City of Rocks National Reserve

Visited: Oct 2014, July 2017, June 2018

Nearby city: Burley, ID; nearby town: Almo, ID

Along the border of Idaho and Utah, lies a lonely mountain pass that is strewn with large granite boulders. This unique and silent city of rocks makes for an unforgettable vista. It’s quite a-ways off I-84 between Salt Lake and Boise, but it’s worth venturing off the Interstate to check out.

The first Euro-Americans to visit this “city” were Peter Skene Ogden’s fur trapping expedition along the Snake River in 1826. The City of Rocks was a major landmark along the California Trail. The California Trail followed the same path as the Oregon Trail until Fort Hall in Southeastern Idaho (near present day city of Pocatello). At Fort Hall, the California Trail turned to the southwest and came through the City of Rocks until it hit the Humboldt River (near the present day town of Wells, NV) and then continued on to the gold fields of the Sierra Nevadas and Northern California. Many pioneers passing through the City of Rocks left their mark and signatures on Register Rock.

City of Rocks is one of only two NPS units designated as a Reserve. A Reserve is similar to a Preserve in that they protect and preserve natural resources, but certain activities such as fishing, hunting, and extraction of minerals and fuels are permitted on a limited basis. What distinguishes a Reserve from a Preserve is that management of a Reserve can be transferred to local or state authorities, while a Preserve is managed exclusively by federal authorities. City of Rocks National Reserve was established in 1988. The only other Reserve in the NPS system is Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve in Washington. 

City of Rocks is a mecca for rock climbers and is also a popular camping spot. There are a lot of cool rock formations to hike through and enjoy. It rained a little bit on us, but not too bad. 

For more info: https://www.nps.gov/ciro/index.htm

BONUS: check out nearby Castle Rocks State Park (just a few miles away, north of Almo) for similar rock formations and features.

We lived in nearby Rupert for several years and always enjoyed the pleasant drive out to the City of Rocks and to marvel at this geological wonder.