Yellowstone Park is in Idaho?

I am an Idaho resident by birth and have lived in Idaho most of my life (spent about a year in Utah but am trying to forget about that - I was only 3 years old at the time and had no choice).  I have always said and continue to say there is no National Park in Idaho.

Oh sure! The map of Yellowstone Park shows a small portion along the Wyoming border as being in Idaho, but how many people know how to even get to this portion of the Park?

If you look at the above map, there are no attractions at all listed in the Idaho part of the Park! There are no major roads from Idaho into the Park.  Main Park entrances are from either Montana (3 entrances) or Wyoming (2 entrances)

Any way, my wife Shirley and I have been taking our children and grand children to Yellowstone Park for forty years using one of the main Park entrances.  This year three of our sons who live in Idaho talked us into going with them and their families into the Idaho part of Yellowstone.

This is how you get into Yellowstone National Park directly from Idaho.  Go to Ashton, Idaho, a small town in the northeastern part of eastern Idaho.  From Idaho Falls, take US Highway 20 north approximately 50 miles.

Main Street Downtown Ashton, Idaho

From Highway 20 at Ashton, turn right and head east through town and continue on State Highway 47 for 6 miles.  Take a right onto County Road E 1400 N/Cave Falls Road.  Once you reach the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, the asphalt road ends (naturally) and you are traveling on an unmaintained gravel (some places dirt and mud) road for about 12 miles.  You can tell when you enter Yellowstone National Park only because of a small sign and the dirt road turns into a single lane asphalt highway.  There are no ticket booths with people to take your money or provide you with a smile and a welcoming greeting.

Travel along this road for a few miles and you will come to Cave Falls.  Cave Falls, which is on the Fall River, is the widest falls in Yellowstone National Park.

Cave Falls on Fall River

There are two parking areas near Cave Falls.  From the upper parking area you can view the falls from above.  From the lower parking area there is a small loop where you can park and take a trail to the cave for which the falls are named.  Don't bother taking the trail.  If you look next to the largest boulder on the extreme left side of the falls in the picture above, you will see an exclusion barrier.  A small slide has blocked the entrance to the cave; and it appears the National Park Service isn't in any hurry to make the cave accessible again.

Continuing along the narrow paved road, the next attraction is the confluence of two large rivers, the Fall River and a major tributary, the Bechler (pronounced BEKler) River.

Confluence of Fall River (right) and Bechler River (left)

You have to hike about 0.4 miles from the parking area to the confluence.  If you continue on the trail for another mile, you come to Bechler Falls and Bechler Meadows.

Bechler Falls

Bechler Meadow

The Bechler Ranger Station is located several miles from these attractions.  The ranger station provides only non-motorized access to Yellowstone National Park - hiking and horse use.  However, you can pay your Park entrance fee and travel the narrow road through the back country to Old Faithful (we didn't take that route to see any more of the Idaho part of Yellowstone National Park as Bechler Ranger Station is in Wyoming!)

By the way, Cave Falls, Bechler Falls, and Bechler Meadows are also in Wyoming!!!

Bechler Ranger Station

So if you want to be away from the crowds, traffic, bus loads of foreign speaking tourists; and don't mind traveling on dirt roads and a narrow one lane paved road; come this way.  I wouldn't advise pulling (more like dragging over the dirt road) a travel trailer or driving a large RV on this route.

If you are wanting to see beautiful scenery in this part of Idaho, take the Mesa Falls Loop Road off of US Highway 20 between Ashton and Harriman State Park on your way to West Yellowstone.

Lower Mesa Falls

Like I said at the beginning of the Post; there is no reason to say that Yellowstone National Park is in Idaho.  There is NO national park attraction in Idaho at this time.

Had a great time anyway and now our family has seen the Idaho entrance to Yellowstone National Park.  Not a great many others can say that!

A Great Group To Travel With