Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Tell me about Idaho Falls, ID

I've been there. I've done that. I don't regret any of the time I spent there but I'm looking for a change. My one and only problem with Alaska is living with six plus months of full on winter. It's gets old after a while.



Grand Junction has nothing that appeals to me.

Well, to me, there are Smallmouth Bass, and other fish. If I wanted to stay out west and fish, I'd be looking at some place that had rivers with a lot of bronzebacks. The Grand Ronde in OR/WA and the John Day in OR come to mind, though I'm sure there are others. Westerners all appear to be steelhead-queers, and think "the gamest fish that swims" is to be sneered at and left alone.

If you're looking at Idaho Falls, look up the road about 25 miles to Rexburg.

Rexburg is not as large as IF, and it is a college town. It's a little closer than IF to the excellent fly fishing on the Snake River, near Ririe.

You're not far from Heise Hot Springs, Kelly's Canyon, and all that. Upper and Lower Palisades Lakes (north of Palisades Reservoir) used to be good fishing, though you have to pack in. Plus it's not a big drive to Swan Valley, Alpine, and Afton if you want to hop over the border into Wyoming.

It has been a long time, but there used to be a big elk herd in Star Valley, WY.

Thanks.

I truly appreciate all the advice/comments that have been posted.

I want to find to find someplace in the mountain west that combines opportunities with reasonable real estate prices, living standards, and jobs.

It's not easy.

What kind of work would you like to find?

Denton is correct, IMO. Maybe Ashton as well.

Rexburg has more expensive housing than I.F. or Rigby. (Because of the college.) I live in Rigby, 15 minutes from I.F. Small town, nice people, and I can run into the "big" town easily. Cheap taxes, decent to good schools, cheap groceries.
Check out the Snake River MLS for housing. It's CHEAP. (No, I'm not a realtor.)

I fish the South Fork of the Snake a lot. (10 minutes to Lorenzo Access, 15 to Twin Bridges. Or I can go up to Byington or conant, or Palisades.)It is really good. No, not Alaska good, but if you have a float tube or a drift boat, it is a blast and you don't have guys standing shoulder to shoulder. If you want that, drive up to Shoup for steelhead.
You can also fish the main Snake, or the North (Henrys) Fork. Or go up to Island Park and Yellowstone.

Whitetail around here is private property and tough, but I've taken many mule deer, elk, and a bear within 1.5 hours. Good hunts are draw, but there are over the counter tags, too. And there is really good upland hunting and waterfowl.

Regarding the cancer, the isotope thing was a time ago. I know guys who work out there. They monitor the area all the time. There is more radiation from standing in front of a fire place.

The remrk about not getting a job if your not LDS is wrong. I know many guys who aren't Mormon and have jobs. My neighbor is Baptist and moved here from Washington. He works out at the INL. Several other neighbors are Catholic. Lots of people aren't LDS, it's not a big deal. However, it does mean it does mean my subdivision is full of clean cut, educated, conservative LDS families. I can think of worse things.

But the wind and winter do get old!

I've lived in CA, HI, KY, MT, ID, IN, back to ID, AK, then back to ID seven years ago. Objectively speaking, if you can do the winter, this is a good place.

If I can help answer anything, PM me.

212 feet, WOW. I must have been further away than I thought, because I had no idea it was that much drop. It surely is an impressive sight. And the roar is incredible even from the distance at which these photos were taken.

From your angle, you can't see the bottom. You're only looking at the top 1/3.



Here's what the man-made Idaho Falls looks like:

Just helped a friend move to Rigby. Very nice there. Its a small town, but, like other posters have mentioned, everything you need is close by. Medical, post office, DMV etc are all in town. Hell, we were fishing 10 minutes from his new place on the Snake! And Henry's Lake just north of Rigby has AWESOME fishing. You'll have no problem fishing in Idaho.

Smartest post of the year!

Fish Head:

I guess it depends on what kind of fishing you are into. If you like fly fishing for trout on pristine streams and high mountain lakes, then you can obviously narrow it down. Colorado has all that already.

Warm water fishing? I thought the front range was good for that, but I think the ultimate is obviously Lake Powell.

Okay! Now that is impressive. I have been through Twin' a couple of times, and never had time to do the walk through at Shoshone Falls. I just grabbed a few photos from the parking area.

Is the vantage point where your photo was taken available on the walking/bike path through the park?

I have to say, it would be a pity to shut it down in order to divert the water through turbines, but there sure is a lot of hydro going to waste there.

Lived in Southern and Eastern Idaho for the last 20 years. Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, Pocatello.

First, the LDS comments are valid. If you are in an industry where word of mouth is important, your potential income is seriously limited if you are not LDS. If you work at a major employer such as the Site, it doesn't matter as much.

Fishing is good, and not crowded by most standards. Very good small mouth fishing around American Falls, Walleye in Salmon Falls, and in the Bear River, lake trout in Bear Lake, Steelhead in Shoup, Pumpernickel in several of the lakes (like Dierkes), and cold water trash fish (trout) in most every river and stream around.

Idaho Falls is my least favorite city of the three. Full of engineer types, and boring. Also, the winters are cold, sure, but the real issue is that it is gray. Pocatello is my favorite, even though the average income is much lower. University town, much more varied cultural life, and at least 50 days more days of sunshine. It doesn't cloud up near as much in the winter, and snow doesn't stay. PM if you have any other questions.

Just be sure you visit to the falls in during spring runoff. Summer will be completely different.

There were a couple years I had the privilege of living in SE Idaho during the early 80's. The economy was pretty grim and I moved to the left coast for job reasons where family and business ties have made me remain. Fishing, hunting and the pace of life were better there than anywhere else I've lived plus the people were great. Anyone living there has me just a little jealous.

Couple of other places to add to your list:

Logan, UT: About the same climate as Rigby, but with several large potential employers.

Carson City, NV: Not a big town, but excellent access to good recreation. Wind blows in the summer... momma, does it blow.

There is a fairly large Latin immigrant population in the area, names of that origin seem to be connected with most of the crime reported on the local news.

The biggest problem I would have with I.F. is the gray overcast in the winter, if you can handle that the rest of it should be okay.

Good hunting and fishing within an hour or two of the area.

Because of the INL being located nearby I.F. did not take a housing or unemployment hit as severe as the rest of the country.

If I recall correctly the INL employs around 5000 people most in very good paying jobs.

drover

There are several good vantage points for the falls. The main one looks almost straight down on them. Then there's a paved path that goes several hundred yards to the one from where that pic was taken. I also have some good ones from the canyon rim on the far side but you need to know where to go on a dirt road.

The water is fully utilized. A certain amount has to be let go to maintain the fish runs. A lot of that goes through the turbines, and the rest is for irrigation.

I'm biased, but I'd consider Utah. Plenty of blue ribbon fisheries, and a bunch more pristine out of the way mountain lakes and streams. Trout of every variety, Grayling, large mouth bass, small mouth bass, northern pike, crappie, catfish, walleye, perch, Kokanee Salmon, you name it. Also a strong economy and plenty of jobs. There's some quirky stuff with alcohol laws and religion, but nothing major. Utah's an extremely gun friendly State as well.

Look at the Provo River, Green River, Weber River, Lake Powell, Strawberry, Flaming Gorge, and all points in between.

http://wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots/blueribbon.php

http://www.utahfishinginfo.com/utahfish/

I pulled the last load of seed potatoes out of a potato shed next to the Hot Springs just East of Sugar City about twelve hours before the Teton Damn broke on the Snake River years ago. Yes, that is some pretty country over there in the foothills of Teton Range, but if I was to move to Idaho it would be up in the panhandle up around Newman Lake or a little further North. I haven't lived in Idaho, but have lived in Spokane, and my Grand Parents had a place up on Loon Lake North of Spokane, and I have some fond memories of that area as life was so much slower over there in Eastern Washington.