonneville Campground and Hot Springs
Located 19 miles east of Lowman just off Highway 21, this camping area has it all: plentiful shade beneath towering Ponderosa pines, a quarter-mile trail to soak in Bonneville Hot Springs, and access to a clear, cold creek. These springs are more difficult to access than the popular Kirkham Hot Springs nearby, but the pools are often much less crowded. Camping is available May to September by either first-come or reservations on recreation.gov, but the hot springs could be visited any time of year that the snow isn’t too high to access the trail.
About the Author
Hailey Hirst is a writer and multi-passionate creative from Idaho, who now calls British Columbia home. She is the co-author of Women & Water and has a decade of experience writing and editing stories that celebrate our connections with the natural world.
Our Forests Need Us Today.
Your donation powers critical, on-the-ground conservation—from wildfire recovery to watershed restoration—protecting forests for the future.
