Nate Luebbe is an incredible outdoor and travel photographer. He is a Sony Ambassador & was named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2006! Nate, also known on Instagram as Nate in the Wild, traveled through Southern Idaho and explored many of the area’s hidden gems. Check out Nate in the Wild’s itinerary for traveling Southern Idaho. You can to experience everything he did, sample some of the same foods and stay at all the convenient lodging nearby.
Alpine Lakes & Mountain Views
Nate Started his trip in Rupert, and headed south to the mountains. In Rupert, he enjoyed a delicious brunch to prep for the day of adventure at Sofie’s Chatterbox. Enjoy lots of options at Sofie’s as well as huge portions. Plus, they have the best cinnamon rolls in the state! Take it to go, and drive down to the gorgeous Albion Mountains!
Mt. Harrison and Lake Cleveland are the perfect places to visit as an outdoor photographer. Sunsets and sunrises up here are absolutely gorgeous. Nate shot golden hour at Lake Cleveland, then headed up to the top of Mt. Harrison near the the old fire lookout for sunset. Hike around to see views that reach into multiple states!
Stay in Burley at the Best Western Plus Burley Inn & Convention Center. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, they allow dogs, and have an amazing outdoor area. The space includes a pool, hot tub, bar, yard games, and cozy places to hang out.
Kayaking in Burley
Next, Nate rented paddle boards from Idaho Water Sports at Heyburn Riverside Park. Paddling here is extremely convenient because the riverfront store is right on the doc. The employees are extremely friendly and will put the board in the water for you. You can paddle in and around small islands, along the shoreline and away towards the mountains.
Hagerman Valley
From Burley, Nate traveled to the Hagerman Valley. Before making it to his final destination, they stopped in and enjoyed dinner and hand crafted drinks at Magic Valley Brewing. For those who love beer, the brewery is a local favorite. Craft brewed soda is also available like root-beer, cream soda and other delicious flavors.
Box Canyon State Park is an awesome place to visit because the pools at the bottom of the canyon are bright blue. The lookout over the pools are next to the parking lot, but the waterfall and more pools are about 1.5 miles away! Nate hiked the entire park all the way to the last pools. Here, you can swim in the freezing cold water, or lounge on the beach. After hiking Box Canyon, he drove up to the Hagerman Fossil Beds to watch the sun go down over the rolling hills of wind turbines.
He stayed at the Hagerman Valley Inn.
Ending with a Shoshone Falls Show
To end Nate’s trip he watched sunrise at Shoshone Falls. First thing’s first though, he had to stop at Twin Beans Coffee Co before the sun came up for extra energy. Twin Beans also has delicious crepes and lots of awesome tea and coffee. Twin Beans is located Downtown Twin Falls, where after sunrise you can do lots of local shopping.
During his visit the waterfall was raging and he got a show! Visiting Shoshone Falls in the summer can vary depending on the water levels for that year. Nate came in July and got really lucky with high water in the Snake River. We typically recommend visiting in April or May for similar flow. The photo above was taken on the platform in the Shoshone Falls Park that’s right next to the parking lot. There are many lookouts throughout the park and up the Canyon Rim Trail.
He stayed at the Hagerman Valley Inn.