27 Bucket List by jasminchadwick
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40 Horse Cave
Firth, Idaho
11.9 miles E of Firth, Idaho40 Horse Cave is a fun, family-friendly cave tucked into the rocky walls of Wolverine Canyon, on public BLM land about 15 miles from Firth, Idaho. It's reached by a scenic drive up well-maintained Wolverine Road, with a parking area a couple of miles into the canyon, and there are no fees. The cave gets its colorful name from a pair of local legends — one tells of two men caught in a storm who ducked inside, one remarking that “this cave could hold about 40 horses”; another claims a thief once stashed 40 stolen horses here to avoid capture. Either way, the roomy opening makes the tall tale easy to believe.
The hike up to the cave is short but steep — only about 500 feet long with roughly 100 feet of climbing, yet it earns every step. There are two ways up: the shorter, more direct route is a loose shale scramble that's genuinely slippery (hikers and kids alike tend to slide around, even in good boots), while the slightly longer trail is still steep but holds much less shale and makes for a far easier descent. A common strategy is to grind up the short shale route and come down the gentler one.
Inside, the cave runs only about 25 to 50 feet deep, so a flashlight isn't strictly required — but a few nooks and back corners are more fun to poke around with a light, and kids can easily spend half an hour or more exploring. Keep an eye out for the rock chucks (yellow-bellied marmots) that sun themselves on the boulders around the canyon.
There's more to discover nearby. At the bottom of the trail, a culvert near the road becomes a fun place to splash around when the creek is running high. And if you follow the faint trail in the willows on the southeast side of the road for about 100 feet of easy walking, you'll find a smaller second cave worth a look.
Wolverine Canyon itself is worth the trip. Its rugged rock walls draw rock climbers, the creek and cottonwoods make for pleasant camping and picnicking, and the quiet canyon is good for wildlife watching — deer, raptors, and those ever-present marmots. Many families make a half-day of it, combining the cave with a creekside lunch and a wander among the canyon's formations.
A few practical notes: Wolverine Road is usually in good shape, but it can occasionally be closed to vehicle traffic, so it's worth checking conditions before a long drive. The canyon is a shared landscape of public land and working ranches, so respect any private property and livestock you encounter, leave gates as you find them, and pack out your trash. Bring water, sturdy shoes with good grip for the shale, and sun protection, and enjoy one of eastern Idaho's most enjoyable little cave adventures.
Jump Crick
Marsing, Idaho
4.9 miles W of Marsing, IdahoJump Creek Falls is one of southwestern Idaho's most beloved surprises, a 60-foot waterfall tucked into a slot of red rock at the mouth of Jump Creek Canyon, about seven miles southwest of Marsing in the Owyhee country. Managed by the BLM, it's a genuine oasis: a lush ribbon of water birch and red osier dogwood threading a desert canyon, ending at a cool waterfall and a plunge pool that draws swimmers on hot Treasure Valley afternoons. For a spot this striking to sit this close to Boise is a small miracle, and the crowds reflect it, with more than 40,000 visitors a year.
Reaching the falls is refreshingly easy. The main event is a short, roughly mile-long Jump Creek Falls Trail that leads up the canyon bottom to the base of the falls, where you can swim in the pool beneath the cascade, or continue to the Falls Overlook to picnic among the rock crevices with the creek meandering below. It's family-friendly and quick, which is a big part of the appeal, though the canyon above the falls offers real scrambling and canyoneering for those looking to go higher and get their feet wet.
This is a day-use-only site, open sunrise to sunset. The BLM has proposed introducing a modest recreation fee to fund improvements as visitation has nearly doubled in recent years, so it's worth checking current fee status before you go; as a public-land site, it remains one of the region's best free-or-cheap outings either way.
A few real cautions come with the beauty. Poison ivy grows thick in places along the creek and trail, so long pants and a careful eye pay off; the rocks around the falls and pool are slick; and the pool's depth and the creek's flow change with the season, running highest and coldest during spring snowmelt. The canyon scrambling above the falls is genuinely more serious than the easy trail below and should not be underestimated.
Spring brings the fullest, most dramatic falls and green canyon walls; summer warms the pool for swimming but bakes the surrounding desert; and the site can get busy on warm weekends, so early mornings are quieter and cooler.
Come with water shoes for the slick rock and creek crossings, sun protection, plenty of drinking water, and long pants against the poison ivy. Pack out everything you bring. Between a 60-foot desert waterfall, a swimmable pool, an easy trail and a canyon to explore above, Jump Creek is one of the finest short adventures in southwestern Idaho.
