50 States of Wonder
6 Stone-Cold Stunners in Idaho

A huge preserve located in the Snake River Plain in Central Idaho, Craters of the Moon contains one of the best-preserved lava fields in the continental United States. Open rift cracks (including the deepest in the world at 800 feet), volcanic cones, and more greet intrepid travelers to this remote, rugged area. Dry and windswept, it's not for the faint of heart. (Read more.)

This large basalt rock is believed to have been carved by the Shoshone-Bannock people long before European contact. It depicts the Snake and Salmon Rivers, as well as the animals and groups of people that inhabited the territories in between. The carving might have provided a reference point and navigational aid for travelers and hunters, or might have a more cosmic purpose. Hundreds of other petroglyphs can be found in the boulder fields along the rivers. (Read more.)

Pristine, old-growth cedar forests surround stunning Priest Lake in remote northern Idaho. In the farthest corner of the lake, you'll find a flat rock topped with a layer of icy cold mountain water. Amazingly, it's smooth enough that you can careen down the rock face on your behind, slipping and sliding to a small pool at the bottom. The remote location of the rocky ride keeps it perfectly secluded—it's a couple of hours' hike from the nearest rutted road. (Read more.)

If climbers have the technical know-how, they can ascend to the highest point in Idaho, 12,668 feet above sea level. But they'll have to brave the appropriately named “Chicken-Out Ridge,” an arête, or thin ridge of rock, that they'll have to journey alongside. Many climbers take one look at the challenging expanse and turn tail. (Read more.)

The Black Cliffs in Boise are a range of towering columns of lava rock that provide a gorgeous view of the river below, and are an ideal spot for adventurous climbers. They offer ideal handholds and footholds that seem to have been created to cater to climbers. There are hundreds of well-established climbing routes of a variety of difficulties, so it's no wonder you can't keep climbers off them. (Read more.)

Just a few feet behind a ramshackle apartment building in Post Falls is the transcript of one of the first agreements between the powerful Coeur d'Alene tribe and early white settlers in northern Idaho. In June 1871, Chief Seltice agreed to grant settler Frederick Post 200 acres of land to build a sawmill, in exchange for which he would provide processed lumber to the tribe. The arrangement was painted on what has since become known as “Treaty Rock,” though historians are unclear if it was done as a record of the contract or in a later commemoration. (Read more.)