LA to Idaho and beyond

surferdave · 06-17-2019, 08:25 AM

Hi All
heading to Idaho for a wedding this month. Wedding is near Driggs Idaho. We are coming from Los Angeles area. Planing on two days to get to wedding so looking for a easy stop on the way prob somewhere just past Salt Lake. After the wedding we will have a week to explore so looking for advice and suggestion. We will be there 4th of July week so prob going to pass on yellowstone. Also have no camp reservations so looking for BLM OHV dispersed camping type situations. Driving a 4x4 e350, Do have two kids 8 and 10 but are well traveled.

shenrie · 06-17-2019, 10:00 AM

cant suggest anyplace to camp near slc, but I might have some ideas for you around the driggs area. are you prepared to camp amongst bears? what kind of activities are you looking for in that area?

surferdave · 06-17-2019, 10:12 AM

Yes, we are prepared to camp with bears. Some screening areas creeks, rivers etc. We do tons of desert so want to really enjoy alpine camping and things we dont have here. The less people the better. Ghost towns, hot springs, lakes, water falls. Anything interesting.

shenrie · 06-17-2019, 12:03 PM

theres some warm springs that might be worth checking out just inside of Teton park. the main one isn't really a soakworthy place, but there are some tropical looking fish swimming around the pools. there are other hotsprings in the area, but everytime we had time to go check them out there were warnings about bugs (swimmers itch, etc). granite hotsprings is a ways away from the area, but its a good soak. theres a really hot natural one by the falls, and a developed one that is really nice at the end of the road. no alcohol at the developed one, and the guy that was patrolling was a huge dickhead about it, lol.

Gros Ventre landslide is also right around the entrance to the park. big landslide that created a little lake and washed away a town, killed campers etc. kinda a cool place to check out. terrible story for those who lost their lives. the little park has lots of info about the whole ordeal. the slide was huge. crazy to look at the area. you cant go wrong venturing into Teton park either. beautiful lakes and hiking trails all over the place.

Jackson hole is 30-40 minutes from victor. theres all kinds of touristy things to do there, but everything has huge inflated prices. theres an alpine slide at snowking that's pretty cool. you can ride the tram at Jackson ski resort to the top and hike down. you can also ride the lifts with your mt bike and ride/hike down the trails. I think its Friday nights and its like 10 bucks for 3 hours. we didn't make it 3 hours... the terrain is big. lots of mt bike/hiking trails on the Teton pass.

there are some camping spots up moose creek right at the base of the Teton pass. iirc, they are walking distance from Teton brewery. I don't care for beer, but all my friends rave about it. I mention bears cause that camp area has signs everywhere about the frequency of bears visiting the camp. I cant recall if there was a charge for those spots, but there are others before you get into Wyoming up the Teton pass.

not sure about camping in driggs, but you may be able to find some spots just off the road to targhee ski resort, which also has lots of hiking and biking trails accessed by the lift. bike rentals are everywhere in the area.

if you head towards Rexburg there are some hot springs called green canyon. again, developed, but looked nice (they were closed when we visited). that direction is also the site of whats left of the Teton dam that broke in 1976. kinda crazy to check out.

swan valley is a little town towards Idaho falls that is kinda neat. fall creek falls are cool to see. heavy fishing area along the south fork of the snake river. could rent a boat and do the float. theres people that shuttle your car for you so its at the end of your float too. bald eagles everywhere along there. river might still be kinda high for a novice boater. it doesn't just meander this time of year...

if I think of anything else, ill post up. its a beautiful area to just wander in. any direction you go theres something to see.

surferdave · 06-24-2019, 09:04 AM

great intel thanks

Botchan · 05-31-2020, 10:10 AM

Shenrie - just sent you a DM

MarinBlaine · 05-31-2020, 12:39 PM

Hey there Surferdave, I'm jealous as we need to get out! Had our beach-front reserved spot on the North Coast canceled for this weekend...such a bummer.

We went on an epic trip through these parts 5 years ago. A little-known area is called the Pioneer Mountains in Montana, near the continental divide and just over the border from Idaho. We spent a couple of days there on the way back from Yellowstone, I intend to make it destination next time. We saw like one other camper in the whole area, and this was mid-July. I told my wife that if this was in California it would be a national park...it's national forest in Mt.

https://www.visitmt.com/listings/gen...nic-byway.html

shhhhhh......

shenrie · 05-31-2020, 12:53 PM

Pm replied botchan.

We used to do a race in the pioneer mountains. Wife has a corner named after her where she wrecked and did snowboard tricks in a car. It was the newer pass that goes up out of polaris montana. Beautiful area over there!

Brian94ht · 05-31-2020, 07:16 PM

For that spot just outside SLC, take a look at crystalhotsprings
Developed hot springs just off the freeway, couple water slides, camping, etc.