The best family vacation awaits you in Southern Idaho! Check out all the fun places that you can create memories and burn energy via Ashley Merrill’s Travel Itinerary. The Merrills are an adventurous family of 5. They visited Southern Idaho for a 3-day adventure in November. Their travels included delicious food, fun hot spring swimming pools, waterfalls, bridges, and a slot canyon!
Let’s travel to Idaho!
Traveling helps children grow. It gives them endless opportunities to learn, grow, and have beautiful memories with their siblings/family. Southern Idaho is a great place to bring kids because a lot of the nature is easy to visit. A road trip around Twin Falls is sure to be a hit with everyone!
Day One – Enjoy Shoshone Falls, Perrine Coulee, Perrine Bridge, and 2nd South Market
Upon arrival into Twin Falls we recommend getting situated at your hotel and get a quick rest in before the adventure. The cozy hotel the Merrills stayed at was the Fairfield Inn by Marriot. The Fairfield Inn has a pool, great continental breakfast and is close to nature (and department stores.) If you’re an RV family, stay at the Jerome KOA, just north of the Perrine Bridge. There is a pool, play-set, mini golf, Gaga ball, horseshoes, gem mining, and you may see cows!
Visit Shoshone Falls City Park and see the Snake River Canyon. In November, Shoshone Falls is generally very low, but still beautiful nonetheless! See panoramic views of the Snake River Canyon by standing on the platform overlooking Shoshone Falls. Dierkes Lake is above Shoshone Falls and is a great 2 mile hike. There are public restroom at both locations.
Find another waterfall near the Perrine Bridge called Perrine Coulee. Stay at the view point and get a family photo with the waterfall behind, or walk behind the waterfall for a fun experience! Stop at the Twin Falls Visitor Center to see the Perrine Bridge. The Visitor Center has fun goodies for children like Idaho potato products, local snacks, toys, and souvenirs. There are public restrooms at the Twin Falls Visitor Center. If you walk towards the bridge and under it, you may see BASE Jumpers!
Get dinner at 2nd South Market – Idaho’s first food hall! Here there are multiple restaurants to choose from like Smokey Bone BBQ, Lucy’s Pizza, Cloverleaf Creamery and Poke Sushi Hut! The market and restaurants are locally owned. Its a wonderful place to bring the kids, especially to play in The Yard!
Day Two – Soak at hot springs, see Balanced Rock, and eat dinner on the Canyon Rim
Have a lovely morning soaking in geothermal water that soothes the soul (and the muscles!). Miracle and Banbury Hot Springs are only a 45 minute drive from Twin Falls. Both hot springs have larger swimming pools and VIP personal pools. Both are filled with the natural hot spring water that has multiple health benefits. The Merrill’s visited Banbury Hot Spring and enjoyed a VIP pool that overlooks the Snake River.
Check out Balanced Rock a quick drive outside of Buhl. The drive out to Balanced Rock will be past lots of farmland and cows, but leads to a stunning canyon with hoodoos and rock formations. The famous rock is called Balanced Rock. Park below and look up at the view, then hike all the way up to the rock for an awesome family photo! The trail is short, but very steep. Be sure to have close toed shoes.
Head back to Twin Falls for lunch at one of many local options! Downtown Twin Falls is a great place to seek out local food like at Koto, Milner’s, Sandwich Co, and others. Another fun place to dine is on the canyon rim at Elevation 486. It overlooks the Snake River Canyon and is right on the Canyon Rim Trail where you can walk in either direction to see more of the canyon.
Day Three – See Black Magic Slot Canyon or Ice Caves (Depending on the Season)
A unique to only Idaho experience involves going underground into lava tubes. Visiting these places always depends on the season due to irrigation water and preservation practices. If you visit in November like the Merrills, you can explore Black Magic Slot Canyon.
Black Magic Slot Canyon is located north of Shoshone and hidden in farmland and near an old dam. It starts off as just a sandy pit with rocks, but soon becomes a deep slot canyon, requiring some climbing over rocks. The further it goes, the more you have to climb over rocks so just be ready to turn around if needed. It spans for about a mile. This canyon can only be visited when water is not going through it for irrigation. That is typically late October-February.
If you’re visiting in the summer time you can visit the Shoshone Ice Caves, also located north of Shoshone. Visiting these caves involve a guided tour, where you will learn fascinating history about the cave and the people who were here years ago. Be sure to bring warm clothes for everyone. The cave stays very cold, cold enough to keep it filled with ice! There are rocks on display in front of the Shoshone Ice Caves where your kids can enjoy cracking geodes to search for crystals. The gift shop has lots of affordable options for your little ones to pick a favorite item to remember this trip forever.