Southeast Idaho and west Wyoming

[Tundracamper]

I have to be in Idaho for a week this May. Being from the southeast area of US, I am thinking about doing some overlanding on the way up there the week before. I have no idea what the national forest roads are like in Idaho and Wyoming. Can I travel them in a stock 4Runner TRD OR or are they more challenging than what I can do? I’m also thinking about hitting some spots near the rockies.

Any and all suggestions welcome for places to visit/stop. I don’t want to go too far west of Idaho Falls as I will be coming in from the east and it will take several days to get out there. I want to maximize what I could do without biting off too much.

 

[justjames]

I'm from the southeast too so you should probably take this with a grain of salt. We spent about a month wandering in the area you're talking about in September and early October 2020. Much of it was dodging forest fires but you shouldn't have that problem in May. Depending upon the road, you may still have snow to contend with and there will certainly be mud. All this aside, we found plenty of forest service roads and county roads to wander and we were in a TRD OR Tacoma with a slide in camper on the back. The northwest corner of Wyoming all the way west to the I-15 corridor north of Idaho Falls has spectacular scenery and plenty of back roads if they are snow/mud passable. You should talk with some of the regional directors for the area.

 

[Tundracamper]

I'm from the southeast too so you should probably take this with a grain of salt. We spent about a month wandering in the area you're talking about in September and early October 2020. Much of it was dodging forest fires but you shouldn't have that problem in May. Depending upon the road, you may still have snow to contend with and there will certainly be mud. All this aside, we found plenty of forest service roads and county roads to wander and we were in a TRD OR Tacoma with a slide in camper on the back. The northwest corner of Wyoming all the way west to the I-15 corridor north of Idaho Falls has spectacular scenery and plenty of back roads if they are snow/mud passable. You should talk with some of the regional directors for the area.

That’s what I was hoping to hear. I’m not looking for muddying or rock crawling. Muddy roads are fine as long as they are passable. Are there dispersed campsites or is all the camping in campgrounds? Guess I need to check the NF web site and the rules. I really like camping away from everybody else:)

 

[justjames]

That’s what I was hoping to hear. I’m not looking for muddying or rock crawling. Muddy roads are fine as long as they are passable. Are there dispersed campsites or is all the camping in campgrounds? Guess I need to check the NF web site and the rules. I really like camping away from everybody else:)

Lots of BLM and NF land so dispersed camping galore.

 

[M Rose]

I have to be in Idaho for a week this May. Being from the southeast area of US, I am thinking about doing some overlanding on the way up there the week before. I have no idea what the national forest roads are like in Idaho and Wyoming. Can I travel them in a stock 4Runner TRD OR or are they more challenging than what I can do? I’m also thinking about hitting some spots near the rockies.

Any and all suggestions welcome for places to visit/stop. I don’t want to go too far west of Idaho Falls as I will be coming in from the east and it will take several days to get out there. I want to maximize what I could do without biting off too much.

Depends on where you are going specifically. The higher elevations can have snow well into July for Idaho. Higher elevations are those above 4,000 feet. I highly recommend the “Craters of the Moon” NP around Idaho Falls.

 

[Motomikeca]

Defiantly check out sawtell peak, it’s located in Island Park, ID. It’s a really nice drive to the top and the views from there are amazing. Pack a lunch and enjoy the distant Yellowstone from there. We’ve been up on motorcycles, ATVs and full size trucks. Not technical and your not going to beat up your rig. Be sure to check the snow levels, you’ll be climbing to 10000 feet.