City of Rocks National Reserve

The most impressive jaw-dropping scenery created by forces that can only be experienced in person. There is beauty in every landscape, even this unique, rugged, and rocky terrain. Some of the rocks that have been formed and shaped over time are quite unique and mesmerizing. To think of the force it took to create these rocky crags is mind-blowing. For all rock enthusiasts, there is a corner of this National Park to explore and will keep you coming back for more. There's also a lot of history here. Just look at some of the writings on the canyon walls that go back over 100 years or more. They're amazing. This area is also known as the International Dark Sky Park. As always, leave no trace, leave it better than you found it, and enjoy 😉.

Nice small reserve with great hikes and for rock climbers there is Castle Rock and Smoke Mountain. We were there in a snow storm then went back next day very pretty place. And not busy during Oct. Plenty of campsite in Reserve

Beautiful landscape with strange geology. Some of the rocks are the size of a house or small office building and are just dropped in the middle of a broad field. We came in from the rear entrance (a more scenic drive), so we didn't get the park service map until after we left. The park service directs you to download a digital guide and offers a QR code, but my mobile service was spotty since this is a very isolated place. It also took a good 2 hours to get there from Twin Falls, so we got there later than we expected. Plan for an early start if you go.

I came here to hike and didn’t realize it’s so removed. The map took me down about 12 miles of a dirt road just to get to the reserve. The hike was cool, but I wouldn’t come here just to hike in the future. I can see how hiking here would be awesome for people who are camping and/or climbing. I thought I would be able to do some scrambling but there isn’t really anywhere to do that. I got lost leaving and had to go to the visitors center to figure out how to get out. The good news is that it led me out a different way that wasn’t 12 miles down the dirt road.

This is really a hidden gem. It is very primitive. Only wish they have paved road and make it more accessible. Very unique geology and rocks are astonishing. Even not for rocking climbing, it has amazing view. We did the hiking at window arch trail, city of rock to parking lot trail, etc. The sunset view is the best.

Fantastic day trip with many easy hikes a day beautiful vistas. The history of the California trail is very interesting and standing in the park you can really appreciate a small piece of what those pioneers went through. We saw many climbers and it looks like a great place for outdoor climbing and is very accessible. Would really like to camp in the reserve next time, there are a variety of campsites scattered throughout the park and it is a international dark skies park so the evenings are sure to be spectacular.

What a beautiful place to visit! Plenty to do, plenty to see, and plenty of camping space. Definitely plan to come back in the spring.

Gorgeous place to camp ( and climb]! Reservations are key to getting a good spot and it's truly worth the drive off the highway to be able to wake up to the same scenery travelers on the California Trail enjoyed years ago.

Highly recommend going here. It's a bit off the beaten path but well worth the drive. The formations are amazing. It's like a whole natural rock city in the middle of nowhere. We lived in Idaho for three years and thus was probably my favorite place. We aren't climbers but we walked, drove and picnicked. Perfect place for kids to expend some energy. We went two times and it was never jam packed or crowded. Beautiful place.

Eleven Yelp reviews and not a single one from an Idahoan. Until now. I'm not sure why this magnificent spot, along the Applegate Trail between Fort Hall and Southern Oregon, doesn't get more attention. It's certainly known by Idaho residents and by rock climbers; I guess they just aren't huge Yelp users. Oregon pioneer brothers Jesse and Lindsay Applegate, who each lost a son to drowning in the Columbia River when coming out on the Oregon Trail in 1843, set out to find a safer route. They came up with what was originally known as the Southern Route before a critic who made the first trip derisively called it the Applegate Trail, which stuck. The route from Fort Hall was also part of the California Trail. The City of Rocks was long a gathering place for the Shoshone tribe, whose members came to collect pine nuts. They also hunted rock chucks and game animals and dug root vegetables. The rocks are stunning. Walking along some of the trails gives a different view everywhere you turn. And the changing light provides a change in how the rocks look. Campsites, both for campers and for tents, are spread out. There's no electricity or running water at the sites, but potable water can be gathered at stations and vault toilets are available in several parts of the park. If you plan to travel from Boise or other locations west of City of Rocks, take Interstate 84 to the Declo exit and head south on Highway 77. We took the Burley exit and went through Oakley. The dirt road outside Oakley took nearly an hour. It was much quicker leaving through the eastern side of the park and Highway 77.

How does this spot only have 9 reviews as I'm writing this?! Though truthfully, I never knew about this place either until we were planning our trip to Idaho and I simply just looked at Google Maps and saw this park on the map. It is definitely worth the drive. You'll find some really unique rock formations and get a view at some very expert climbers here. As others have said, this spot is basically a climber's dream! So many climbs to tackle. We just stopped by for a day and saw all the major rock formations. There are longer hikes available, but we didn't opt for any of them since we were short for time. Some really cool camping spots available at this park. Something that is worth mentioning are the amount of restrooms at this park. It's rare to see so many! Well done.

Oh my goodness, some of the highest quality rock climbing in the world here...usually only steps from your car. Not only is the granite here of superb quality, the longest approach is...about a mile. A MILE. Most of the climbs here you can drive right up to, climb a couple routes, walk off the back side, get back in your car, and repeat until the sun goes down. (or maybe even later if there's a good moon or you roll with a headlamp) The campsites here are incredible. Rather than just being bunched up in long cul-de-sacs like a typical campsite/suburban neighborhood, they are scattered throughout the park. Many are right next to the beautiful granite monoliths. Some are even right next to climbing routes. They fill up fast in the summer though, so you'll want to reserve ahead of time! So, what if you're not a climber? Well, this is still a pretty scenic place. You can hike around, yell at climbers, look at artifacts (like graffiti that settles made with anxel grease...from their WAGONS), or visit the hotsprings back in "town". Or you can just leisurely drive around on the country roads out here. They are dirt, but of great quality, fun to drive on! I went there many years ago and I will return in a few months. I'm a significantly better climber now, I can't wait!

This place is really isolated and takes some back roads to get to, but once you are here it is really worth it. For starters there are no entrance fees to the park. But it is the quality of the granite and the diverse variety of routes that kept me coming back multiple times a year living in Wyoming. It is a great place to take a climbing/camping trip with a group of varying abilities, because of the quality of the routes even at the easier end of the difficulty scale (5.9) and under. Even if you aren't a climber you could still have a great time hiking around the beautiful monoliths on a variety of trails. Since you are car camping it a great place to climb hard, push your limits and then be able to come back to cold beer and hearty dinners rather than freeze dried packaged food. My favorite routes are: -Rye Crisp at Elephant Rock, great grips and moves, but a little challenging to protect. Take an extra large CAM or 2. -Too Much Fun. 15 bolts and 165 ft of fun -Anything up Morning Glory Spire. Just a beautiful view from the top.

Gorgeous geological and historical site. Part of the California Trail winds thru the park with visual evidence written on the rocks by traveling settlers. Looking forward to camping here later in the year.

A beautiful getaway to be outdoors and see the California trail. Great campsites and clean bathrooms. There is a lot of room out here to social distance yourself.

I stayed at Castle Rock State Park which is located at the entrance of City of Rocks National Reserve, not knowing City of Rocks existed until we accidentally drove through in the middle night...trying to look for our campsites. We ended up having to make a u-turn because we were venturing far into the National Reserve and straying farther away from the campsite. The campsite is located at the very front of the entrance as soon as you turn off from the main road.Imagine our surprise the next morning when we able to actually see all the rocks in the daytime!! Rocks are humongous! I didn't know this yelp page existed - so most of my photos are uploaded on the Castle Rock State Park yelp page. Definitely make this a place to visit if you're in the area - Castle Rock State Park is just located right outside of the national reserve and I believe they have more camping options within the National Reserve. I wish I had known about it so I could have booked two nights instead of one. We are able to drive through for a least a mile, taking pictures of everything!! I'm not a rock climber, but I did make an attempt and slid down - so I took that as a sign to just stop. This place is great for hiking, rock climbing, having a picnic, enjoying the scenery and etc. Not many shade options though. Once we exited the park - we took the back roads to get to the main highway - which can be a mistake... we were running out of gas and there were no cellphone signal for majority of the way and it was dirt roads...we followed google maps and then finally just had to the navigate ourselves to the get to the main highway faster and look for a gas station!

Love this place! The rangers are super helpful. We didn't think we would make it there in time for backcountry permits before the office was closed, and they offered to hang the permit application and all the necessary documents and maps on the door for us! And of course, the climbing is internally renowned. People come from all over the world to climb the rocks here. Can't wait to come back!

There's a reason why this place is a National Reserve and not given a higher status like National Park or National Monument. It's just not as special for tourists. There are only dirt roads in the park, but was manageable to drive in a compact car at speeds of 25 to 40 mph. The visitor center is reachable on paved roads because it is located outside of the park's eastern boundary in Almo. Most of the rocks have names like King on the Throne, Owl Rock, or Bread Loaves, but they all start to look the same and are hard to identify. The five key rocks are clearly marked by signs. They are Camp Rock, Treasure Rock, Elephant Rock, Bath Rock, and Parking Lot Rock. All can be visited in a few minutes with Bath Rock being the best of the five. And when I say best, it's only because of sliced bread appearance on one side. These rocks pale in comparison to rocks like El Capitan and Half Dome. The Bath Rock parking lot also has a restroom (but no bath tub). As recommended on the City of Rocks website, we started on the eastern side and drove through the park along City of Rocks Road to exit on western side. I wouldn't do this again. It is better to start at the Visitor Center, drive the 6.6 miles to Parking Lot Rock, and then turn back to the Visitor Center. I suggest this because City of Rocks Road continues for miles along with exiting to Birch Creek Road with another 8 miles of unpaved road. Additionally, there isn't much more to see on these roads. Driving through to only look at the rocks took merely 30 minutes so I'd suggest trying a hike to make the trip more worthwhile. The best part of our visit was the hike on Creekside Towers Trail that runs between Bath Rock and Parking Lot Rock parking lot (I'm not stuttering). It's an easy 1.2-mile out-and-back walk along the higher side of a cluster of rocks (Creekside Towers, Anteater, Morning Glory Spire aka The Incisor, and Window Rock) and a creek that flows over pretty rock terraces. The hike can be enlarged by looping around to the lower side of the cluster of rocks. There are signs that help mark the path.

This place rocks! No pun intended! This is a pretty small area and only slightly out-of-the-way but totally worth going to! On the National Parks totem pole, the National Reserve is pretty low. It's federal land but administered by the Idaho state parks authorities instead of NPS rangers. When we started planning the trip we weren't really sure if it would be a good stop or not but decided to check it out. And boy were we glad we did! First and foremost, this is THE PLACE to go if you are into rock climbing. From the NPS website: "A few granite pinnacles and monoliths are in excess of sixty stories tall and 2.5 billion years old. The smooth granite faces offer exceptional rock climbing. Today, over 500 climbing routes have been identified." Also if you like going to to the lesser-traveled parks, this place is totally for you because it's not crowded at all! Getting there is mostly by paved roads if you come in from the Almo side (only the road thru the park is dirt, but if you go in or out on the west side towards Oakley you'll be on gravel for a lot longer, most of the way to Oakley.) I recommend coming in from Almo so you can stop at the visitors center first. The VC is in a little old house right on Elba-Almo Road. The rangers there will give you some good background into the geology of the place and what to see and do. They will also give you a map showing all of the campsites (they are scattered throughout rather than lumped into one campground) with a list on the back giving you the details of each site (letter grade for quality of shade, distance to the campsite if it's not right next to the parking area, if it has a slightly-softer-than-the-hard-ground gravel tent pad, and any special features.) Also outside the VC they have some old wagons on display because emigrants on the California Trail passed right through here. Next drive into the park. Stop at the red-sided Rock City grocery/deli just south of the VC for sandwiches and cold beer. Then make the left turn to go into the park. Take the right turn before you see the park entry sign and buy some firewood from the kids in the house on the corner - honor system so be nice and don't steal!!! Now turn around and continue heading into the park. There are a couple of branches off the main park road but honestly you could explore them all in an afternoon this park is so small. Definitely stop and see the rock where the emigrants tagged with their axle grease. Then pick your campsite if you will be staying a while. We had site #36 which was AWESOME. 93 feet is really only about a 45 second walk from your car, and this site had tons of space, a tent pad, and a giant rock to climb on (if you walk around it a little you can find a pretty easy walking route to the top, no harnesses or ropes required. Views from the top during the sunset were AMAZING.) It was also a short walk to Bath Rock where the registration/pay station is located, and really close to Window Arch which is just a nice little spot to explore. It was NOT close to outhouses. If you're not comfortable peeing behind a rock, you may want to choose your campsite carefully. Or learn to squat. It's really not that bad. As for wildlife, there's plenty to be seen as well as some livestock so watch out for the bovines as you're driving thru. To be nice I will warn you that there are some freaky beetles that came out at night when we were there (late July). They were about 3-4 times the size of a june bug, paler and almost wood-grain patterned, had really odd looking antennae and were REALLY friendly...as in fly up and land on you, hang out in your hair, etc. Other than being TOTALLY FREAKY they seemed to be harmless. I will attach a picture for reference. Bottom line - if you are anywhere near southern Idaho or northern Nevada, this is a MUST SEE stop! Also a great stop for kids. Ours are 6, 4 and 1 and there's plenty of easy exploring for kids their age (backpack or carrier for the littlest one.)

Dearest reader, I invite you to take a trip through the wandering twisted dirt roads that tangle into the heart of the city of rocks. Through the dust specked windows of your car the towering stone megaliths seem to stare, perhaps with menace, perhaps with the cold observation of something older that we can fathom. The wind gently twirling through the aspens touches your ears with unearthly whispers, what are they saying? Maybe it's best if you don't know. The Shoshone glyphs painted on the dark looming walls still wail with the power of ancient rituals. Touching the warm towers of rock brings a feeling of ancient knowledge, this city has seen things, so many things. Stand on the crown of a pock marked boulder, stare into the yawning abyss of the Idaho night sky, you aren't quite as alone as you feel. Bring your family to the city, touch the glyphs, dance through the violent pink fields of Indian paintbrush, climb the towers and wail at the sun, but don't stay too long, the city isn't yet fully abandoned.

Really this place only has one other review? Well good because it is a superb gem of a place. SUPERB! We loved it to no end. We hiked almost the entire park in one day. our route: park at circle creek overlook walk stripe rock until you reach north fork circle creek trail walk entire nfcc trail, then hit creekside trail to stairways, then connect to south fork trail to box top trail, walk up to stripe rock trail and back to lot. AMAZING HIKES, ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. almost no one on the trails b/c people are rock climbing (which looked hella fun). we had quiet, or the sound of wind in the trees or the creek beside us. perfect level of difficulty, perfect weather (we started at 1:30pm to beat the hot sun but it was cloudy and perfect). beautiful granite and quartz boulders/rocks. splendid vistas and solitude. open land and mountains in the distance. one of our favorite reserves on our trip. MUST go to in Idaho!

This used to be a great low traffic place. Now it is completely overrun. Probably because of no entrance fees and the word is out. A lot of rock climbers. Campgrounds sold out since April. It is a cool place but for me wasayyy to many people. If wanted to be overrun I could go to Zion.