1 Week Driving Tour - Is this to much to fit in? (Boise: rent, how much)

[irishman_irl]

Hi,

My wife & I are returning to Idaho for a 6 day driving tour after spending a week rafting on the middle fork river in 2010, during that stay we spent the first & last night of our trip in Stanley & absolutely loved it....however as we drove from/to home (San Francisco) in a single day, we did not get a chance to do any touring around.

This is a last minute trip, locations we have in mind so far are:

1. Boise - for an afternoon
2. Stanley - a must stop, at least for one night
3. Craters of the Moon NM
4. Yellowstone (very optional - looks like its going to add a lot of mileage)
5. Coeur d'alene / CDL

However, apart from Stanley, our itinerary is very open. We both are in our late 20's & are looking for a combination of car-touring & hiking, we are really hoping to experience (in order):

1. Large open alpine spaces with rivers / meadows & imposing mountains - dramatic big sky scenery.
2. Natural Hot Springs (ideally not developed)
3. Day hikes
4. Little crowding
5. Camping (hoping to camp in areas with low bear / wolf populations - wife is terrified of encountering any dangerous game at night)
6. Mountains - really not into deserts

Just wondering if you think the locations mentioned above are to much to fit into 6 days? Do you have any suggestions where we should visit instead or in general about our itinerary?

All suggestions welcome, thanks for reading!


Hoping to find locations such as the following, these make me drool:

[brokencrayola]

You can forget Yellowstone in there, that is slow driving, lots to see and needs to be a trip on its own.

You are going from one end of the state, Coeur d' Alene to the other, Boise. If you are wanting to bike and camp and hike etc. that is not a lot of time at all. I think I would be a general area and spend time there.

[zoso1979]

You might want to consider doing the "loop" Boise, Sun Valley, Stanley loop with stays for camping, day hiking and generally enjoying the mountains, where you choose. It would be very doable and enjoyable in 6 days. here's a link with some addl info.

Driving Trip from Boise | Idaho | NileGuide

I think trying to fit anything else in will likely be much more driving time, and a lot less sight seeing.

[banjomike]

You can do Boise, Stanley and the Craters in 2-3 days easily. Yellowstone would be about a 4hour hour drive from the Craters, but the Craters can be pretty well seen in a few hours, so it would be good for a late afternoon visit, then a drive into Idaho Falls. W. Yellowstone is about 2 hours away from Idaho Falls.
The traffic in the park is indeed slow, but it is possible to see some of the most popular stuff there in one day; that will mean skipping a lot, but I've done it several times.

The biggest drive would be from Yellowstone to Coeur d'Alene. That's a full 12 hours or more.

I think the best trip to do would be to start with Yellowstone, and fly into either Jackson Hole or I.F., rent a car and drive throughout the park, then to the Craters, Stanley, and Boise. Then fly to C d'A, rent another car for touring, and fly out of there to return home.

Bring some drooling bibs! Your excursion is going to go through some of the very best Idaho has to offer.

[lovecda]

Doing Yellowstone and the rest in six days might make it too rushed. The rest could be done easily. The trip to North Idaho from southern Idaho takes 8-12 hours depending on the route & number of stops, so that will be quite the drive, especially if you sightsee along the way. You may want to decide on a waypoint somewhere in between to camp for a night.

That's not to say it can't be done including Yellowstone. I made an eight day swing around Idaho & Montana including Yellowstone that was quite enjoyable.
Coeur d'Alene to Nampa - 1 day
Nampa to Idaho Falls (with a 2-hour stop in Twin Falls) - 1 day
Idaho Falls to Grand Teton and then up to Yellowstone - 1 day
Hiking in Yellowstone - 1 day
Hiking in Glacier - 2 days
Flathead Lake - 1 day
Home to Coeur d'Alene (stopping in Missoula for awhile) 1 day

It really depends on how much time you plan to spend in Yellowstone. If you've never been, you could spend several days there doing stuff. But since I've been there half a dozen times over my life, I hate throngs of people and a lot of roads were closed off due to construction, we didn't end up spending too much time there on that trip.

[TohobitPeak]

Originally Posted by irishman_irl

However, apart from Stanley, our itinerary is very open. We both are in our late 20's & are looking for a combination of car-touring & hiking, we are really hoping to experience (in order):

1. Large open alpine spaces with rivers / meadows & imposing mountains - dramatic big sky scenery.
2. Natural Hot Springs (ideally not developed)
3. Day hikes
4. Little crowding
5. Camping (hoping to camp in areas with low bear / wolf populations - wife is terrified of encountering any dangerous game at night)
6. Mountains - really not into deserts

I would suggest just sticking to the Boise/Sun Valley/Stanley loop and add McCall into the mix. These areas will show you the diversity of Idaho's landscapes without driving all over the state and can easily fill up 6 days of driving and exploring. Yellowstone is too far away and crowded and should be set aside for a couple of days at least, so I would leave that for another time. Coeur d'Alene is amazing and you would want to set aside a week to explore North Idaho, but to save time you could visit McCall if you want to experience an alpine resort town on a beautiful glacial lake, Payette Lake. It is similar to Sandpoint and CD'A but smaller and more intimate. McCall is north of Boise and the drive from Boise to get there is one of the most beautiful in the state.

Here is a breakdown for each of your numbered items.

1. You have seen Stanley and the Sawtooth areas, Sun Valley and the McCall area also fit this description and the forests near McCall are deep dark and moist. The mountains in view from McCall I think offer some of Idaho's most beautiful scenery, of course behind the Sawtooths The drive north out of Boise to Stanley is incredibly scenic, forested, the highway winds along rivers.

2. Idaho is known as one of the top states for natural hot springs, they are all over the state, but the greatest concentration is outside of Boise towards Garden Valley, Stanley/Sun Valley and McCall. A popular Boise thing to do is hit natural hot springs nearby for an evening or a weekend.

3. Day hikes are of course unlimited anywhere in the state.

4. Crowding depends on the location, time of year, time of day, etc.

5. Camping is easy and plentiful, wildlife depends on the area of the state you are in. North Idaho has grizzly bears to worry about, Central and Southern Idaho has the wolf, but I have never heard of a wolf attacking a camper.

6. Idaho is one of the most mountainous states in the nation and the locations I have suggested fit the mountain wish for sure. When you are in Boise you could even check out some beautiful desert scenery near the city too. Spend a day and night in Boise and explore the city. Boise emulates the great Idaho outdoors right in the city and many people I know who visit think many areas of Boise including downtown has a resort type feel. While in Boise you can go to national forest offices and local sporting goods stores and obtain information about hikes, hot springs and drives. The city is a great base to explore Idaho.



p.s. I forgot to add that when I think of Yellowstone in the summer, which I have visited many, many times, I think of long lines of cars, diesel pick up trucks with big campers blocking views on the roads, naieve people going crazy over a deer or chipmunk and stopping traffic to take a photo, busloads of tourists everywhere. I avoid national parks in the summer and if you are coming to visit Idaho don't waste time going to Montana or Wyoming Yellowstone is great to visit before or after the summer rush.