Another day of exploration today and we decided to go see something we did not know existed called City of Rocks National Reserve. It is just a little north of the Idaho/Utah border about 50 miles south of our current camping spot in Hayseed..no…Heyduke….uh….Heyburn, ID.
We started the trip by driving across the Snake River on US-30 into Burley where we turned south on ID-77. We passed through tiny towns called Albion, Elba and Almo before turning west on a dirt and gravel road into the Reserve. We hadn’t gone very far on the gravel before we came across a small cattle drive tended by a young guy and girl and using the road as the pathway. They were very nice about us fouling up their drive and told us to just drive through the herd. The cattle were very nice, too, but they did leave quite a bit of green splatter on the road as we approached from the ugly end of the beasts.
The Reserve is pretty small (hence the dirt road) but has some dispersed camping spots and lots of big rock monoliths that are always preferred by those wacky rock climbers. Apparently, they were also favored by pioneers coming across the country in wagons because they used to stop here and left their names on the rocks with axle grease for paint. The rock projections pop out of green pastures up at about 6200′ elevation. The hills on the horizons have quite a bit of snow on them. The rock formations are shaped such that they sort of resemble big dinosaurs or turtles or monsters and, in some cases, penises. Very sexy.
The gravel road extends from where we came in near Almo and remains gravel and dirt up through Emery Pass at 6800′ and then descends toward Oakley. It is pretty plain that you are passing through different climate zones on the way because the plant and flower types keep changing.
This little hidden gem is absolutely gorgeous. There are many places to stop and take short hikes and the changing vistas along the road are magnificent. It is a pretty long drive from anywhere to see this place but the trip is worth it. If the weather is uncooperative and rains or snows, it might be better to see the Reserve another day unless driving a four-wheel drive vehicle. We spotted many birds, including some Lazuli Buntings, Red-winged Blackbirds, hawks and lots of finches and swallows. We also spotted about a dozen mule deer and big, fat gopher snake patrolling the road near Oakley.
There are some pix we took along the way and you can see them if you click here