Food: NA/5 Service: NA/5 Ambiance: 5/5 Parking: 4/5 Family friendly: 5/5 Stroller friendly: 3/5 ADA accessible: 3/5 My family and I came here strictly for the sand dunes and observatory, late on a Sunday evening around 845-9pm. (Apparently the observatory is closed on Sunday?). Entrance fee is $7 cash or check when the gate is closed. You have to be in some type of shape as ascending the 60 deg incline hill of sand takes a bit of muscle and cardio endurance to make it up. Once at the top though, it's a serene and calming experience. On the backside of the first sand dune, the Snake River runs through. Similar to an Oasis in the desert. However, as some people may know or experience, wherever there is water, comes the bugs. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the bugs (mosquitoes) attacked. Not just one or two, swarms of mosquitoes. If you're like me and have allergic itching reactions to pest bites, be warned and have full body covering along with repellent. By the time we escaped to the car my son had been bit on the head and face. Just a forewarning. Bruneau Dunes State Park seems like a cool place to be. There were 3-4 individual camping locations that's were RV friendly and vast spaces for kids to run around. Sand Dunes themselves are not WC friendly unless you invent some type of sled to push/pull the WC up the hill. Also, make sure when dusk arrives, COVER UP! read more

Bruneau Dunes State Park - Parks Near Me - Mountain Home, Idaho

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I'm always on the hunt for an adventure so when I saw this was only 30 mins from my hotel, I knew I had to make a morning out of it! The entry fee was $7 and the drive to the dunes was quiet and peaceful. I went by myself and felt safe enough exploring the area alone. The views were gorgeous! This is truly a hidden gem tucked away in the farm lands. If you're in the mountain home area, check this place out! read more

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It is an easy park to get to from Boise. Cost $7 to enter. Interesting to see some sand dunes in what is mostly farm land around the area. Smaller than the national park in CO but still worth your time. I was by myself in early September and it was really warm. I didn't par take in the sliding down the dunes but it was fun watching others. They have RV spots. Not much hiking in the park but the dunes are the draw. read more

Bruneau Dunes State Park is located about an hour outside of Boise, and the drive is mostly freeway. It was really interesting to see the sand dunes pop out of nowhere, and the rest of the area nearby is mostly agricultural. I lucked out and came on a perfectly warm but not hot day in early October. There were a good amount of people sledding down the smaller dune, with a few brave kids running down and somersaulting/face planting into the sand. There is a $7 entrance fee for cars- make sure you lift the lid to grab the envelope. Bringing exact change is highly recommended unless you want to pay extra, since there wasn't anyone in the booth when I arrived. Don't think about skipping payment, since the ranger WILL give you a ticket (you'll then have to pay $27, with the $20 ticket). Thankfully, I saw the ranger and explained that I couldn't find the envelope earlier, and they very nicely let me pay the $7 (probably felt some pity for someone too dumb to lift the lid, sighs). I thought it was worth the $7 and drive to check out such a unique spot (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=fSW2ox9rq6mRDmx-A8GhOw&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg, https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=pnVxwi8niknFjXlQyQxiBg&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg, https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=20GV3L3xrP3g9EUFuQ3tlA&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg, https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=g_Roo-dwnckjBpPbt0dw7A&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg, https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=4irJLOXU-awKDGTLE6EnpQ&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg, https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=mwey3i5CoN4W1DKWVMUXbw&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg). I climbed to the top of the dune, and started from the trail to the right of the lake (drive past the parking lot next to the first sand dune and park in the second parking lot by the lake). Keep an eye out for the trail markers since you'll walk through some shady areas with trees before you reach the base of the sand dune. It was a little easier climbing up by using the footprints left behind by previous climbers, but it wasn't an easy climb since the sand would shift constantly. It took about 30 minutes to get to the top of the dune, and I was definitely sweaty by the end of the hike. In another dumb move, I wore flip flops- wearing sneakers or hiking boots would've been the way to go. Wearing a hat and applying sunscreen beforehand is highly recommended, as well as bringing a bottle of water! You can also camp here, and this would've been an awesome place to star gaze at night. There were "bathrooms" available, but they were more of a hole in the shape of a toliet versus the flushable variety. read more

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Beautiful vistas and an interesting museum. Bring plenty of bug spray and wear a hat.

I would say this was a fun place to go for a day trip with your family. None of the reviews that I read beforehand said anything about the wind, but boy was it windy! Be prepared for it, just in case. We went a couple weeks ago and the sand was already hot, so bring socks for your little kiddos. Bring your sleds too, bc sledding down the dunes was fun! read more

Bruneau Dunes State Park - Bring sleds! - Parks Near Me - Mountain Home, Idaho

Great place for a day trip get away (although there is a great campground there). Several large sand dunes formed from a great flood 11,000 years ago. You can hike up them, sled down them great place for the kids. 2 lakes that are stocked with fish. And the best us the observatory!!! They have viewings in evenings. I am amazed at how many locals don't know about this place. read more

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Really enjoyed our photo shoot here. The views were amazing. We went really early to catch the sunrise and to have good lighting! Definitely worth a trip. Would love to come back when it's cooler for a day trip. read more

Bruneau Dunes State Park - Sand dunes - Parks Near Me - Mountain Home, Idaho

My kids had a blast riding down the dunes. Very remote park. If the wind is blowing and you go on the dunes, bring goggles (not glasses)... you'll thank me later. read more

What with the sojourn of a couple of weeks brewing in my imagination and making other things difficult to keep in focus I went in anticipation to read about what others had said of my destination 14 days or so hence and lo. Not a single review. I'll fix this after the new year with photographs and this somewhat reminiscent story of a similar feature will suffice for the time being. First. Who should I find when I go to revel in adventures past here but my friend and true appreciator of Things Bradley N. He told his tale a half year back and I missed it but better late then never in this respect for sure. I'm so glad you went! I'm even gladder that it was as I anticipated. My Bruneau adventure, unlike Bradley's, was purely by chance. I was on a backroads adventure from Oakland to Missoula, one I intended to involve as few superslab traverses as I could possible muster. As it turns out, of the roughly 1,500 somewhat circuitous miles I traveled, only about 200 were on an interstate. Half were on dirt. And it was the insane dirt track from Jordan Valley to the west during which time I saw one rear wheel actually hang out over the maw of the gorge below it was so narrow a passing that took me eventually to the other side and Bruneau. All the other humans were returning to their cars for as it was sunset when I arrived and that's when magic light happens (sunrise to photograph dunes is actually better for as the tracks made by humans the day before are usually swept away by night winds and your photographs appear less spoilt). All other humans save for one other photographer, with whom I raced to the crest to see what we could see and make it our own first but we ended up eventually just walking together and talking about light and photographing jazz funerals in New Orleans for that was where he was from. There are dunes in many places around these here United States, though the concentration is in the west as a function of climate and source materials. New Mexico has gypsum dunes, California its coastal sands and those piled up in places around Death Valley and the Mohave; Oregon's include Bandon and Idaho's Bruneau. The Coral Pink dunes east of Zion are especially interesting for those who like a little color with their parched beautiful landscape. All of these are worth a sojourn, but if you'll allow me a limb I think that Bruneau is particularly special simply due to the lengths one must go to access it. For some reason I picture Potato Farmer Girl coming here but maybe just because of its proximity to the place I presume her to have come up. Taco Chip Girl for other reasons I'd expect to see on a gypsum hill at White Sands with flowers in her hair and sunglasses with lenses shaped like hearts. If you're nearby or if you're looking to just get far away and clear your mental palette I'd strongly suggest you consider adding this to your list of places to pause a bit and think and listen to the blood rushing in your ears when the wind stops and it does sometimes. Trust. read more

We love this place. Camping is so easy with electric and water hook ups and places to dump and take out the trash. The public bathrooms are always clean and there's so much todo. I only hope the observatory opens soon. read more

Came here to do the full 6 mile hike, man was it an experience. I did the full 6 mile hike (beginning and ending at the Visitor's Center), and let me tell you, I was EXHAUSTED by the end. DON'T do a leg workout the day before coming here! This was a very difficult hike, especially once it's time to get up to the sand peak and walk the ridge. Now I understand why NFL players have beach workouts, maneuvering in sand is tough and is one heck of a workout. I noticed little kids and older people on the peak when I finally made it up, and I was in SHOCK as to how they got up there, since I was exhausted and consider myself to be in shape. I then found out you DON'T have to hike from the Visitor's Center to get there, but instead can park super close. I was drenched in sweat before going up to the peak, and after getting to the top, the wind really is refreshing. Views are amazing, you're going to get some great shots up there. I DIDN'T use my "real" camera (even though I packed it) since I was worried about getting sand in the lens, so I just used my cell phone. You have to "straddle" the peak when hiking it, I was almost doing a roller skating motion, which was kinda fun. The 6 mile hike is broken down in waypoints on the map. The land marking are decent up to waypoint 4, then it's pretty much a free for all. Hard to distinguish where the path is, since everything just blends in. Some of the marking around waypoints 11 - 15 are missing or fallen over. I HIGHLY recommend getting the 'Maplets' app for your phone so that you can have a visual map with a GPS while hiking, it REALLY helps. I did the whole 6 mile hike, as well as resting at the top of the peaks, in around 3 hours, which thinking back, I would recommend you take your time and pace yourself to do it in around 4-5 hours. I was just in a hurry to get back to my car and RELAX (since I had NO IDEA I was in for this kind of hike lol). Now for some tips. You're 100% exposed to the sun during the entire 6 mile hike. Wear WHITE colored clothes (yeah SCIENCE)! I didn't wear bug spray, and got about 10 bites overall, mostly through waypoints 8-10 (marshy areas aka bug city). Bring sandals when on the sand, trust me! Wearing running shoes, the sand gets in very quickly and your shoes turn into bricks, making it a BIGGER workout. Bring as much water as possible. I packed food but didn't have any urge to eat during the hike, I should've subbed the weight of the food for water. Water fountains work at the observatory, so top off your bottles and wash up your face with cold water in the bathroom. I hiked during mid day, high 70s, and was ROASTING. I'd say hiking this is best in late evening, or when sun rises, OR in fall / winter / spring when it's not so hot. I didn't wear full body covering clothes (just workout gear) and was satisfied with the decision, you need mobility & comfort if you're hiking the 6 mile trip. I came across 0 people on the full 6 mile hike, so be PROUD that you're one of the few OGs that do the 6 mile hike. I HATE bugs, and from waypoints 1-4, there were a TON of these wasp like bugs (sphecid wasps?) all over the path, flying in and out of these holes in the ground. I almost turned right back to the car and left, but I'm glad I didn't. Wearing pants would've helped with my fear, but I don't regret wearing shorts for mobility. Visitors center is DOPE inside, gotta check it out. If I could only bring 2 things, it'd be WATER and sandals. Pace yourself, and spend as much time up on the peaks as possible (before it gets too boring). Overall, I had a blast. I don't plan on doing this hike again, until a fall night, I'd really like to try doing some star photography. Don't be intimidated by the OG 6 mile hike. Once you reach the end of the hike and you look back at the dunes, you'll be amazed at how much ground you've covered and how tall those peaks really were. 5 stars all day, if you're up for the challenge, it's very rewarding. read more

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We stayed at the Broken Wheel campground. Because it's in a flat dry place, it didn't have trees or anything for privacy between the sites, like we're used to on the coast. They did have a two-walled roofed structure around each picnic table, probably to provide some shade from the relentless sun. Some campsites had a cleared-off area for the tent, but we couldn't find one for our site. The tiny bushlets were no problem to put the tent on top of, though. No bear-proof lockers at this place, but we kept our shoes inside the tent in case there were scorpions and stuff. Reading Pea P.'s review, I guess there really are! We tried snowboarding on the dunes, but it didn't work. The sand was too heavy and stayed on the front edge of the board, not brushing off like powder snow. We'd only seen photos of people skiing on the dunes, so I guess that was why. Since it was so warm, the lake was a good place for a dip at the end of the day. Shallowness continued for a while, though, so we had to squat down to get our shoulders under the water. Lots of mosquitoes, too :-( There was no cell phone connection here. But Idaho State Parks provide Wi-Fi at their campgrounds! You can buy 1-day access for $3.00, up to 154 days - the whole 2012 camping season in any Idaho State Park - for $29. OR, you can use 20 minutes for free every 12 hours! There is an observatory at the park, and I saw on the notice board that they have ranger tours on Fridays and Saturdays. I saw the structure next to the lake, but it was on flat ground, not on a peak, so I was a bit confused. We didn't have time to check it out. read more

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Hey! I know we just flew through Salt Lake City to get here, drove down and had to get some work done. That, and we're headed back at 11pm to get more work done but do you want to climb up almost 500 ft of SAND? It's awesome... something to do with the cross winds carrying crap that get stuck in some plateau valley. Or something. My first thought about this was "seriously? I just want to go to sleep..." but I didn't want to disappoint. The dunes did not disappoint either. It's just a totally different world out there. I think it was the soft sand that led to my coworkers doing crazy crap like BACKFLIPS OFF THE TOP... or maybe because they're total whackjobs... I haven't figured out which yet. Regardless, I'm really glad they took me there because it was a super strong kickoff to travel that got long and arduous super fast. I say anyone driving through the area or even finding themselves within an hour's drive of here should stop by just to see the place. It's definitely worth it. read more

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My friend wanted to celebrate her birthday here! We got some great photos taken with the dunes behind us, got to fly some kites, AND got to see Mars, Jupiter with four moons, and Saturn at the observatory. It was the Memorial Day weekend so it was busier than usual, but was totally worth it! I've also taken a photo of Milky Way here. I would say it is a great place to take photos of a night sky with low light pollution. read more

Bruneau Dunes State Park - Parks Near Me - Mountain Home, Idaho

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GREAT PLACE TO BRING YOUR KIDS & PETS. If you get there early enough, you can rent sand boards & go down the dunes! My kids and dogs had an amazing time. I also cannot wait to come back and spend more time here, maybe even grab some food and make it a day. I really wanted to check out the observatory but the kids started to get hungry. There's always next time! read more

$5 CASH entrance fee. Part of me does not want to advertise this place only because of how clean, quiet, & beautiful it is. A must-do for outdoor enthusiasts, bird watchers, naturalists, star gazers, & sand surfers. Hiking options: Pond loop, small dune, large dune. Bring SUNSCREEN, plenty of water, & bug spray. If you bring anything in-please take it out with you. Animals spotted: Quails, Owl, Hawks, Deer, Coyote, Black tailed jack rabbits, and much more. Equestrian trails, boat launch, & more. Camping (tent, RV, & cabins) available. See the states website & check out the parks Facebook page. read more

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Bring water, sunglasses, hat and SHOES! The sand is ungodly hot and if possible, wear boots about 6" high. I hiked with 4.5" Danner boots and although it was in my boots, I managed not to get too much in. If you hike, we took the route to the right and tried to come up the back side of the main dune off the water. When you get to the top, be careful. It is not flat, it is a peak and you have to straddle it when you walk, since it is breezy you could be blown over and fall off and tumble down the sand. I wold wear high socks unless you want sand in your low cut socks. We went between 630-7PM and it was still hot but cooled quickly. Plan to stay and check the observatory out if you have time, you can stargaze. read more

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If you're staying overnight, it's worth renting one of their two cabins: Orion and Andromeda (you have to call ahead to reserve and they're $63 for non-residents and $58 for ID residents). If you don't feel like reserving ahead of time and they're available, you can also reserve them same-day at the Visitor Center. They come with a bunk bed (with a queen size bed on the lower) + a futon that folds out into another full size bed (no sheets, this is a dry campsite upgrade and nothing more -- you'll need sleeping bags or to bring your own blankets). A nice porch and wooden swing face out onto the dunes, and when the sun sets at night you can get some awesome stargazing in by the campfire. A little desert kangaroo mouse lives underneath the porch at Orion. At night, he will come out and say hello. He's the cutest thing you've ever seen; there's a little puffball of fur at the end of his tail. A gopher also lives nearby and at dusk you can sit on the porch and see him further developing his tunnel system. The dunes themselves are super rad and you can climb them and slide down them or whatever you want. When we went in mid-April, they were totally deserted and we sat alone at the top of the biggest one watching the sun set: A+. read more

Totally unique state park in the middle of no-where Idaho. It's super cool to see huge sand dunes when you are least expecting it. We were doing a road trip and put it on our list of places to stop. Once we pulled in we went to the visitor center to look at maps and ask questions. The woman working at the counter honestly wasn't very helpful. We asked her questions and she didn't have answers because she had never hiked there. How can someone be the only one working at a state park visitor center and not have experienced what the park has to offer. We drove around to the dunes and got out and walked. It was warm, maybe 80 degrees but cloudy. We decided to attempt the tallest dune and we were successful. Best place to park is the furthest picnic area and then it's about a 10 minute walk on a path to get to the dune. Despite many reviews saying to take your shoes off, we kept ours on and it took us about 30-40 minutes to get to the top. It was definitely worth it because it's the tallest single dune in North America. We were the only ones around which was cool. It only took about 10 minutes to walk down it - it's super quick to go down obviously. I would recommend if you are in the area to knock off the bucketlist. read more

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I really enjoyed my trip here. It's been a couple months since I went but my partner and I hiked around the tallest dune and followed some beatles up the hillside. Truly a gorgeous place to visit and experience. The hike is a good work out too so don't worry about hitting the gym before you go! Definitely stop by the visitors center and read about local wildlife and talk to the very informative staff working there. read more

Bruneau Dunes State Park - Parks Near Me - Mountain Home, Idaho

I am standing uneasily on a knife's edge of shifting sand as high as a 45-story building with steep sloping sides in both directions. The wind is so intense that it feels like I will fall off; and if I don't then the sand all around surely will. It is swirling and spinning about madly. Below me, the Great Sand Vortex looms, like something out of the Return of the Jedi, minus Jabba the Hut. My shoes are filled with sand. My ears are filled with sand. I am walking on a knife's edge, and that edge is slipping away slowly beneath my trembling feet. And all because of Markus N., and his friendly suggestion to stop and visit Bruneau Dunes. Which led me here, to one of the most exhilarating and exhausting 2 hour hikes in recent memory. And the only one where I kissed the (very sandy) ground when I had slipped and slid down the eastern face of the Great Dune to relative windless safety. Did I mention the wind already? It was very persistent, and part of the charm of Bruneau Dunes. The place is otherwordly, a remnant of the flooding of ancient Lake Bonneville eons ago, and of thousands of years of wind, sand, and sunlight creating the amphitheater-like Eagle Cove, which traps the blowing sands and sculpts the enormous dunes and sand vortices (deep craters carved by the wind) that tower over the calm lakes below, where people float and swim and stargaze and picnic to their hearts content. But on top of the Great Dune, with winds whipping the surrounding sky into a swirl of sand, none of that matters. All that is the universe is contained in a few square feet of soft sand, with you perched on the knife's edge like some sort of crazy mountaineer, stumbling forward, lurching onward, driven by the wind and by that desire to live to see solid ground. Is it dangerous? No, not really. It's sand, not snow and ice, although it will take your mind a little time to adjust. It's that instinctual fear of falling that you feel, but when the wind dies down, it is calm and peaceful here on the Great Dune, and you almost start to feel something like serenity; but then the wind returns, the sands fly, and the fear of falling returns, so it's not easy to stay here for long. You will need to find the bottom, walk along barely marked trails past impenetrable brush and desert dunes, back to the lake shore and back to your camp site, where the stars will come out at night in their multitudes. And you will dream of shifting sands and high-pitched laughter, and perhaps of Markus N. with a triumphant look in his gleaming, bright eyes. And then, after much tossing and turning in the wind-blown night punctuated by coyote chorus song, you will wake up, wipe the crusted sand from your reddened eyes, boil water for oatmeal by the light of your headlamp, and wait in renewed hope for the sun to rise so that the deep chill of a predawn May morning will once again disappear. You will no longer feel fear, or hope, or anything really, except an immense gratefulness still to be alive, still to have a planet of solid earth to stand upon, and still to be here, at Bruneau Dunes, Idaho, where so much more than potatoes are to be found. Including the biggest sand dune on the continent, which is something to celebrate and to cherish, after all. Who knew such little grains of sand could hold such deep reservoirs of wisdom? read more

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"The tallest single-structured sand dune in North America rises to 470 feet high above small lakes in the high desert south of Mountain Home." - BDSP Website I've been to Bruneau Dunes maybe 3 times. It is always very peaceful and otherworldly. I first went with my undergraduate entomology class on a specimen gathering field trip. The two insects I remember were the big black ants with the fuzzy red abdomens and the big black beetles who, when threatened, would stick their butts (technical name) in the air. But we stayed into the night and that is when I learned that scorpions fluoresce under black light. It is a wondrous and eerie experience walking through the desert alone at night with a black light, a jar, and some tweezers. The desert is literally teeming with scorpions and you would never see them at all with the naked eye. You move through the brush and the scrub and the scorpions come into view with the magic that glow-in-the-dark things have: phosphorescent fishes and corals, prizes from cereal boxes, glowworms, fireflies. Scorpions are the fireflies of the West. The other times I went to the Dunes it was with J. who I may or may not have been dating --- it was one of those ambiguous things. We went for the Bruneau Star Party. Bruneau has the only public telescope in Idaho and I think it was being built and then was newly built in the years I attended. Star Parties are wonderful if you are a science geek like me. Many people and even whole families go and bring their telescopes, many even homemade. You pitch a tent or drive something you can also live in because you are going to sleep much of the day so that you can stay up all night. I think the kids especially love that because night is that mysterious realm you aren't allowed to experience as a child (time for bed!) One year a man had a telescope mounted on a bowling ball and that on a toy train track and train in a circle that was attached to an Apple computer. He would type the coordinates into the computer and the train would move to turn the ball to position the telescope. It was crazy. Another man had built a very large telescope from some huge industrial cable supply tube with a heavy beanbag at the bottom for stability. I saw the Crab Nebula and the Horsehead Nebula as well as several spiral galaxies through that one. People would line up and take turns for the few moments of time allotted to look at the beautiful deep space objects --- the way you'll stand in line for a long time just for the short-lived thrill of jumping off the high-dive. So strangely, Bruneau Dunes is for me this romantic place where invisible objects, be they scorpions or nebulae, suddenly come out of the darkness --- strangely, distantly, ephemerally --- visible to the eye. read more

Fun place. I would recommend visiting the Visitor Center and renting the sand sleds. My kids are 10 and 6 and found the sleds easier to use than the boards. Take plenty of water and get ready for a work out trekking up the hills. Very fun though and the kids loved it. read more

I'm kinda conflicted on this. We rented both cabins and an RV spot by the cabins in Eagle Cove for a long weekend family gathering. The cabins were great, views awesome, campground clean. The Observatory could not do their program either night due to cloud cover. We were all bummed about that. No blacklight scorpion hunt either as advertised, apparently the only person that does it was on vacation. The ranger station staff acted like they hated their jobs and weren't too fond of dealing with people. We had one ranger constantly pestering us and actually made us move our screen tent from the grassy area at our RV spot. (One of the reasons we chose the spot) bugs were thick so it was nice to have it. Other campers had their tents and shelters in the grassy areas of their spots. Perplexed why we had to move ours. The same ranger kept coming by and always took issue with something...it put a bit of a damper on things feeling like we were walking on egg shells.. We did enjoy much of our trip but sad not to have been able to participate in the programs normally offered and disappointed in the attitudes of the park staff. read more

Such an incredible place to camp! The campsite was very well maintained and offered clean bathrooms and hot showers. The dunes offer an incredible view of both the valley and lake, I recommend watching the sunset from the peak (breath taking). Great place to stop and spend the day or even camp a few days. read more

Our go to camp ground when traveling through. Easy to pull in and pull out and quiet. We always camp in the first campground. Not a ton to do at the campground, no playgrounds that I've seen and off the beaten path but when traveling to Utah/Colorado it's our halfway point. Maintained very well with trees for shade on hot summer days. read more

Love Bruneau Dunes, if you haven't been it is definitely worth the trip. Make sure and bring plenty of water, sunscreen, mosquito repellent and $5 for the vehicle entrance fee. If you have some extra time go into the town of Bruneau and head out to the Bruneau Canyon overlook, (18-miles (partly paved and partly rocky / gravel road). Stay late and check out the Observatory, kids will love it. read more

This place is crazy. Driving out of nowhere there is a 400ft tall sand dune. Climbing to the peak of the dune is a must. But beware, bring some friggin bug spray! I got 50+ mosquito bites on the walk (or run in my case) form the parking lot to the base of the dune. Also do the climb barefoot, as of a week later I am still getting sand out of my shoes. Oh and this place will destroy your camera. read more

There's two campgrounds in this park - we stayed at the far one - Eagle Cove. There's even less shade than at Broken Wheel, but we came in September when the air was cool and the bugs were mostly gone. They have a special rate for old folks on Mondays thru Thursdays - $16.66 per night. read more

We stayed in the Andromeda cabin on a cross-country road trip and just loved everything about this park. The stars at night were like nothing we'd seen before. The park was clean and absolutely quiet, a true delight. We were shocked to find that the cabin had air-conditioning, the showers were hot, and the dunes themselves magnificent. One of the best state parks we've seen, and not far off the beaten path. Highly recommend. read more

$1 fly swatter, $3 astronomy viewing fee, $6 wood, entrance fee extra. Strong odor of sulfur in the water. Neat sand dunes.

My favorite Idaho state park - both the older campground with lots of shade and paved roads for kids to race their bikes and the newer campground with less shade and gravel roads so quieter with fewer kids racing bikes. read more