2026 Blaine County Travel Guide: must-see attractions, popular food, hotels, transport & travel experiences (updated in August)

#easytravelpost Alice Lake is the Sawtooths' postcard—reached from the Tin Cup Trailhead at Pettit Lake, 30 min south of Stanley on ID-75. Free wilderness permit (self-issue at the trailhead), no entry fee, no reservations for day use; pack out human waste (wag bags encouraged), campfires banned in the Alice/Toxaway basin. I arrived at 6:40 a.m., lot already 60% full, filled the vault-toilet stop in Stanley first (no water at trailhead). The hike is 11.6 mi round trip, 1,600 ft gain: 2 mi gentle along Pettit Creek, then a steady climb through lodgepole to the Alice basin at 8,600 ft. El Capitan's fin reflects in the teal water; I ate lunch on the west slab and watched marmots whistle. The "saddle loop" continues past Alice to Twin Lakes, over the low saddle, and back via the Toxaway junction—add 6 mi if you want the full ring. Mistake: I wore trail runners and the Pettit Creek crossing (early season) soaked them to the ankle—sandals-for-fords or waterproof boots. Another: I filtered lake water without a second pass and got a gut cramp; treat twice. Would you day-hike Alice as an 11.6 mi push, or backpack in and camp at Twin Lakes for the 6 a.m. El Capitan glow?

#easytravelpost The Sawtooth Lakes loop starts at Pettit Lake Trailhead (1,950 m) on ID-75, 30 min south of Stanley. No permit, no fee (Sawtooth NF), but the trailhead fills by 8 a.m. on weekends—I slept at the Iron Creek dispersed sites (free, first-come) and started at 5:50. The 11 km round trip to Alice Lake (2,350 m) passes Toxaway, Farley, and Ingeborg lakes, each granite-walled, each colder than the last. "Refectory" refers to the natural rock amphitheater above Alice where a flat slab shelf looks like a monk's dining hall—I ate oatmeal there with the 3,000 m peaks stacking west. The trail is mostly forested until the Alice basin opens; water is everywhere, filter the creeks (giardia in Sawtooths is common). I pushed to the Alpine Lake climb (3,050 m) in 90 min from Alice—scree, no trail, cairns only. Stanley's altitude (1,900 m) means 3.5 L water on a hot August day. Mistake: I wore a cotton tee and the 2,350 m breeze at 10 a.m. was 11°C—pack a fleece. Another: I trusted my phone GPS in the Alpine Lake scramble and drifted into a gully; download the USGS quad offline. Would you day-hike Pettit→Alice→Alpine, or backpack and camp at Toxaway for the 6 a.m. glass?

#arrivalguide Iron Creek Trailhead (7,200 ft) is 17 miles south of Stanley on Forest Road 205, graded gravel, fine for sedans in dry July. No fee for the trailhead itself, but the Sawtooth National Recreation Area charges $5/day or $30/year at the Iron Creek toilet kiosk (tap card). The hike to Sawtooth Lake is 5.5 miles one way, 1,700 ft gain, 3h30 up at a steady pace. The first 2 miles are forested along Iron Creek, then it opens to Alpine Way Meadows, crosses a log bridge, and switchbacks up the headwall into the cirque where Sawtooth Lake mirrors the jagged namesake peak. I camped at the outlet (permit $7/night reserved online before arrival, bear canister required—no tree hangs) and woke to ice on the tent at 7 am in late July. Day-hikers must be off by dark; lightning builds after 13:00 so start by 7. Water is plentiful but filter it—giardia is real. The trail is dusty, not rocky, until the final switchbacks where granite scree kicks in; trail runners okay but poles help the knees. Common error: people turn back at the first meadow thinking the lake is "just ahead"—it is another 1.5 miles and 800 ft. Stanley has gas and a $6 burger but no ATM that reliably takes foreign cards. Question: is Sawtooth Lake over-photographed and thus overrated, or does the granite cirque still deliver something different from Wind Rivers or Tetons?

There are several volcanic lava tunnels for children to explore in Crater of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. You need to register at the visitor center in the park to get a permit before you can enter. When we arrived, we only had one entry. Indian Tunnel is the largest and longest volcanic 🌋 lava tunnel in the park. Going down the stairs, you will feel cool. 15,000 years ago, extremely hot volcanic magma flowed here and surged to the surface. We can't imagine how hot it was😱😱😱 Because of the skylights formed by 🈶 several landslides on the top of the cave, you can travel through the cave without additional lighting. But the road under your feet is basically not repaired and uneven. From time to time, you can see bats hanging upside down on the top of the cave😱We also met a very well-behaved little bird🐦 The left and right sides of this cave are both exits🈶, but there is no normal trail at the exit on that side. The park also warned that there might be landslides and not to walk into the volcanic cliff magma field randomly, so we returned the same way. There are several lava tunnels in Crater of the Moon National Monument in Idaho that children can explore. You need to register at the visitor center in the park to get a permit before entering. When we arrived, only the Indian Tunnel was open for entry. The Indian Tunnel is the largest and longest lava tunnel in the park. Going down the stairs, you will feel cool. 15,000 years ago, extremely hot volcanic magma flowed here and surged to the surface. We can't imagine how hot it was. The cave has skylights formed by several landslides on the top, so you can travel through the cave without additional lighting. But the road under our feet is basically not repaired and uneven. From time to time, we can see bats hanging upside down on the top of the cave😱We also met a very well-behaved little bird🐦 The exits of this cave are 🈶to the left and right, but there are no normal trails at the exits. The park also warned that there might be landslides and not to walk into the volcanic cliff magma fields, so we returned the same way. #AmericanTravel #Volcano #Tunnel #Idaho #Cave #OverseasTravel