It’s not too much of a stretch to say that the mountains above Howe, ID, are darn near in our own backyard.
About an hour’s drive from Idaho Falls, in eastern Idaho, Howe offers some excellent high desert and mountain trails that kind of fly under the radar. They have for us for years.
Our first real exploration of the area above Howe came in June. We did try to explore the area last year but there was still plenty of snow on the ground and we didn’t get very far. That all changed this year as we went later and had better luck traversing the trails.
Riding is in the Lost River Range and is a mix of high desert, mountains and deep canyons. We started out at about 5,000 feet and rode up to Howe Peak (elevation 8,701 feet). From there we headed in the general direction of Arco before heading back up the mountains and then across the high desert. One of our favorite parts of the ride was through Jumpoff Canyon, a wooded stretch that gives way to a flower-littered hillside where we continued to climb to about 8,650 feet.
We made a big loop of about 45 miles and passed plenty of trails that will be on our must-ride list next time we ride Howe.
