In his risk-taking heyday, nothing seemed to intimidate the notorious motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel. Not even the 500-foot-deep, quarter-mile-wide Snake River Canyon, which he famously attempted to jump on a steam-powered skycycle in September 1974.
Though Knievel crashed on the jump because of a parachute malfunction, he survived with only a broken nose. It was barely a scrape for a man who had broken nearly 40 bones in his career, including his back seven times. Knievel died on November 30, 2007, after an extended illness. But his legacy lives on in the Twin Falls area and throughout the world.
The earthen ramp where Knievel launched from is still visible on the Snake River Canyon rim. It is about two miles east of the Twin Falls Visitor Center. The site itself is on private property. Visitors may view the ramp from the Visitor Center or come within 100 yards of the site at the top of the Centennial Trail, which originates at Shoshone Falls. The trail is paved, but does include some steep inclines. The 1.8-mile trek is worth it to give you the perspective Knievel found himself in on September 8, 1974.
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