help with trip to Idaho

[Ohdanigirl]

Hi everyone. I would like to visit my cousin, who lives in Nampa Idaho. We would be driving from San Diego, Ca. I would like to plan on stopping at any interesting places on the way, so the boys can stretch their legs and take our time getting there. Also, I want to have a list of nearby places worth trying to see while in Idaho.

 

Do any of you have a any suggestions or ideas? I have all boys and they all love History and Art. They also love nature in general: birds, plants, insects, etc.

 

Thanks!

 

Danielle

[usetoschool]

There are a couple different routes you could take to get there. Which way are you going? (The fastest is through Las Vegas and north and there is next to nothing to see on that route :001_smile:)

[Vida Winter]

Your problem is that there is no direct route - depending on how much time you have I'd do one of two things:

 

1. Drive up the coast of CA all the way to Portland and then go on across Oregon, through Pendleton, La Grande, and then over to Nampa.

 

The biggest benefit of doing it this way would be the coast for most of the way north.

 

Although it appears to be shorter to cross Oregon mid-way through on small roads it is *very* time consuming. You could cross at some point in southern Oregon but you will hit "a lot of nothingness" about halfway across -- desert with very few services. To give you an idea of travel times, it is easy to make it from La Grande to Portland in 6 hours (or a little less) but it takes us a good ten hours or more to cross the state to go to Bandon (on the coast) crossing at the middle of the state.

 

2. Drive up to Las Vegas, then up to Salt Lake City and up through Ogden, Twin Falls, Nampa.

 

This would be a lot shorter than the first option, and probably my preferred way. I did this trip with my kids last month (round trip: northern Arizona to SLC, Boise, and then up to Oregon). You could stop in Las Vegas for a day, and spend a day or two in Salt Lake City (my kids were enchanted with SLC - we went to the zoo, an aquarium, so many things to do). It is just a 5.5 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Nampa, a hop and a skip after all the driving you just did.

 

One thing I would absolutely never try to do is to go up straight north through Nevada (we did this once - never again) - there are very few services, nothing to look at, a ton of bugs (stop to wipe your windshield every few miles) and you can't even go very fast on the smaller highways.

 

If you take the route Las Vegas to Salt Lake there are big stretches of highway where you can go 80 mph (yes that is the speed limit!) and you can make very good time while enjoying mountain scenery.

[AndyJoy]

Oh, I'm homesick now! I'm going to that area for a visit in mid-July and can't wait!

 

The World Center for Birds of Prey is very cool with live, up close viewing.

http://www.peregrinefund.org/world_center.asp

 

If you are going up through Twin Falls, Shoshone Falls http://www.visitidaho.org/thingstodo/view-attraction.aspx?id=30839 is lovely and a great place to pinic and run around.

 

Banbury Hot Springs is a lot of fun, especially if a hot spring pool is a new concept to your kids. http://www.visitidaho.org/thingstodo/hot-springs/banbury-hot-springs.aspx

 

Bruneau Sand Dunes near my home (Mountain Home) are a great experience. Snow saucers or cheap snowboards sprayed with Pledge are great for sledding, though just climbing, running, and rolling is great too. The view is great and you get quite a workout. We always see a variety of wildlife there. http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/bruneaudunesstatepark.aspx

 

Craters of the Moon National Monument is AWESOME so I have to mention it, but it's probably too far depending on your route. I love exploring the cool, icy caves when it's 100 degrees outside!

http://www.nps.gov/crmo/

[DianeW88]

Come through Utah!! We are a very family friendly state and have LOTS of fun things to do and see! Plus, we love our visitors. I can guarantee you will enjoy your time here!! :D

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[AndyJoy]

 

2. Drive up to Las Vegas, then up to Salt Lake City and up through Ogden, Twin Falls, Nampa.

 

This would be a lot shorter than the first option, and probably my preferred way. I did this trip with my kids last month (round trip: northern Arizona to SLC, Boise, and then up to Oregon). You could stop in Las Vegas for a day, and spend a day or two in Salt Lake City (my kids were enchanted with SLC - we went to the zoo, an aquarium, so many things to do). It is just a 5.5 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Nampa, a hop and a skip after all the driving you just did.

 

One thing I would absolutely never try to do is to go up straight north through Nevada (we did this once - never again) - there are very few services, nothing to look at, a ton of bugs (stop to wipe your windshield every few miles) and you can't even go very fast on the smaller highways.

 

If you take the route Las Vegas to Salt Lake there are big stretches of highway where you can go 80 mph (yes that is the speed limit!) and you can make very good time while enjoying mountain scenery.

 

:iagree:We've driven his route about a dozen times. We did the NV route once too-NEVER AGAIN!

[Ohdanigirl]

There are a couple different routes you could take to get there. Which way are you going? (The fastest is through Las Vegas and north and there is next to nothing to see on that route :001_smile:)

 

I am going to decide once I have weighed the suggestions. I believe my cousin will recommend going though Utah, But I could take one way there and one way back if it is worth it. I have family in Oregon and L.A.

 

Thanks.

 

Danielle

[mktkcb]

Well, if you want really direct (more direct, even than going through Los Vegas), you can go the way we always have gone (we live in Santa Clarita), which for you would be

 

Straight N on the 5 to the 14 and up through Mojave

catch the 395 up the back side of the Sierras (breathtaking, Mt. Whitney) to Bishop

A little jaunt on the 6 to the 95 & up though Hawthorne & Fallon

meet up with I 80 & go though Winnemucca

pick back up the 95 to cut through the SE corner of Oregon to meet up with the 84 right by Nampa

 

Definitely not a lot of big cities on the way, though. Fallon is pretty big. Ditto Winnemucca. Lots of mountains, desert, and farmland on this route :o). Some pretty spectacular scenery in a few places, though. I will say that coming into the river valley where Boise/Nampa etc. are, from Oregon, is a spectacular view! Ditto the view of the sierras coming up to Bishop. We always drove up around Christmas time, and one year there had just been a ton of snow dropped on the Mts. The sight of the those mts rising straight out of the desert, covered with snow was absolutely awe inspiring! But I digress.... :o) Whatever route you choose, have fun

Kayleen

[MarinesWife]

It takes about 15 hours going north on 5 and through the way suggested and it takes about 16 hours going through Salt Lake City. If you were going to Eastern Idaho then definitely take I-15, but since you're going to Nampa, I'd go the way suggested. Boise has so many neat things to do! I think that's where we went to a science museum.