Adventure Photographer Itinerary; Nate Dodge traveling from Denver to Twin Falls

Have you ever wanted to explore like an adventure photographer? We have released Nate Dodge’s Southern Idaho Adventure Photographer Itinerary! We have featured his photography that he got along the way as well as included all of the locations he and his girlfriend visited, the places they ate, and where they stayed. 

Day 1

Fly into Twin Falls from the Denver.

1. Lunch at Koto Brewing 
2. Head to Hagerman Valley
3. See Ritter Island and Lemmon Falls
4. Hike Box Canyon
5. Eat at Snake River Grill
6. Stay at Billingsley Creek Lodge

Breakdown of Itinerary:

The beginning of his trip took right off! After a filling lunch at Koto Brewing, Nate headed to the Hagerman Valley for adventure. Ritter Island and Box Canyon are nearby each other. They are very unique places featuring gorgeous blue water and huge waterfalls! They look great at any hour in the day because when the light shines directly on them, the water is so vibrant blue. Sunrise and sunset is beautiful too because the waterfalls glow, and the water still looks great and more still. The best place to stay in the area is Billingsley Creek Lodge.  They have canoes you can take on the river if you please and extremely cute cabins. The backyard is a blue river that flows behind the cabins, some newly redone. Grab dinner just down the main road of Hagerman at the Snake River Grill. 

Day 2

1. Soak at Miracle Hot Springs for sunrise
2. Kayak to Blue Heart Springs
3. Eat lunch at Magic Valley Brewing in Buhl
4. Drive to Twin Falls and visit Shoshone Falls
5. See Perrine Coulee Waterfall
6. Drive to Burley – eat at Morey’s Steakhouse
7. Visit Teepee Rocks for Sunset in Oakley
8. Stay at Best Western in Burley

Breakdown of Itinerary:

Miracle and Banbury Hot Springs offer private and public hot spring pools to soak your stress away. You can book these on their website for an allotted amount of time. Also at Banbury Hot Springs is the put in for Blue Heart Springs. Since Nate and his girlfriend flew in, they had to rent kayaks from Banbury Hot Springs. The paddle from there is about 1 mile to Blue Heart Springs!

After enjoying the water in the morning, Nate headed to Twin Falls to see some waterfalls! Shoshone Falls and Perrine Coulee are our tallest waterfalls in the area and can be seen with little walking. He then headed out to Burley, about a half hour drive. Eating at Morey’s Steakhouse is a wonderful experience. Grab a table on the back patio and enjoy lunch looking over the Snake River. The views show off the gorgeous mountains to the south. For sunset, they drove to Oakley Reservoir and continued onto Teepee Rocks for some cool night hiking photos.

Day 3

1. Explore the City of Rocks at Sunrise 
2. Eat lunch at Tracy’s General Store
3. Explore Castle Rocks State Park
4. Golden hour/Sunset Lake Cleveland & Mt. Harrison
5. Stay at Best Western in Burley

Breakdown of Itinerary:

The Best Western in Burley is such a great hotel to stay in when you’re heading to the City of Rocks and Castle Rocks. There are lots of coffee shops to grab a drink before heading out to explore the gorgeous area. It’s exactly a one hour drive to the City of Rocks from Burley, less than an hour to Castle Rocks. We let Nate know to fill up on gas, get water, and eat lunch at Tracy’s General Store, right outside of the parks. Enjoy exploring both of the large parks, then head back towards Burley towards the end of the day.

Drive up to Lake Cleveland and Mt. Harrison on your way back to Burley to watch sunset on top of the world. When Nate visited, unfortunately a storm rolled in so they didn’t see sunset up there, check the weather before you head up! Morey’s Steakhouse is another great place to watch the sunset.

Day 4

1.  Sunrise at the Snake River at Heyburn Riverside Park or head back to the mountains!
2. Come back to Twin Falls
3. Eat at Milner’s Gate or 2nd South Market for lunch
4. Visit Tea Kettle Cave
5. Explore Downtown Twin Falls for souvenirs
6. Fly home 2:00

Breakdown of Itinerary:

Heyburn Riverside Park is just a quick drive from the Best Western and a perfect place to catch sunrise. Walk the path and enjoy the beautiful golden light rise over the mountains you just explored. Nate enjoyed the local food at Milner’s Gate, and got some delicious ice cream from 2nd South Market. They made a quick trip up to Gooding to see Tea Kettle Cave, a must on the adventure photographer’s list. After loading up on goodies from Perrine Man Press Downtown Twin Falls, their flight back to Denver left around 2PM.

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