Discover what Ernest Hemingway came to love in Idaho's spectacular Sawtooth wilderness.
This outstanding scenic drive through south-central Idaho climbs more than 5,000 vertical feet from a desert canyon near Boise into the rugged, spectacular mountain terrain of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. In the Sawtooths you can hike, fish, paddle white water on the Salmon River, check out a ghost town, and watch for elk, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats. Not surprisingly, this striking mountain landscape was a favorite playground of Ernest Hemingway, who is buried in the area.
Overview
Sights along this exceptionally scenic route of some 260 miles include an 1860s gold-mining town, a seductive natural hot spring, the ski towns of Ketchum and Sun Valley, a world-renowned trout stream, and lava tube caves.
Start in Boise
An old mining center and military outpost during the Idaho gold rush days of the 1860s and '70s, Boise today is the state capital, a university town, and home to most of Idaho's museums. Must-sees include the Idaho State Historical Museum, with exhibits on the state's history from prehistoric times to the fur trade to the present; the imaginative Morrison Knudsen Nature Center, for a close look at trout and their environment; and the World Center for Birds of Prey, which runs captive breeding programs for endangered raptors all over the world, including its own stable of Harpy eagles, California condors, and peregrine falcons.
Idaho City
From Boise, follow Idaho Rte. 21 east-northeast past Lucky Peak Lake, climbing through desert hills into the mountains. As you leave the sagebrush behind for cooler surroundings, the grass thickens and ponderosa pines gather. You'll know you're approaching the 1860s gold-rush town of Idaho City when the ground levels off and heaps of white cobblestones appear—leavings of gold dredges that worked the creek bed in the 1890s. Gold was discovered in Idaho City is 1862 and drew a swarm of miners. Many of the city's 19th-century buildings have been repurposed into homes, restaurants, and shops.
