Twin Falls, Idaho, United States
It seems as though I’ve been all around the U.S. and taken
in most of the significant touristic sights by now. Despite having traveled across southern Idaho
a few times on the highway, somehow I never stopped to see Shoshone Falls,
sometimes called the Niagara of the West for their height, width and volume at
some times of years. Like Niagara, the major
falls on the Snake River a few miles east of Twin Falls are about 200 feet
high. Their width is an impressive 900
feet, although it’s only during the spring months when the Snake is swollen
with runoff from the mountains that water flows over the whole width of the
gorge. When I was there in September, Shoshone Falls was more like multiple
falls over that expanse. The falls are
still a very impressive sight in September.
Below Shoshone Falls the Snake River Canyon deepens. Somewhere
less than a mile downriver from the falls is the site where stunt performer Evel
Knievel tried to jump the canyon on his motorcycle and failed way back in 1974.
I still remember that.
We talked about it as kids in school when I was seven
years old. By then I knew the map of the states and associated Idaho with Evel
Knievel’s jump as a kid. Somehow, though, I placed it in my mind as being
farther north in the Hells Canyon area.
The gorge is impressive five miles downriver from the falls
where the Perrine Bridge crosses the canyon. It’s possible to walk across the
bridge as well as along the south rim of the canyon for some great views. It’s
also possible to drive into the canyon where there are parks, a gold course,
and other recreational facilities at the bottom. Several smaller waterfalls flow off the
canyon rim, including Perrine Coulee falls, behind which it’s possible to walk
on a trail.
I spent two days and nights in and around Twin Falls and got
my workouts in at a Gold’s Gym there. Twin Falls is the biggest town in
south-central Idaho with around 50,000 people, something that’s apparent from
the commercial sprawl on the main roads into town. Downtown itself, though,
still feels like a small town and was especially dead on Sunday night when I
hoped to get a beer at one of the small microbreweries around Main Street. Overall, though, Twin Falls seems like a
prosperous town based on significant construction and all the large new houses
in the area.
2025-05-22