To celebrate reaching the milestone of our 400th blog post, we are linking to our top 10 posts from 301-400 based on number of likes. Please check out our Top 10 from the first 100, 200, and 300 (or click here if you want to see all of our Top 10 Lists, including our meta Top 10 of Our Top 10 Lists). Thank you to our readers for inspiring us to continue traveling and to share the wonders with you all.
When we last posted we were starting work on our guidebook for the 155 U.S. National Forests, which is now published on Amazon. We had no idea we would write four articles for our local newspaper (and be interviewed for another), give a presentation at our library on National Forests, or publish a coloring book based on illustrations from our first guidebook to the National Parks. Who knows what we will do between now and our 500th post?
Co-managed as Caribou-Targhee National Forest since 2000, Caribou National Forest is located in the southeastern corner of Idaho. To add to the jurisdictional muddle, Caribou National Forest has also administered the 263,940-acre Idaho portion of Wasatch-Cache National Forest since 1973 (see previous blog post). However, nearly 50 years later all of the wooden signs in this area still read Cache National Forest. Despite the signage, U.S. Forest Service publications and topographic maps identify Minnetonka Cave and Paris Ice Cave as being in Caribou-Targhee National Forest, so we went with that. Confused? So are we, so much so that we made a phone call to a Forest Service employee in this ranger district that still did not clear up the bureaucratic mess.
Highlights
Pioneer Historic Scenic Byway, Minnetonka Cave, Paris Ice Cave, Caribou City ghost town, Malad Range, Tincup Mountain, Oregon Trail-Bear Lake Scenic Byway, Lander Cutoff, Oneida Salt Works, Cherry Springs Nature Area, Montpelier Canyon, Bloomington Lake, Scout Mountain Nature Trail
Must-Do Activity
In Montpelier, Idaho, the National Oregon/California Trail Center is managed by the U.S. Forest Service on the Pioneer Historic Scenic Byway. To the southwest, Minnetonka Cave is one of the few developed cave tours offered by (a concessionaire for) the Forest Service. The natural entrance to Minnetonka Cave was widened and the route lighted by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s when 444 stairs were installed to allow large groups to visit. The tour goes out and back on the same route so the steep downward sections become climbs on the return trip, but guides make multiple stops in both directions to allow you to catch your breath at this high elevation.
Best Trail
Further north than Minnetonka Cave, a 9.5-mile long dirt road drive up to 7,800 feet in elevation leads to the short boardwalk through the Paris Ice Cave. This photogenic natural tunnel is open at both ends so it does not require a flashlight, but does retain snowpack deep into the summer months. Signs at both caves still say Cache National Forest even though this district has not been managed by them since 1973.
Watchable Wildlife
This is a fairly arid portion of the west, so you are more likely to see a ground squirrel, coyote, or mule deer than any other wildlife. In Minnetonka Cave, our tour guide pointed out a couple Townsend’s big-eared bats, which is why they screen all visitors for white-nosed bat syndrome. We disturbed a nesting robin when exiting the Paris Ice Cave.
Instagram-worthy Photo
On the Idaho-Utah border, the 109-square-mile Bear Lake has been called the “Caribbean of the Rockies” because of its water’s intense turquoise color, due to suspended limestone sediment. The naturally-formed lake sits at 5,924 feet in elevation and its maximum depth is 208 feet. Both states have their own Bear Lake State Park with boat ramps and beaches for swimming.
Peak Season
Summer
Fees
It costs $12 per person for the 80-minute Minnetonka Cave Tour that you must pay before driving up to the actual cave, but we did not come across any other fees.
Road Conditions
Access to Minnetonka Cave is paved and the 9.5-mile long dirt road drive up to Paris Ice Cave was good enough for our passenger vehicle to handle.
Camping
There are numerous campgrounds on the way to Minnetonka Cave and we found a large, flat dispersed camp along the road to Paris Ice Cave.
Cherry Springs Nature AreaRed osier dogwoodScout Mountain Nature TrailLooking towards Pocatello on the Scout Mountain Nature TrailEast Mink TrailLong-tailed weaselDouglas-fir coneScott in Paris Ice CaveParis Ice CaveTiff entering Paris Ice CaveMule deerTiff on the Minnetonka Cave TourMinnetonka CaveScott in Minnetonka CaveDispersed campsiteRaven about the forest
Learn more about Caribou and the 154 other National Forests in our new guidebook Out in the Woods
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Cache National Forest surrounds Logan, Utah on three sides covering the Bear River Range and Wellsville Mountains, which are considered to have the steepest grade in the entire nation. Since August 2007, Cache National Forest is officially part of the massive Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest that sprawls across northeastern Utah. To add to the bureaucratic confusion, the 263,940 acres of Cache National Forest in Idaho have been administered since 1973 by Caribou National Forest (see our next blog post). When you subtract that land area, it only includes 437,712 acres of federal land, making it one of the smallest National Forests in the western U.S.
Highlights
Logan Canyon Scenic Byway, Wind Cave, Jardine Juniper, Tea Pot Rock, Old Limber Pine Nature Trail, Ogden River Scenic Byway, Pineview Reservoir, Tony Grove Lake Campground, Causey Reservoir, Wellsville Mountains, Naomi Peak National Recreation Trail
Must-Do Activity
Logan Canyon Scenic Byway follows Highway 89 and the beautiful Logan River up to a pass with views of Bear Lake, a naturally-formed body of water that gets its turquoise color from suspended limestone sediment (earning it’s the nickname “Caribbean of the Rockies”). Logan Canyon is especially busy in the fall when the leaves change on quaking aspens and three species of maples: boxelder, canyon/bigtooth maple, and Rocky Mountain maple.
Best Trail
Logan Canyon has two popular, but steep trails that lead to Wind Cave and the Old Jardine Juniper, the world’s largest Rocky Mountain juniper estimated to be at least 3,000 years old. The 3.6-mile out-and-back trail to Wind Cave starts from a roadside pullout across from Guinavah-Malibu Campground and gains more than 900 feet in elevation. Hiking to the Old Jardine Juniper requires a climb of over 2,100 feet along the five-mile one-way trail, which continues further into the Mt. Naomi Wilderness.
Watchable Wildlife
Trout fishing is a popular activity due to all of the rivers and streams in Cache National Forest. Large mammalian species include elk, mule deer, pronghorns, and black bears. Watch the skies above Logan Canyon for ravens and a variety of birds of prey.
Instagram-worthy Photo
The limestone arches of Wind Cave originally formed underground then were exposed when the Logan River cut its steep canyon.
Peak Season
Summer
Fees
None
Road Conditions
Logan Canyon (Highway 89) and Ogden River (Highway 39) Scenic Byways are both paved. We did not drive any unpaved roads, but we did notice that the dirt roads around Bear Lake Summit (on Highway 89) looked very rutted and four-wheel-drive only.
Camping
There are numerous campgrounds along both the Logan Canyon and Ogden River Scenic Byways. We did not notice any dispersed campsites in these areas, although there probably are some options in more remote portions of the National Forest.
Scott in Wind CaveTiff on Wind Cave TrailElderberry blossomsLogan Canyon Scenic BywayBeaver Mountain Ski ResortTiff on the Logan RiverBear LakeBear LakeLogan RiverWellsville Mountains
Learn more about Cache and the 154 other National Forests in our new guidebook Out in the Woods
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Thank you to everyone who attended our presentation last night at the library! If you couldn’t make it, please check out the short video we made to explain our quest to hike in all 155 National Forests (and learn more in our newspaper articles).
Please find below a gallery of the Powerpoint slides that ran before the presentation. And if you haven’t already, please check out our new guidebook to the National Forests.
We look forward to sharing more about National Forests in the future on this website.
This Top 10 list is in honor of publishing our new guidebook and giving a presentation on recreating in National Forests on June 21, 2022 at our local library in our hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming. This is a partial list of the best we have read. There are also countless hiking guides to specific National Forests, regions, and Wilderness areas that we did not include. Click here to see all of our Top 10 lists, including quite a few other book lists, including the Top 10 Backpacking Books.
The author traveled by boat throughout the Inside Passage and Tongass National Forest in search of an elusive subspecies of black bears with a famous wildlife photographer
Helena National Forest’s Big Belt Mountains were the site of the of the 1949 Mann Gulch Fire, which killed 13 smokejumpers who were immortalized in this classic book
Raven About The Parks 