Idaho’s fall color comes in waves. The high country around Stanley goes gold in late September, the foothills and mountain byways follow in early October, and the Boise valley floor peaks in the second half of the month. Then the western larch (tamaracks) turn the mountainsides around McCall and North Idaho gold from mid October into November.
Here’s where to see it, split three ways: spots around the Treasure Valley, day trips within about three hours, and the rest of the state for a long weekend. Peak dates are typical windows, not a forecast; a warm October pushes everything later. No ski resorts are running scenic chairlifts this fall, hunting seasons open in October (wear orange on backroad trails), and Idaho state parks are $7 per vehicle without a Parks Passport.
In and Around Boise and the Treasure Valley
Valley-floor color usually peaks in the second half of October. The foothills go a week or two earlier.
Boise River, Boise. Photo: Charles Knowles, CC BY 2.0
Boise River Greenbelt
5 to 15 minutes from Boise
Peaks October 15th to 30th
The cottonwood canopy along the river turns solid gold, and the water gives you reflections for free. Three stretches stand out: Barber Park to Bown Crossing on the east end, where the path runs through a cottonwood forest with a new accessible loop; the run between Ann Morrison and Kathryn Albertson parks; and the pond loops at Veterans Memorial and Esther Simplot on the west side. Heads up that those last two don’t allow dogs, though leashed dogs are fine on the Greenbelt itself. Free.
Kathryn Albertson Park, Boise. Photo: Vietartwork Photography
Kathryn Albertson Park
5 minutes from Boise
Peaks late October into early November
Forty-one acres of planted maples, ash, oaks and cottonwoods wrapped around ponds full of herons and ducks. It’s walkers only, no bikes, the paths are paved, and it’s the park local photographers use for fall family photos. It also tends to be the last big show in town, often holding color through Halloween. Free. 1001 S. Americana Blvd., Boise.
Harrison Boulevard Historic District, Boise. Photo: Boise Metro Chamber via Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Harrison Boulevard and the North End
5 minutes from Boise
Peaks mid to late October
Century-old maples, oaks and elms line Harrison from State Street up to Hill Road, and the side streets are just as good. Walk or bike it, grab coffee in Hyde Park on 13th, then climb Camel’s Back at golden hour for the view over the whole North End canopy. Bonus: Harrison’s Halloween decorations go up through October, so go before the 31st if you want the trees without the trick-or-treat crowds. Free.
Warm Springs Avenue and the Laura Moore Cunningham Arboretum
5 minutes from Boise
Peaks mid to late October
Mansion-lined Warm Springs has some of the oldest street trees in Boise, and the small arboretum at 1149 E. Lewis Street holds 90 deciduous species, including the sugar maples that give the strongest reds and oranges you will find in town. Park at Kristin Armstrong Municipal Park and walk in. Free.
Military Reserve
7 minutes from Boise
Peaks mid to late October
The Cottonwood Creek Trail runs through a dense cottonwood stand locals call the Black Forest, a few minutes from downtown, and the first half mile from the trailhead is the good part. Three Bears Trail is the quieter option if the creek path is busy. There’s a fenced dog park at the trailhead, but keep dogs leashed along the creek. Free. Cottonwood Creek Trailhead, Mountain Cove Rd., Boise.
Table Rock
10 minutes from Boise
Peaks late October
Not a leaf hike itself, since the trail is sage and grass, but the view from the top in late October is the whole City of Trees turned gold with the Greenbelt’s cottonwood ribbon running through it. Go at sunset. The private access road closes an hour before dark, and the trail turns to mud after rain. Free.
Idaho Botanical Garden
10 minutes from Boise
Peaks mid to late October
Cultivated maples and oaks with the foothills and the Old Pen behind them, plus the Scarecrow Stroll running all month along the garden paths. Last entry is 4:00 p.m. and pets aren’t allowed. Scarecrow Stroll runs October 1st through November 2nd. $15 adults, $9 youth.
Boise Ridge Road above Boise. Photo: Andy Melton via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
Dry Creek Trail and Bogus Basin Road
20 minutes to Dry Creek, 45 minutes to Bogus
Bogus peaks October 1st to 15th, Dry Creek mid October
Two shows on one road. Dry Creek, with its trailhead about 5 miles up from Hill Road, follows a creek lined with elderberry, willow and cottonwood that goes gold, orange and red in mid October. Keep driving to the top and the aspens around Bogus Basin and the Mores Mountain loop turn in the first two weeks of October, sometimes starting in late September. Deer Point Trail from the base gives you the aspens and the Boise view together. Free.
Hidden Springs Wetlands
20 to 25 minutes from Boise
Peaks mid October
A half-mile wetland loop north of Eagle with black cottonwoods, willows and red-osier dogwood along Dry Creek. The backroads between Shadow Valley and Dry Creek Road make a nice loop drive with the cottonwood line below you. Free. Dry Creek Rd. between Cartwright Rd. and Seamans Gulch Rd.
Eagle Island State Park, Eagle
Eagle Island State Park
25 minutes from Boise
Peaks mid to late October
Five miles of trail through cottonwood galleries along the Boise River channels, plus a 212-acre off-leash dog area south of the main road. Take the river loop on the south channel. The campground is under renovation this year, but day use is open. $7 per vehicle. 165 S. Eagle Island Pkwy., Eagle.
Lake Lowell and Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge
35 minutes from Boise
Peaks mid to late October
Cottonwoods on the Observation Hill and Kingfisher trails, gold rabbitbrush out in the sagebrush, and the start of the waterfowl migration, all for free. The Nature Trail and Sagebrush Trail are paved. Dogs on a 6-foot leash, designated trails only. Free. 13751 Upper Embankment Rd., Nampa.
Sunnyslope Wine Country
35 to 45 minutes from Boise
Peaks mid to late October
Vineyard rows go gold and red after harvest and the first frost, with orchards and Snake River cottonwoods below the bench and the Owyhees behind. The hilltop at Ste. Chapelle is the view. Huston Vineyards throws a harvest party with grape stomping on October 10th, and Sawtooth Winery has goat yoga on the 4th. Free to drive; tasting fees vary.
Montour Wildlife Management Area
50 minutes from Boise
Peaks October 10th to 25th
The closest true cottonwood bottomland to Boise: 1,350 acres of mature cottonwood and willow on the Payette River floodplain between Black Canyon Dam and Horseshoe Bend, with a heron rookery and bald eagles arriving late in the season. Pheasant and waterfowl hunting starts in October, so go on a weekday and keep dogs leashed. The Freezeout Hill viewpoint on Highway 16 above Emmett looks out over the orchard valley on the way. Free. Montour Rd. off Hwy. 52.
Within 3 Hours of Boise
Early October for aspens and the river byways, late October for larch around Cascade and McCall. Stanley is the exception; it peaks in late September.
Boise National Forest near Idaho City. Photo: Lisa Kennedy, US Forest Service
Idaho City and Mores Creek Summit
50 minutes to 1 hour from Boise
Peaks October 1st to 15th
Cottonwoods and aspens along Mores Creek, red maple and ninebark on the slopes, and aspen groves on both sides of Mores Creek Summit 13 miles past town. Idaho City Days lands right in the window on October 3rd and 4th, so you can pair the drive with the festival. Highway 21 is open, but the Crooked Fire closure has shut the roads north of town toward Pilot Peak through December 31st, so skip that side trip this year. Free.
Rainbow Bridge over the North Fork Payette River. Photo: Federal Highway Administration via the National Archives, public domain
Payette River Scenic Byway and Rainbow Bridge
1 hour 10 minutes from Boise
Peaks October 5th to 20th
The drive Boise does every fall, for good reason. Cottonwoods turn mustard yellow along the river from Horseshoe Bend to Banks, aspens light up the slopes above Smiths Ferry, and the 1933 Rainbow Bridge over the North Fork is the most photographed spot on the road. The pullout on the south side of the bridge is small, so be careful pulling in. Check 511.idaho.gov for rockfall closures before a weekend run. Free.
Garden Valley and the Middle Fork Road
1 hour 10 minutes from Boise
Peaks October 5th to 20th
The best pure cottonwood show on the Highway 55 side. Middle Fork Road north of Crouch runs through ranch meadows lined with mature cottonwoods, with maples going cherry red on the hillsides. It’s paved for a few miles past Crouch and then good gravel, with hot springs scattered along the way. Free.
Deadwood Reservoir, Lowman Ranger District. Photo: US Forest Service
Banks-Lowman Highway to Kirkham Hot Springs
1 hour 45 minutes to Lowman
Peaks October 1st to 15th
The South Fork Payette canyon between Garden Valley and Lowman is the red-and-gold show: the slopes that burned in 1989 grew back in aspen, maple and chokecherry, and in the first week of October they glow. Kirkham Hot Springs sits 4 miles past Lowman on Highway 21, day use only, and its listed season ends in late September, so expect closed restrooms even though the pools are still reachable. Make it a loop: Highway 55 up, Banks-Lowman across, Highway 21 home through Idaho City. Free; Kirkham $5 per vehicle.
Western larch turning gold, Glacier National Park, Montana. Photo: David Restivo, National Park Service, public domain
Cascade, Tamarack, and Warm Lake Road
1 hour 40 minutes to Cascade, 2 hours 15 minutes to Warm Lake
Peaks October 20th to November 5th
This is larch country, and it peaks after everything else is done. Western larch drop their needles like a deciduous tree, and for about two weeks in late October they turn the mountainsides gold in torches scattered through the dark pines. Look for them on West Mountain above Lake Cascade, around Tamarack Resort (the place is named for them), and along the 26 paved miles of Warm Lake Road east of Cascade. Tamarack’s Oktoberfest on September 26th is the big early-season draw, though the lift won’t be running for leaf peeping. Free; Lake Cascade State Park $7.
Lake Fork Creek near McCall. Photo: Keith Lannom, US Forest Service
McCall, Ponderosa State Park, and Warren Wagon Road
2 hours 15 minutes to McCall
Aspens peak October 1st to 12th, larch October 15th to 31st
Two trips, two different shows. In the first ten days of October the aspens are the story: drive Warren Wagon Road up the west shore of Payette Lake past North Beach to Upper Payette Lake, about 18 paved miles of groves. In the last two weeks of the month, come back for the larch on the lake shores and up on the ridgelines. Ponderosa State Park’s paved road out to Osprey Point gives you both, with the view over the Narrows. Free; Ponderosa State Park $7.
Sawtooth Valley near Stanley. Photo: Charles Knowles, CC BY 2.0
Stanley and Redfish Lake
About 3 hours from Boise
Peaks September 15th to October 5th
The earliest peak on this list and the biggest backdrop. Aspens go gold and orange across the Sawtooth Valley by mid September, with willows and dogwood turning red along the Salmon River. The Fishhook Creek Trail from the Redfish trailhead is a flat 4.6 miles round trip into a meadow under Mt. Heyburn, and Stanley Lake’s inlet beach gives you McGown Peak reflected in the water at sunrise. One warning: the Grandjean campground and trailhead off Highway 21 are closed indefinitely after a summer debris flow, so don’t plan a stop there. Free in town; day-use fees at Sawtooth NRA sites.
Ketchum Ranger District, Sawtooth National Forest. Photo: US Forest Service
Ketchum, Sun Valley, and Hailey
2 hours 40 minutes to Hailey, 2 hours 50 minutes to Ketchum
Peaks October 1st to 15th
Aspens along Trail Creek Road east of Sun Valley, the Adams Gulch trails 2 miles north of Ketchum, and the trees around the Hemingway Memorial all turn in the first two weeks of October. Hailey’s Draper Preserve, a 1-mile loop with a boardwalk and the Bow Bridge over the Big Wood, peaks a week or so later and is the backup once the high country is finished. The Trailing of the Sheep Festival runs October 7th through 11th, with the Big Sheep Parade down Main Street in Ketchum at noon on Sunday the 11th. Free.
Featherville and the South Fork Boise River
2 hours 15 minutes from Boise
Peaks early to mid October
Highway 20 past Mountain Home, then the paved Pine-Featherville Road along Anderson Ranch Reservoir. Cottonwoods and aspens go bright yellow along the South Fork between Pine and Featherville, and Baumgartner Hot Springs is 11 gravel miles past Featherville if you want a soak at the end of the drive. Free.
Silver City, Owyhee County
Silver City
2 hours 10 minutes from Boise
Peaks September 20th to October 5th
The ghost town sits at 6,200 feet, and the aspens along Jordan Creek and up toward War Eagle Mountain go gold in late September. The last 23 miles are single-lane gravel with almost 4,000 feet of climbing, so an SUV is a much better idea than a car. No services, 5 mph in town, and the road closes November 1st. Call the Idaho Hotel before you go if you’re counting on it being open. Free.
Rock Creek Canyon and Magic Mountain
About 3 hours from Boise
Peaks early to mid October
Rock Creek Road south of Hansen climbs into dense aspen bowls around the Magic Mountain ski area, with cottonwood and chokecherry lower in the canyon. Ross Falls is a short walk from the road, and Pike Mountain, gravel and dry weather only, has a 360-degree view from the summit. Right at the three-hour line. Free.
Weiser River Trail
1 hour 15 minutes to Weiser, 1 hour 45 minutes to Cambridge
Peaks mid to late October
An 84-mile rail trail running from Weiser up to New Meadows that almost nobody puts on a fall list. The best color is the basalt canyon section between Midvale and Cambridge, where the trail crosses the Weiser River on old railroad trestles under cottonwoods. It’s gravel and open to bikes, e-bikes, horses and hikers. Free.
Hells Canyon Scenic Byway to Oxbow
2 hours 30 minutes from Boise
Peaks mid to late October
From Cambridge, Highway 71 climbs over the Cuddy Mountains and drops to the Snake River at Brownlee Dam, then follows the reservoir north to Oxbow. Cottonwoods, willows and sumac turn against black basalt walls, and bighorn sheep are common on the slopes. Hells Canyon Dam is another 22 miles up the road and pushes the trip past three and a half hours, so save that stretch for an overnight. Free.
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Oregon. Photo: D. Story, US Forest Service
Anthony Lakes and the Sumpter Valley Railroad (Oregon)
2 hours 40 minutes to Anthony Lakes, 3 hours to Sumpter
Peaks October 1st to 15th
The Elkhorn Mountains outside Baker City have some of the best western larch in the region, and at 7,100 feet Anthony Lake turns earlier than the Idaho larch, usually in the first two weeks of October. Take I-84 to North Powder and the paved Anthony Lakes Highway to the ski area; the 1-mile lake loop under Gunsight Peak is the easy payoff. The Sumpter Valley Railroad runs fall foliage steam trains October 16th, 17th and 18th, two a day out of McEwen. Snow can close the high road by mid October. Anthony Lake $5 per vehicle.
All Around Idaho
For a long weekend. Southeast Idaho and the Tetons peak in late September, the river valleys in mid October, and the North Idaho larch in the second half of October.
City of Rocks National Reserve
Pomerelle and Howell Canyon
3 hours from Boise
Peaks September 15th to 30th
A 12-mile paved switchback climb through solid aspen to the Pomerelle ski area at 8,000 feet, then on to Lake Cleveland and the Mount Harrison lookout at 9,265 feet, where you can pick out the Sawtooths and the Wasatch on a clear day. One of the earliest shows in southern Idaho. City of Rocks is an hour south if you want to stay over, and its cottonwoods and aspens peak a few weeks later in mid October. Free.
Pocatello: City Creek and Mink Creek
3 hours 30 minutes from Boise
Peaks September 15th to October 10th
Rocky Mountain maple turns crimson on the slopes above Pocatello in mid to late September, earlier than almost anything else in the state, and then the aspens and Mink Creek cottonwoods follow in early October. Start at the City Creek trailhead on the west side of town, then drive Mink Creek Road out to Cherry Springs and up Scout Mountain Road for the overlook across the Portneuf Valley. Free.
Lava Hot Springs and the Bear River Loop
4 hours from Boise
Peaks late September through mid October
Soak in the state-run pools with gold cottonwoods along the Portneuf, then drive the loop the local chamber recommends: Old Highway 30 to Grace, then Highway 34 south along the Bear River toward Preston. Lava’s Oktoberfest is October 2nd and 3rd downtown, free admission. Keep going on US 30 over Georgetown Summit to Montpelier for the aspens and maples of the Caribou Range. Pools about $10 to $13.
Logan Canyon, near Bear Lake. Photo: A. E. Crane, US DOT via the National Archives
Bear Lake and Logan Canyon
5 hours from Boise
Peaks September 20th to October 10th
Deep red bigtooth maple canyons against a Caribbean-blue lake. Logan Canyon, just over the Utah line, is the single most reliable red-maple drive you can reach from Idaho, and St. Charles Canyon on the Idaho side is the quieter version of the same thing. The Bear Lake Overlook above Garden City is in Utah too. Minnetonka Cave closes after Labor Day, so that one is off the table. Free; Bear Lake State Park $7.
Snake River Canyon above Palisades Reservoir. Photo: Darin Martens, US Forest Service
Swan Valley, Palisades, and Fall Creek Falls
4 hours 45 minutes from Boise
Peaks October 1st to 15th
The South Fork of the Snake has one of the largest intact cottonwood galleries in the West, and it goes yellow in the first half of October with aspen and maple on the Palisades slopes above. Fall Creek Falls, a 60-foot spring-fed curtain dropping straight into the Snake, is 1.5 miles down Snake River Road from the Swan Valley bridge, with no railings, so watch kids. The Clark Hill Rest Area on US 26 looks down on the whole cottonwood corridor. Stop at Rainey Creek Country Store for the square ice cream cone. Free.
Teton Valley and Ski Hill Road
5 hours 30 minutes from Boise
Peaks September 20th to October 5th
Gold aspens on the west slope of the Tetons with the Grand’s west face behind them. Ski Hill Road east of Driggs up to the Grand Targhee base is the classic drive, and Pine Creek Pass and Teton Pass add hillside views on either end. The resort itself sits in Alta, Wyoming, and its scenic lift closed September 13th, so this is a drive-and-hike trip. The elk rut runs through late September. Free.
Upper Mesa Falls, Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Photo: Sue McKenna, US Forest Service
Mesa Falls and Island Park
5 hours 30 minutes from Boise
Peaks September 20th to October 5th
Upper Mesa Falls drops 110 feet into the Henrys Fork canyon with aspens on the rim and a near-constant rainbow in the mist, and Lower Mesa Falls is visible from the Grandview overlook farther down the byway. Island Park, Harriman’s Railroad Ranch and Big Springs all sit at 6,300 feet and turn in late September, some of the earliest color in the state. Harriman has construction through Halloween this year and hosts Haunts of Harriman on October 23rd and 24th. Small day-use fee at Upper Mesa Falls; Harriman $7.
Salmon and Lost Trail Pass
5 hours from Boise
Cottonwoods peak October 1st to 15th, larch October 15th to 31st
Gold cottonwood galleries along the Salmon and Lemhi rivers under red-brown canyon walls, getting better as you drive north on US 93 toward North Fork and the Montana line. Shoup Road west from North Fork is paved for 19 miles along the river and is the quiet detour. Save the last stop for Lost Trail Pass, where the western larch turn in mid to late October. Custer ghost town and the Yankee Fork dredge above Sunbeam are on the way if you go through Stanley, though the dredge tours ended at Labor Day. Free.
Riggins and White Bird Hill
3 hours to Riggins
Peaks late September to mid October
The Salmon River canyon at Riggins is warm and low, so the river-bar cottonwoods turn against dry brown walls in early October. Keep going up US 95 and the Old White Bird Grade switchbacks and the White Bird Battlefield overlook look out over the harvested Camas Prairie in gold and tan. Free.
The Lochsa River Corridor
4 hours 15 minutes to Kooskia, 6 hours to Lolo Pass
Larch peaks October 15th to 31st
The Forest Service’s own national fall color guide calls this one out: larch light up the Bitterroots along the Lochsa from Lowell to Lolo Pass. The cottonwoods along the Clearwater from Kooskia to Lowell go first, then the larch on the upper river in the second half of October. Stop at the DeVoto cedar grove, and walk the mile in to Jerry Johnson Hot Springs to soak under gold larch. Snow can hit the pass by late October. Free.
Moscow and the Palouse
5 hours from Boise
Peaks early to late October
The University of Idaho Arboretum’s maples and ginkgos, the harvest quilt of the Palouse seen from the top of Kamiak Butte (a free county park just over the Washington line with a 3.5-mile loop), and larch on Moscow Mountain later in the month. Moscowberfest is October 10th downtown. Free.
Coeur d’Alene River near Enaville. Photo: LibertyLakeAnne, CC0
Coeur d’Alene and the Lake Coeur d’Alene Scenic Byway
6 hours 30 minutes from Boise
Town peaks October 1st to 15th, larch October 15th to 31st
Tubbs Hill and the Centennial Trail along the lake turn in the first half of October, and then the larch show starts: the Mineral Ridge loop, a free 3.3-mile BLM trail, looks down on Beauty Bay with gold larch on the ridges, and Highway 97 runs 25 winding miles under larch and birch down the east shore. Downtown’s Harvest Market and Apple Palooza is October 17th, and the lake cruises run through the 31st. The Silver Mountain gondola in Kellogg, 3.1 miles up over larch slopes, is the easiest larch overlook in Idaho if it’s running; October dates weren’t posted when we checked, so call first. Free; gondola about $23.
St. Joe River Scenic Byway
6 hours to St. Maries
Peaks October 15th to 31st
If you’re going to drive this far for larch, this is the drive. The river runs deep green from St. Maries through Calder to Avery under canyon walls dense with western larch, with cottonwoods along the lower stretch. The upper section past Avery is gravel and closes with snow. Free.
Western larch near Priest Lake. Photo: Pecky Cox, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sandpoint and Priest Lake
7 hours 30 minutes to Sandpoint
Town peaks early October, larch October 15th to 31st
Cottonwoods and maples on the Pend Oreille Bay Trail in early October, larch on the Selkirk front and up at Schweitzer later in the month (drive up for free, since the summer lift is done), and Highway 200 east to Hope and Clark Fork with the Cabinet Mountains going gold above the lake. Priest Lake, another hour north, is the quiet version: tamarack and vine maple over the water with the summer crowds gone. Sandpoint’s Harvest Fest is October 17th. Free; Priest Lake State Park $7.
For a live check on any of these, explorefall.com’s Idaho map updates daily through the season. Find a spot we missed? Tag @thisisboise.
