Wednesday July 9, 2025 Sunrise Campground (UT) to Baker’s Hole Campground (West Yellowstone, ID)

Deb here. Lots of families in the campground but our site was really quiet. The temperature cooled down nicely and we were comfortable with no heat on. After morning coffee/tea we decided to pack up and find breakfast in Garden City, down the mountain and right on Bear Lake. We stumbled on a great place called Crepes and Coffee and had a super breakfast sitting outside of crepes loaded with eggs, ham, cheese, plus spinach and tomatoes (mine). There were a lot of young families out and about which was fun to see.

Once on the road again we headed north (no surprise there) and within minutes crossed the border into Idaho. Going around Bear Lake was beautiful, eventually leading us through Montpelier, ID where we stopped at the National Oregon/California Trail Museum, run through the National Forest Service. We spent a fun hour there, taking a tour led by two costumed guides who filled us in on the preparation and planning for the trek, along with a sample of what the trek was like. Part of the tour included a simulated ride in a covered wagon. Who knew that close to a half a million people traveled that trail during its hayday, that a wagon weighed 1,500 pounds and could only carry 2,000 pounds, and that the travelers had to plan on 4-500 pounds of food for the trip? What an ordeal.

After leaving there we traveled first through Montpelier Canyon and then Salt Canyon and before we knew it were in Wyoming. Really gorgeous stretch of road with lots of twists and turns. We then passed through a bunch of small towns and saw the world’s largest elkhorn arch (3,000+ antlers) in Afton, a true cowboy type town. 

In Alpine, Wyoming we opted to not follow Rte 89 since it joined Rte 191 and passes through both Jackson and Yellowstone. We traveled that road 2 years ago on our Rte 191 adventure and didn’t feel the need to get into all that busyness again. We instead veered northeast on Rte. 26 in Idaho and then took a couple of scenic byways skimming the very eastern border of Idaho on the back side of the Tetons. Parts of the road were busy, but for the most part just more spectacular countryside and mountains with very little traffic. A highlight for me was the road on the edge of the Palisades Reservoir. Mountains in all directions, a beautiful body of water and really no development. It reminded me of a more isolated and less developed Lake Tahoe.

The second scenic byway ((Mesa Falls) led us to a nice stop at the Upper Falls, where we walked in to see the falls. So much flowing water and cool in the shade.

Onward to Rte 20 toward West Yellowstone, where we thought we’d see if we could nab a spot at Baker’s Hole Campground. This is another National Forest Service Campground that we stayed at 2 years ago. We drove in, found the camp host, and learned they had a bunch of available sites. So here we are, Site 14, tucked in for another night.