Eastern central Idaho and beyond

Autumn is near in the East Central section of Idaho. The leaves are changing color, giving the forest a more vibrant appearance, the golden fields of wheat and hay are being harvested, and digging for the famous Idaho potatoes has begun. Driving on the Teton Scenic Byway and the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway leads right into the heart of some of this spectacular scenery.

The 69-mile-long Teton Scenic Byway begins in Swan Valley on the Snake River and runs through the Targhee National Forest, where wildlife can be seen at every corner and the forest displays the beauty of the upcoming fall season. As the highway leaves the National Forest, it passes through the historic towns of Victor and Driggs, where highlanders and fur trappers held their annual gathering. As the highway winds through the rolling foothills of the range, to the east you can see the towering peaks of the Teton Mountains that reach as high as 13,000 feet.

The connection at the north end of the Teton Scenic Byway in Ashton is the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway. For 28 miles, the highway runs northeast through the vivid colors of the Targhee National Forest before ending just south of Island Park. Along the way are Upper and Lower Mesa Falls, two of the most impressive waterfalls in the West. These two falls are the only intact falls in Idaho for hydroelectric or irrigation projects. The lower falls can be best viewed from the Grand View Campground lookout, where the Snake River squeezes into a narrow gorge that drops 65 feet. A few miles down the road is the Upper Falls, with a visitor center that has information on the history of the surrounding area. A path developed with a wooden walkway leads to the falls where the view shows the Snake River before the 114 foot drop, just a few feet from the drop itself which stretches about 200 feet wide. As the walkway goes up the cliff, the view of all the falls is beyond spectacular.

There are times when driving to your desired destination can be just as rewarding as the destination point itself. Driving US 26 around the southern end of the Snake River Range offers breathtaking beauty where the highway winds around the cliff faces that run parallel to the Palisades Reservoir with the towering peaks of the Caribou Range as a backdrop. . As the highway crosses into Wyoming, it takes a more northerly route along the eastern cliff walls of the mountains that run parallel to the Snake River, creating a beautiful setting where wildlife thrives in abundance before arriving. to the valley just east of the Teton Range. Returning to Idaho from the Tetons is Teton Pass, which is located at the southern end of the Teton range. The highway reaches an elevation of 8,431 feet from where you will have an excellent view of Jackson Hole and the surrounding valley.

A park with more than 300,000 acres located in a great valley with prairies and virgin forests, where there are no hills to obstruct the view of the mountains. A mountain range rising above pristine lakes, alpine terrain, the Snake River and home to extraordinary wildlife. A park where the John D Rockefeller Parkway runs through the eastern side of the park and ends in the southern section of Yellowstone National Park, making both parks easily accessible. This is Teton National Park, a wonder in itself.

Getting around Teton National Parks is fairly simple, where Grand Loop Road is part of the Rockefeller Parkway that goes through a large part of Jackson Lake and Teton Road, which crosses the Jackson Lake Dam and meanders closer to the Teton Range. with two other scenic highways branching off. Signal Mountain Road is a narrow two-lane highway that winds up the mountain at 7,727 feet, where the view of Jackson Lake with the Teton Mountains as its backdrop provides a view to last a lifetime. Last but not least is the Jenny Lake Loop, this one-way road winds its way through lush lush forest past several lakes with hiking trails before running parallel to Jenny Lake.

For the kids in all of us, the Idaho Falls Zoo is a great side trip. The selection of zoo animals for our enjoyment is unique, with animals from Africa, Asia, Australia and North America. There is a designated area for a children’s zoo with a petting area and next to it is a breed of penguins that have adapted to the cold and warm climate. Yellowstone Bear World, just south of Rexburg, not only has a children’s pet area where black bear cubs can be bottle-fed, the park has a path where wildlife roams freely in their natural habitat. Actually, this is the only place that is guaranteed that one will see black bears, brown bears, moose, moose, and deer.