After departing the Sawtooth Mountains a day early due to inclement weather, we headed south, out of reach of the worst of the massive storm. The skies were still cloudy and it was a little sprinkly, but at least it wasn’t dumping buckets of rain (or snow) on us.
Since this was a last minute change to our trip, we went into it relatively blind. Aside from checking the weather and confirming that places were open, we hadn’t done much research, so we really didn’t know what to expect.
It turned out to be a day of surprises and disappointments.
Table of contents
- Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
- Thousand Springs State Park
- Shoshone Falls
- Bechler Falls
- Mesa Falls Scenic Byway
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monunment
Our first stop, about an hour south, was Hagerman Fossil Beds. Unfortunately, this monument was a bit of a disappointment. Having been to other NPS sites with fossils, I assumed we’d at least get to walk a short trail and see some of them.
We did get to see a few fossils, as there’s a small collection at the visitor center – though many are casts or replicas. This includes fossils of the Hagerman horse, the prehistoric single-toed horse for which the monument is named.
The first Hagerman horse fossils were discovered by a rancher in the early 1900s; little did he know, he’d stumbled upon a fossil bed with over 100 skulls, 5 nearly complete horse skeletons, and dozens of other species. The fossils span 1.5 million years of history, including a period of global warming that is being studied for its relevance to today’s climate changes.
Right: mastodon jaws and teeth
Right: mastodon tusk segment
Right: various feline fossils
However, the actual fossil beds are off limits to visitors. And while I understand that from a research and conservation perspective, I found myself wondering why this place was even open to the public at all. We spent 20 minutes at the visitor center, and that was basically it.
The only other stops at Hagerman are along the scenic drive, with viewpoints of the Snake River (which is pretty, but there are other sections that are much prettier) and Oregon Trail Ruts (which I suppose are neat if you’ve never seen them before).
In summary, this monument was not really what we expected and is probably only worth a stop if you happen to be passing by.
Thousand Springs State Park
Sharing a visitor center with Hagerman is Thousand Springs State Park, and this turned out to be the surprise of the day.
I’m not sure if there really are one thousand springs, but even so, the park is well-named. All throughout the area, springs bubble up out of the ground. The Snake River has cut a deep canyon through this portion of Idaho and many of the springs emerge from the canyon walls and tumble down into the river in cascading waterfalls.
The park itself is somewhat inconvenient to visit, as it’s comprised of six disconnected sections that are all a few miles away from each other. We ended up visiting four of the six, the first being the visitor center.
From there, we headed north to Malad Gorge, a deep canyon carved by the Malad River. Though the river is only 12.5 miles (20 km) long, the gorge is 250 feet (75 m) deep, making for an impressive journey.
A scenic drive runs through the Malad Gorge section of the park, stopping at multiple viewpoints providing various perspectives of the gorge. The first is right next to the interstate but, despite the vehicle noise, this was my favorite viewpoint.
Next, we headed south to Ritter Island, home to the first of the handful of springs we would see on our tour. Though the footbridge to the island was closed for the rest of the day, we were able to walk a short path along the river’s edge to the base of the springs.
We skipped over the Box Canyon section because we didn’t have time to hike to see the springs, so our final stop was Niagara and Crystal Springs. The entrance fee we paid at Malad Gorge got us into this section as well (the fee covers all Idaho state parks for the day). Just past the entrance is Niagara Springs, while Crystal Springs is a few minutes down the road.
I’m glad we stumbled upon this state park, because it was a neat place.
Shoshone Falls
Our final stop of the day was Shoshone Falls. Located just outside of Twin Falls, Idaho and operated as a city-owned park, this large waterfall is (theoretically) a highlight of the Snake River.
And honestly? It didn’t even feel worth the $5 admission fee. It was utterly disappointing.
Shoshone Falls has been dubbed the “Niagara Falls of the west,” and had it been flowing at capacity, it would have been. Instead, we got to see it at about 1/4 capacity, surrounded by a bunch of dry white rock.
It’s bad enough that there’s a dam at the top of such a beautiful natural wonder. But then to charge people admission to come see the waterfall when the water is being held back by the dam and flowing over the waterfall at such low levels?
It felt like such a rip off.
Also, I have no idea where my $5 went, because the aside from parking, some viewing platforms, and bathrooms that are in serious need of an upgrade, there wasn’t much here.
This was definitely the most unpleasant surprise of the day.
(If you’re curious, here is what Shoshone Falls is supposed to look like.)
Bechler Falls
Bechler Falls is located in Yellowstone National Park, albeit in the remote southwestern corner that few visitors ever venture into. I’d actually been there before but was too young to remember, so when I realized it was just a 45 minute detour from our planned route the next morning, I decided to make it a last-minute addition to the itinerary.
Reaching Bechler requires driving about 15 miles (24 km) on a gravel road. Thankfully, it was in good condition. Any car should be able to make it in summer conditions.
As we approached the Yellowstone boundary, the road forked. We went left first to visit the ranger station. As soon as we pulled in, my mom commented that it looked very different than she remembered. From talking to the ranger, we learned that a new ranger station and employee housing had been built within the last five years.
However, the old ranger station, housing, and barn built by the army back before the advent of the National Park Service still stands.
After chatting with the ranger to learn more about the Bechler area (and obtaining the only Yellowstone passport stamp missing from my collection!), we headed back to the fork in the road and then followed the right branch to its end. Our destination was the two most accessible of the many waterfalls in this area: Cave and Bechler.
We stopped first at a pullout prior to Cave Falls at a waterfall that doesn’t seem to have a name.
The road ends at Cave Falls, which is the widest waterfall in Yellowstone at 250 feet (76 m) across.
To see Bechler Falls, though, we were going to have to hike.
It had been raining on and off throughout the morning, so we donned our raincoats, grabbed our backpacks and bear spray, and set off.
(My mom also put on her rain pants, which was a good decision. I did not, and ended the hike with soaking wet pants that were completely plastered to my legs.)
Being in a somewhat hidden corner of the park, the Bechler River Trail is not well-traveled. It’s narrow, with bushes right up to the edge, while lodgepole pines rise far above. It’s lush and green and lovely.
It was also utterly deserted.
While it’s always nice to find some solitude, grizzly country is not my preferred place to do so. Acutely aware of the fact that we were completely alone out here, my mom and I promptly started singing as loudly as possible.
There were either no bears in the area or our singing successfully kept them away. Either way, it was a bear-free hike.
Mesa Falls Scenic Byway
Our final stop was the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway, a 30 mile (48 km) stretch of highway along the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River. The highlight is Mesa Falls: a series of two waterfalls that can see as much as 2.5 billion gallons (9.5 billion liters) of water per day at peak flow.
Coming from the south, we reached Lower Mesa Falls first. The viewing platform is quite a distance above the waterfall, but even so, we could see it down below and hear the roar of the water flowing over it.
Just a short distance up the road is Upper Mesa Falls, by far the more popular of the two. Despite the less than ideal weather, the main parking lot was full when we arrived. Thankfully, there’s a spacious overflow lot that had plenty of space.
We ate a quick lunch at one of the picnic tables before grabbing our raincoats and heading down to the falls. A network of boardwalks meanders out to the edge of the canyon, along the river to the waterfall, and then back up to the parking areas. I’d estimate we walked maybe 1 mile (1.6 km).
Upper Mesa Falls was one of my favorite waterfalls of this trip. Standing at the brink, it was impossible not to comprehend the sheer volume of water and the power with which it tumbles over the edge.
And this wraps up our impromptu waterfall tour of southern Idaho and our annual mother-daughter roadtrip. It wasn’t the last two days that we had planned but – Shoshone Falls notwithstanding – it was a good ending to our vacation.
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