“If Idaho Falls can’t help ya, I don’t know what would, but God, I hope you’re doing good.”

“Mountain Girl” by Shane Smith & the Saints

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When Dan and I decided to make this dream a reality, we knew we were going to need some time getting our boots wet and testing the proverbial waters on what we would need for full time living. And we already had plans on the books to spend the month of July back home in Maryland and Pennsylvania. After we finished clearing out our townhouse, the only logical thing we could do was to move our rig closer east. By moving the rig east to Idaho Falls, we were able to cut four hours off our drive… and when you are on a close country road trip, four hours can make a big difference!

We had never travelled to Idaho Falls during our time in Boise. My goodness, we honestly haven’t even scratched the surface on all this amazing state has to offer. And Idaho Falls did not disappoint.

Situated on the Snake River, the town was was actually known as Eagle Rock until 1891. That’s when it was renamed to Idaho Falls after a series of rocky rapids in the middle of the Snake River. And while those falls have changed a lot since the late 1800s, they are still an integral part of the town. A dam was built in 1912 along the falls to help power the growing town, but that was destroyed in 1976 after the Teton Dam disaster. What was rebuilt is, in my opinion, a marvel of modern technology. There is still a dam in the center of town, but it was integrated beautifully into the flow of the river. It is the least obtrusive dam I have ever laid my eyes on! It still, to this day, is the center of the city.

As mentioned before, Idaho Falls was a place for us to figure out how live in a 400 square foot space. Most of our time there was spent transforming a toy hauler garage into a kids’ bedroom/classroom/playroom, organizing the under storage of our rig’s “basement,” and installing various items we had bought to help make full time travel a bit easier.

That being said, we did get to do some exploring! I’m still trying to figure out how best to organize this blog… whether to write our travels in a story or to write some blog posts on the best things to do? Maybe a little of both? Give me some ideas if you have preferences one way or the other. But for now, here are our top things to do in Idaho Falls, if you ever find yourself in the area!

Top Five Things to Do in Idaho Falls

1: Walk or Ride the Greenbelt

We encountered the Greenbelt in Boise and fell in love. A walking (or riding) path, spanning both sides of the Boise river, that went on for miles. We absolutely loved being able to take the kids bike riding on the path, and the entire time we were walking along the river.

Imagine our surprise when we found out that Idaho Falls also had a Greenbelt, which also spanned both sides of the Snake River! The Greenbelt spans five miles on each side of the river. As you walk, not only do you get amazing views of the Snake River, and the aforementioned Idaho Falls dam, but you also get beautiful landscaping and plenty of picture vistas. My kids especially loved the moss animals that were art installations made out of metal and different moss types! You can find a map of the Greenbelt here.

2: Visit the Idaho Potato Museum

Okay, okay, so the Idaho Potato Museum isn’t really in Idaho Falls, but it is not that far and Idaho Falls serves as a great jumping point for so many great day trips. The Idaho Potato Museum is located just south of Idaho Falls in Blackfoot, Idaho. And what is a visit to the heart of potato country, without a stop at the museum honoring the famous crop! I can’t even begin to count how many people said to us, upon learning about our move to Idaho, “What are you moving there for? Potatoes?!” And I mean, Idaho loves their spuds… there is even a license plate out here devoted to a buttered baked potato.

Some interesting facts about potatoes that we learned while at the museum:

• Idaho produces nearly 1/3 of all the potatoes in the United States. Of that, 50% of those potatoes come from the southeastern Idaho counties. You can thank the rich volcanic soils in the area for that.
• There is actually a potato goddess – and while she is of Incan mythology, she still exists! Her name is Axomamma and she is the reason the Incans worshipped the potato.
• The root is the only safe part of the potato plant to eat. The fruit, leaves, and stems are all toxic to humans.

The potato museum was very small, but cute. The kids loved looking at some of the farming equipment used to farm potatoes, enjoyed the entire kids section complete with several boxes of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head parts to play with, and the gift shop.

To end our visit, we stopped at the attached cafe where you can get snacks of potatoes. We each had a loaded baked potato for lunch, and it was fantastic.

I know the kids learned a lot because on the way home, they were identifying potato plant fields left and right. We also found (after some desperate searching) a farm stand on the way home and bought some fresh from the field potatoes. We used these for our state tastings… there’ll be a blog on that later.

3: Stop at Reed’s Dairy for Ice Cream

I like ice cream, but we try not to indulge too much. But after a day out exploring, we passed this dairy farm and I just had to stop. I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing the ice cream (and milkshakes!) were! Kinsley got a treat of huckleberry milk – she was so excited that it was purple. Our favorite ice creams were the maple, the huckleberry, and the cookie dough! There are two locations in Idaho Falls, and we definitely recommend a stop! You can find their website here!

4: Take a Day Trip to Craters of the Moon National Monument

I am in the midst of writing a separate blog post all about Craters of the Moon, but I thought it was such a worthwhile visit, that it should be listed here. Located about two hours from Idaho Falls, you can find Craters of the Moon National Monument. It is a surreal landscape shaped by volcanic eruptions from thousands of years ago. It is also one of the best places to observe the changes that eruptions can make the surrounding ecosystem.

You can spelunk in lava tube caves, hike up cinder cones, and the kids can do their junior ranger badgework! I don’t want to go in any more detail than that, but Craters of the Moon is well worth the visit if you are in southeastern Idaho.

5: Visit the Idaho Falls Zoo

Dan got tickets to the zoo as a surprise for the kids who went through a time of a lot of stress and anxiety as we prepared for the move into a fulltime lifestyle. I was expecting the zoo at Idaho Falls to be something very small, but I was incredibly impressed upon arrival! I would rank this zoo as better than the Boise Zoo, but shhh, don’t tell anybody.

We had so much fun looking at all the animals. They had lions and lemurs and snow leopards! The best part is that it was incredibly evident how much time and effort the zoo staff put into caring for the animals and their enclosures. Everything was clean and well-decorated.

Perhaps our favorite part was the face painter. We decided to splurge and let the kids get their faces painted, something we almost never do. And the lady who worked there did not disappoint! Kinsley wanted a peacock, which turned out beautifully. Addy wanted a unicorn. But perhaps, my favorite, was Levi’s – who wanted a snow leopard. It wasn’t one she offered, but said she thought she could whip something up. It was amazing!

Idaho Falls Honorable Mentions

• Costco: I mean, we stop whenever there is a Costco in town, but we were so surprised when this Costco had DIESEL fuel!
• Grand Teton National Park: Grand Teton is only a two hour drive from Idaho Falls, and along the way, you are rewarded with some spectacular mountain views, especially when you drive over Teton Pass. We spent a day in Jackson Hole and then took a drive through the park. Why not a top five? Because it deserves a whole blog post devoted entirely to a multi-day trip!
• Snow Eagle Brewing and Grill: We took the kids out to eat on our anniversary here and the food was great. The beer flight was even better!

Mountain River Ranch Campground

I can’t finish a blog about Idaho Falls without singing the praises of the campground where we stayed. The Mountain River Ranch is located in Ririe, Idaho, about twenty minutes outside of Idaho Falls. It is nestled close to the Snake River and is the absolute perfect retreat. I would recommend it 10/10 to anyone looking to camp in the area.

It is under relatively new ownership and the new owners are doing an outstanding job of building the campground into the perfect getaway. There are beautiful campsites (water and electric only), a yurt, some cabins, and even an old camper you can rent out to stay in. The owners helped us as we were transitioning into the lifestyle, helped us find storage for the month we were home, and received our mail for us. I am so thankful to have been able to spend two and half weeks total here.

Follow along on our adventures: @our_pickett_fences