I am constantly amazed by the breathtaking views we have right in our backyard. Yes, the foothills that surround Boise are pretty. They may be even gorgeous in my opinion. But head a little north and get off the beaten path- then, you will see Yellowstone-worthy, jaw-dropping views.
Our drive took us past Warm Lake onto a dirt road towards Yellowpine. We camped the first night in a National Forest campground called Buck Mountain where there was a raging river right next to camp that would keep any mom awake at night. I watched Lucy like a hawk and was a bit neurotic! But toddler wrangling aside, the setting was beautiful and the force of water due to run-off was quite impressive.
Our plan was to drive backroads from Yellowpine to McCall the next day but right when we were where it felt like we were at the top of the World on the peak of a mountain, the road was completely covered with 3 ft of snow for as far as the eye could see. We had a little mishap with a fallen tree and some snow a few miles back so the hubby already had to get out his shovel but wasn’t willing to break his back just to complete our loop. The views on that portion of the trip were incredible, so even though our plan was foiled it felt completely worth it! We turned around and spent the night at Warm Lake. That day, we had gone from snow and jackets to Lucy playing in the water of the lake because it was so warm!
Route from Boise, Idaho:
Hwy 55
Warm Lake Road/ NFD 22 Rd
NFD 597 Rd
NFD 413 Rd
E Fork Road
Lick Creek Rd (road was closed at the summit due to snow so we had to turn around)
674 Rd back to Warm Lake
On to the next adventure!