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Idaho 
Idaho is famous for its Potatoes, Scenery and Beauty
{State
Bird, Mountain BlueBird} {State Flower, Syringa} {State Tree,
White Pine}
Economy: Potatoes, cattle, peas, sugar beets, tourism.
With a marked absence of urban centers, state capital Boise , in the south, being the only real exception, Idaho is very much a destination for the outdoors person. Its five-hundred-mile stretch include Hell's Canyon , America's deepest river gorge, the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and the black, barren Craters of the Moon . Beyond these, hikers and backpackers have the choice of no fewer than 81 mountain ranges, interspersed with forest and lava plateau, while the Snake and Salmon rivers offer endless scope for fishing and whitewater rafting .
Sun Valley's season runs from late November through to April; as well as downhill skiing , you can also set off cross-country. Ketchum itself is a lively little town with plenty of accommodation, and an oasis of nightlife in this otherwise thinly populated zone. Up to a point, it resembles the Colorado ski towns, though summer trade is not quite as busy. Among summer outdoor activities are cycling along thirty miles of excellent trails - including the former railroad tracks, long since paved over - mountain biking on the superb lift-accessed trails on Bald Mountain and rafting on the rivers to the north. The Sports Complex on Sun Valley Road, south of Dollar Road, offers a Nordic ski center, tennis, ice skating, winter sleigh rides and guided horseback rides.
The wilderness peaks and pinnacles of the Sawtooth, Salmon River and Clearwater mountains make traveling through the heart of Idaho impossible. There are only two routes from south to north: up the eastern fringe from Idaho Falls, or, more enjoyably, along US-95 via Hwy-55 out of Boise. At first barren and infertile, not until just before Lewiston does the scenery unfold into superb pastoral farmland. The Nez Percé hunted buffalo, gathered berries and fished here for hundreds of years, until gold was discovered and they were forced to beat a bloody retreat.
The heavily forested far north of the Idaho Panhandle is broken by hundreds of deep glacial lakes, the largest of which have resort towns such as Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint . While not major destinations, they can make good one- or two-day stops.
From the busy but not over-commercialized little water-sports and ski resort of McCALL , 110 miles north of Boise, Hwy-55 climbs steadily to merge with US-95 and follow the turbulent Little Salmon River . Just south of the hamlet of Riggins, thirty miles on, comes the only good opportunity to see Hell's Canyon from Idaho. With an average depth of 5500ft this is the deepest river gorge in the USA, though its low-relief formation, hemmed in by a series of gradually ascending false peaks, means that it lacks the impact of the steep-walled Grand Canyon. Nevertheless, it is impressive, with Oregon's Wallowa and Eagle Cap ranges rising behind it and the river glimmering far down below. Hwy-241 leads towards the overlooks; the final few miles of dirt road require a 4WD vehicle and permission from the Riggins forest ranger office on Hwy-95 (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm; tel 208/628-3916). The canyon is also accessible by road from Oregon and by boat from Lewiston.
RIGGINS itself reclines in a steeply rising T-shaped canyon. This is prime white-water rafting country, and outfitters, spread along a one-mile stretch of the one-street village, outnumber cafés and shops. The Chamber of Commerce (tel 208/628-3441) has details. From Riggins, US-95 heads north along the Salmon River Valley for thirty miles to the rumpled terrain around White Bird , the start of Nez Percé country.
There
are few compelling reasons to visit industrial LEWISTON , 110 miles north
of Riggins (which was Territorial capital for one brief year before Boise
took over). One is to drive down the old road into town from the top of
Lewiston Hill, just north - what seems like an intricate network of roads
crisscrossing a series of mounds is, in fact, a single tarmac ribbon, which
twists and turns for several miles down the steep hillside. Another is
the Lewiston Round-up , a massive rodeo held on the second weekend of September.
