EXPEDITION Your Attractions Guide to Southwest Idaho Weiser, Midvale, Cambridge, Council and New Meadows Visit. Explore. Play. Now you can reserve your favorite camping spot in Hells Canyon! Online reservations are available at four beautiful campgrounds. Visit idahopower.com/recreation today to plan your next adventure! 2018 Expedition Mann Creek Reservoir Weiser, Idaho Welcome to the 2018 EXPEDITION events and golf courses. Attractions Guide to the Upper Valley Check out the attractions calendar be- of Southwest Idaho, your travelogue ginning on page 9. You’ll find area events of tourism-related adventure along the listed along with our supportive adver- Snake River and Highway 95, stretch- tisers who shape the commerce in these ing in all directions, most notably to the parts and add, with their character, to the unique communities of happiness factor. Weiser, Midvale, Cam- The folks here share the river The Treasure Valley is bridge, Council and New with their counterparts of where the Payette, Boise, Meadows. Eastern Oregon – Weiser, Malheur, and Burnt The folks here share the rivers drain into the Snake Huntington, Baker City, river with their counter- River. The treasures you’ll Halfway and Oxbow – along a to Southwest Idaho parts of Eastern Oregon find here are plentiful, and – Huntington, Baker City, number of expeditious routes. you’ve come at a good Halfway and Oxbow – time: Lots to see, do, ex- forming a number of expeditious loops of perience, remember, and possibly stick travel to such places as Hells Canyon and around for. the quiet mountain foothill towns of Cam- Welcome to our home in Idaho. We’re bridge, Council and New Meadows. glad you’re here. From its valley floor to To the people who live, work and visit its foothills with mountains and rivers de- here, these are our “happy places.” fining the boundaries and testing our lim- Many communities have historic sites, its – that’s Idaho. Its many regions are a museum and landmarks; parks, public filled with adventures in fishing, summer restrooms, ATMs, Wi-Fi hot spots, and a river rafting, trails for hiking and biking library. Some are blessed with wonder- and winter skiing, overlapping with hunt- ful theater productions, annual outdoor ing, camping, and just hanging out. WELCOME 3- Your Guide to Southwest Idaho EXPEDITION 2018 The Other Grand Canyon As North America’s deepest river gorge, 7,993 feet, Hells Canyon encompasses a vast and remote region in west central Idaho and northeastern Oregon and features dramatic changes in elevation, terrain, climate, and vegetation. Have you seen it? The Snake River, liter- whelming at first, but once you get your first ally snaking its way across the state, heading good breathe of fresh air, it’s addicting. north of all things in this defining and rugged During the summer months, visit Hells stretch shared by Eastern Oregon and West Canyon Creek visitors center just below Hells Central Idaho. Canyon Dam, the entrance to the wild and It can be big, wild or lazy, or just big and scenic part of the Snake River. lazy, but properly “fed” by the snow melt and The surrounding area was the home of flows from the five rivers which drain into it, Chief Joseph’s band of Nez Perce Indians. it can be, well, hell. Other tribes, including the Shoshone, Ban- Case in point, nock, North Paiute Hells Canyon – and and Cayuse Indi- an adventure out- ans, were frequent ing that no bucket visitors to the area. list should be with- These tribes were out. drawn to the re- It was once called gion by relatively the Grand Canyon mild winters, lush of the Snake River, foliage and plenti- long before it was ful wildlife. dubbed “Hells Can- Today, walls of yon.” the canyon are like This section of a museum, where the river – free-flowing through the deep pictographs and petroglyphs display fascinat- gorge, surrounded by towering granite and ing evidence of the Native Americans early basalt walls – was formed not just from the settlements. three dams, but from the “push” of intruding The Hells Canyon National Recreation Area creeks, creating rock disturbances which we (NRA) is 652,488 acres straddling the can- call rapids. yon, from the peaks of Idaho’s Seven Devils Graded on a scale of 1-4 and a decided Mountains on the east, to Oregon’s rimrock adrenaline rush – in that order – this wild and mountain slopes on the west. This na- river section is best experienced at the south tional showcase contains acres of beauty and entrance – easily the most spectacular por- adventure, where one’s senses can run as tion of the Snake River. wild as the landscape. The recreation area Hells Canyon is one of the most remote offers scenic vistas, world-class whitewater places in the Pacific Northwest you can dare boating, fishing, and vast reaches of remote to venture into. Its remoteness is over- wilderness. EXPEDITION 2018 Your Guide to Southwest Idaho - 4 The Only Thing Better Than Lunch at Weiser Classic Candy is Dessert Fresh Sandwiches Hand Dipped Chocolates Fresh Soups Soft Caramels Truffles Shakes & Malts “Made in Idaho” gifts available Fudge Peanut Brittle Velvet Mints Local fresh Ice Cream Weiser Classic Candy & Deli Home of the 66th Annual 449 State Street • (208) 414-2850 Open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. www.WeiserClassicCandy.com National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest and Festival MUNDO HOT SPRINGS June 18-23, 2018 Bistro, RV, Camping, Pool House Cabin and Hostel v Campgrounds open Wednesday – June 13 v Banjo Contest – June 16-17 OPEN WED-THURS 4-8 PM FRI-SUN 12-8 PM v Free Entertainment Stage and Extended Opening Hours Vendors • Carnival • Battle of the Bands in the Summer All at Memorial Park OPEN ALL YEAR v Dancing • Jamming • Parade v 3016 Goodrich Rd. • Cambridge, Idaho 83610 Music and Traditional Arts Workshops Year-Round 208-257-3849 or 208-907-2401 mundohotsprings.com or like Mundo Hot Springs or Bistro on Facebook www.FiddleContest.org • (208) 414-0255 EXPEDITION 2017 Your Guide to Southwest Idaho - 5 New Meadows Council Cambridge Midvale Weiser ells by people thousands of years full tank of gas, a cooler full Can- ago and to remains of old of snacks and drinks, and Hyon homesteads from the early be prepared to turn off your Scenic By- 1900s. phone because the cell phone way winds This national showcase service is spotty. its way contains abundant beauty Beyond the thrill of navi- along the and adventure, where one’s gating through “big, splashy, east side of senses can run as wild as rowdy waves” there is the this mas- the landscape. The recrea- fishing. The Snake River in sive rift that tion area offers scenic vistas, Hells Canyon is considered separates world-class whitewater boat- one of the premier steelhead Idaho from ing, fishing, and vast reaches runs in the Pacific Northwest. neighboring of remote wilderness. Hells Canyon Adventures fish Oregon. There are three easy access for steelhead in November, While the view from the road points from Oregon or Idaho December, and January. is breathtaking, a guided float to the south entrance of Hells In the spring, summer, and trip or jet boat tour of the Canyon: fall months, the search is on Hells Canyon National Recrea- for the living-dinosaurs of tion Area is a must. Highway 71 from Cambridge Hells Canyon, sturgeon. Start by booking a jet boat So the story doesn’t end or whitewater rafting adven- Highway 86 from Baker City there. Hells Canyon Adven- ture with Hells Canyon Ad- tures also has lodging and ventures or America’s Rafting USFS Road #39 from Joseph camping available. Company online or at If you can’t book their Highway 95 of- today add a Hells fices in Cambridge. Canyon adventure Next, get the car to your bucket list! ready for a road trip. Travelers’ Note: Pull out the map and The route of the follow the directions Hells Canyon Scenic you were given by Byway originat- your outfitter – not ing on the Oregon the GPS – stock the side is a loop that cooler with goodies, encircles the Wal- unplug from your eve- lowa Mountains, ryday busy life, take a intersecting with deep breath and start Interstate 84 at La your Hells Canyon Grande and Baker adventure. (Outfitters City. Small towns offer one-to-six day scattered along the trips.) drive offer visitor Towering cliffs of black and The most spectacular por- services. green basalt hang so high tion of Hells Canyon begins in While the entire route is on above the Snake River and its the Wild River section of the a paved highway, plan ahead sandy beaches that boaters Snake River, the south en- – you’ll find lonely stretches strain their necks to see these trance of Hells Canyon. Hells of more than 80 miles without places. Scan the cliffs for the Canyon Adventures offers jet gas and with few services. white fur of a mountain goat, boat adventures that are fun, A segment of the byway a sure-footed animal that economical, and a convenient between Joseph and Halfway, makes its home in the can- way to experience this re- Ore., closes with snow in win- yon. markable and pristine area. ter, but allows access to win- Your adventure guide will The south entrance of Hells ter recreation areas, offering put ashore and lead a hike Canyon is a remote location, a whole other kind of North- to view pictographs painted so come prepared. Have a east Oregon adventure. EXPEDITION 2018 Your Guide to Southwest Idaho - 7 Convenience Store • Gas Station Located in 3 locations along Highway 95 Weiser • Cambridge • Council 208-257-3347 208-549-0654 208-253-4266 150 Superior St.