blackhorse 1-7

Thank you. Very informative.

blackhorse 1-7

Laughing. Great expectations makes the world go round and round.

MtnMan Loc: ID

BTW if you do go to Hells Canyon be sure to go to the end of the road below Hells Canyon Dam. I have always seen Mountain Goats across the river just below the dam. You will also likely see Big Horn Sheep on you way into and out of the canyon, and likely deer and possibly elk.

You can also go through Joseph Oregon by lake Wallowa on your way to Hells Canyon. Very scenic.

MtnMan Loc: ID

I like the lava tubes best at Craters.

Yes, Shoshone falls can be impressive in the spring.

Also Thousand Springs (near Hagerman) along the Snake River is pretty cool. If you head back to Oregon that way and are adventerous a side trip to Silver City Idaho might interest. It is an old gold mining town that still has some summer residents. It is high so snow can be a problem. It requires about 20 miles of dirt mountain road you don't want to do if raining and no 4wd.

The road goes from there to Jordan Valley, OR but I've never gone all that way. It is dirt road.

Have you considered getting a one way car rental and dumping it in Idaho Falls, Bozeman, or Salt Lake?

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

There is lots to see, from the Oregon Coast to Yellowstone Park, and in between. The Columbia Gorge is amazing, with side trips to Mt. Hood, Multnomah Falls, the cherry orchards of The Dalles, and more. Going south on U.S. Hwy 97 brings you to Bend and the Sisters area. Going into Idaho will reward you with plenty to see and photograph. Hell's Canyon is amazing, and the road that connects Hell's Canyon with Joseph, Or is a fun road, and in Enterprise, Or, there is the cable car ride to the top of Mt. Howard, with views to Idaho, Oregon and Washington. I agree, Shoshone Falls is amazing, but after June, there won't be much to see. Going north from Twin Falls you go to Sun Valley, and proceding north from there, you go over Galena Summit, at 9000 feet! Great vistas. North of Boise and Lewiston, you come to Coeur d'Alene. Lake Coeur d'Alene is quite scenic. And I agree, Craters of the Moon is amazing.

I think you will find plenty to photograph and see. And if you head north from Boise on Hwy 21, be sure to stop in at Trudy's Kitchen in Idaho City for pie and coffee. If you like photographing rivers, the drive from Banks, on Hwy 55 to Garden Valley and on to Lowman is breathtaking, as is Hwy 55 on up to McCall. I'd like to recommend more in Oregon, but I really can't. Sorry.

blackhorse 1-7

Thank you all so very much. Helpful indeed. Looking forward to this trip even more. -Dave

atibbetts Loc: Greensboro, NC

I love the Eugene area. A few hours from there is the Umpqua State Park. They have beautiful hot springs there. Also gushing water springs that come out of the side of the mountainsame. Soooo many photo ops there. I hope you have a great time.
I'm going in May.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Someone posted about this roadtrippers link yesterday.

https://roadtrippers.com/
http://takemytrip.com/

Get the Google app - "Trips"

MTG44 Loc: Corryton, Tennessee

My don't places are Crater Lake and Smith Rock. Also painted hills.

MTG44 Loc: Corryton, Tennessee

Sorry "don't miss places'.

phal84 Loc: Huntsville

A trip like this in the north depends upon how you want to see things; early Spring is early in the north and there will still be snow around in altitude; some venues or roads may still be closed; we took a month long trip out and around a few years ago in late May early June --- Crater Lake and Lodge had just opened the day before we stayed there and you still couldn't drive around the lake yet for their still clearing the roads; the visitor's center on I94 in North Dakota also had just opened the day before when we stopped by ---- down south their opened all year. We visited Yellowstone from the west entrance in Idaho in late fall one year, that was only entrance open, all the others were closed and that one soon would be for cars. So just be aware of the differences because of weather between northern and southern trips. On a trip like that you can take more pictures than you can digest and when home wish you had visited something else along the way. Enjoy, you won't be disappointed.

suntouched Loc: Sierra Vista AZ

I agree that there is a lot to see in Oregon. Head SE to Malheur, Steen Mountain and Alford Desert. More central is wonderful hiking around Sisters and points north. Check out the bays along the coast including Yaquina Bay in Newport and Tillamook Bay in Tillamook. Go to the beaches at low tide to see what the tide pools have to offer.

PhotoCadet2016

It depends what you want to see in Idaho. There are tons of outdoor scenery to photograph in Idaho. I hear from people all the time that there isn't much here to see are people who aren't really into the outdoor life style and you wouldn't consider there being much in Idaho if your life style is mostly fixated on mostly city or large population areas then yes there isn't much here in Idaho to see. We are one of the largest states in the country, but we only about 1.7 million with the three largest cities constituting about half that number and many of these people rarely venture outside of the areas.

The area around Sandpoint, Idaho a town on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille the longest lake in Idaho (43 miles) is one of the most scenic parts of the state next to Palisades Reservoir by the Idaho Wyoming border in Southeastern Idaho. When I was attending the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho I used to visit my friend whose family lived on Lake Pend Oreille about once a month on weekends and longer during the summer months and to me at the time the area was still relatively undeveloped. I am afraid now that to many of the rich have moved into the area along with developers. However, there are still breathing taking sites to see that the developers haven't gotten to. If drive north toward Canada you can still see breathing taking scenery. The Wilderness Forest areas in the central part of the state around Wallace, Idaho and the Forest next to the Idaho Montana border areas are another scenic area if don't mind walking of the roads to get to the mountain and hill tops. There are parts of these areas that may not be accessible anymore as we have had many of the rich at first from California, but now from all over the country restrict access to large swath of land that for many years the public had access to. The areas in the Southwest and Southeast part of Idaho are mixture of desert and forested hills.

greymule Loc: Colorado

I've heard of an area called Hell's Half Acre. Any info about that?

PhotoCadet2016

Yes it is part of the Lava Flow which is about 10 miles outside Blackfoot, Idaho. Here is a link that describes the lava flow formation. The Astronauts during the early days of the moon landings used to train on the lava flows (Craters of the Moon) just north of Hells Half Acres.
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/hells_half_acre.html
http://www.volcanolive.com/hells.html