State guide

Idaho Nature Guide

Idaho is a state of dramatic vertical range, from the sagebrush-and-lava country of the Snake River Plain to the granite spires of the Sawtooths and the vast roadless heart of the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness. Its nature calendar runs on snowmelt and elevation: the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area holds the densest concentration of nesting raptors in North America, the Camas Prairie turns lake-blue with camas in spring, Greater Sage-Grouse dance on the high-desert leks, and central Idaho holds the first International Dark Sky Reserve designated in the United States. From wintering Trumpeter Swans on Henry's Fork to the gold of aspen and larch on the September ridgelines, Idaho rewards anyone who reads the mountains and the river plain together.